Cut Sleeve Boys

Mel has attracted a young and hunky "country bumpkin" from Wales named Todd (Gareth Rhys Davies) to London, but after finding him a job at the department store where he works, Ash quickly loses interest and certainly doesn't want the new kid staying in his flat. Todd is confused. Wasn't this love? Weren't they supposed to be boyfriends? Not at all, says the cold-as-ice Ash. He's the kind of guy who likes to spread it around. But no sooner does he alienate Todd that he begins to wonder if maybe true love is what he's after, especially now that he has to watch out for the occasional gray hair and wrinkle.

Ash is equally unlucky in love, and after some online exploration he decides to explore the funtastic world of transvestism, dolling himself up into quite a lovely woman before heading out to a tranny club where he falls instantly in love with the supermacho Ross, an army veteran who has a thing for the ladyboys. But as their affair takes off, Ash, who finds the upkeep of wigs, dresses, and makeup rather burdensome, is troubled. If he's looking for a man who's attracted to men, why does he date a man who's attracted to him as a woman? Good question.

As Mel and Ash wrestle with their complicated love lives, many witty bon mots and gay clichés fly around the bars, restaurants, and gyms where the characters congregate to compare notes. As the kind-hearted Ash comes to terms with aging by finally removing the ridiculous eyebrow-like hairpiece he sticks to his forehead to improve his hairline, Mel continues to swing wildly from "I love him" to "I love him not" when it comes to Todd. None of this is particularly new or compelling. The only thing that makes it interesting is that it's happening to a bunch of Asian guys in Britain rather than to a bunch of buff white guys in West Hollywood, where all this territory has been covered dozens of times in low-budget ensemble flicks.

I don't see any sleeves at all.