Tag Kate Berlant | TLA Gay Blog

August 23, 2018August 20, 2018 by tlagay

Alia Shawkat and Laia Costa get intense in the new romantic comedy Duck Butter

Dissatisfied with the dishonesty they see in dating, strangers Naima (“Arrested Development” and “Search Party” star Alia Shawkat) and Sergio (Laia Costa) make a pact to spend 24 straight hours together in an attempt to fast forward their relationship.

The newest film from prolific director Miguel Arteta, the same guy behind Star Maps, Chuck & Buck, The Good Girl and Beatriz at Dinner, Duck Butter offers up a funny, poignant and sexually frank look at growing intimacy inside a pressure cooker. Co-written by Shawkat and executive produced by the Mark and Jay Duplass, the movie offers a searing interrogation of modern romance, with all its dizzying highs and heartbreaking betrayals, all packed into one intense 24 hour period. The film also co-stars Mae Whitman, Hong Chau, Kumail Nanjiani and Kate Berlant.

I Love You Both Trailer

There’s something of a gay cinema sub-genre for stories about gay guys and straight girls who fall for the same presumably bisexual fella (see Heartbeats, Angels of Sex, John Apple Jack, Hunter, Three and The Passenger for just a few examples). The new comedy-drama I Love You Both looks like it will make a particularly thoughtful new addition.

Twins, Krystal and Donny, have been codependent for twenty-eight years, still living together in a converted one-bedroom house. As Krystal struggles to get over her ex- boyfriend and Donny struggles to come to grips with the fact that his new music manager might not be all that he claims, they both meet and starting falling for the same guy. Fearing the idea of having to go their separate ways, they remain in denial about the fact that they’re both dating him, until he eventually picks only one of them. His decision forces them to confront the fact that they can no longer live the same life. With nowhere to turn for advice except each other and their only two friends— Linda, Krystal’s co-worker, and their mother—the twins are finally forced to look for answers from within.