Went to see The Broken Hearts Club last night, a film about a group of about eight gay friends. I went with a group of about eight gay friends, which led us to ponder afterwards, which of us was which character in the film. [Why did no-one else think I was the Dean Cain character??] The film itself is instantly forgettable, a mildly diverting made-for-TV movie. The characters are all West Hollywood scene-queens named Taylor and Dennis, with fully paid-up gym memberships, glossy hair and perfect dentistry. But there are some resonant lines which gave us things to talk about in Barcode afterwards while dicussing our joint holiday: "Are we friends simply because we're all gay?". No, but the only reason we're watching this film is because it's gay.

There's a scene where the characters sit around and moan about typical gay films: "There's always got to be a tragic figure, someone dying of Aids. Imagine if they made a film about real people like us, and not some gay version of Steel Magnolias." A pity then, that The Broken Hearts Club is not even a gay version of Steel Magnolias, but more an episode of Dawsons Creek. Not essential then - wait for it to come out on video. And watch it with a group of friends.