YOU'LL GET OVER IT Dir: Fabrice Cazeneuve, France, 2002, Beta SP, 90 mins French with English subtitles The coming out story is probably the most well-worn in gay and lesbian cinema, and You'll Get Over It makes no effort to break new ground. This film was originally made for French television, and most definitely has the paint-by-numbers feel of a TV movie. Champion high school swimmer Vincent Molina has a girlfriend, a best mate and is really popular, but – oh no – he's secretly gay. What will happen when everyone finds out? Will there be “Molina is a fag” graffiti all over the school? Will his parents ask pithy questions like “Was it our fault?” and “Is it just a phase?” Will he have sex with his girlfriend to prove his masculinity? If you answered yes to all of the above questions, then you've probably seen this movie before. It's the exact arc that's been dealt with in movies and on television for the last thirty years now, most recently and similarly on teen drama Dawson's Creek with football star Jack. At least that had better dialogue. It's 50-50 as to whether the screenwriter for You'll Get Over It was trying to win a banality contest or the translator was damned lazy. Either way, the groans in the audience drowned out a lot of the speech as Vincent went through the motions; his first experience of gay nightlife (which of course he hates), avoiding the advances of a guy who fancies him, and moping around with expressions of clouded deepness. OK, so there are some good things about the film. The cliches take a bit of a back seat whenever Vincent is with girlfriend Noemie, who becomes a confidante for him. The relationship with his best mate Stephane is also charming. You get the distinct impression that straight Stephane's hostility towards Vincent's potential love interest Benjamin is more out of jealousy than his stated intention of protecting his mate. And as for Benjamin? Well, to be quite honest, he's a bit freakish. Why a teenage swimming champion discovering his sexuality for the first time would be attracted to someone who looks like the sort of guy who goes into bookshops asking for “Doctor Who” videos and quoting the catalogue numbers is a complete mystery, especially when Noemie is such a hottie. You'll Get Over It lives up to its title. Everything is neatly resolved in the last two minutes, and before you can say “that better not be the end”, it is. Hard to believe this was produced by the same company that made Come Undone, the critically-acclaimed and groundbreaking French coming-of-age drama that screened at Out Takes two years ago. Chris Banks - 6th June 2004