Fun Down There

I thoroughly enjoyed this well written, directed and acted film which, in my opinion, is extremely under appreciated by most critics. This is a poignant coming of age story centered around a young man (Buddy) coming to New York City from an upstate NY rural community in the late 80s. The culture clash he initially experiences is well articulated. He is helped by a group of NYers who live on the edge and who embrace him, helping to make his transition to the urban lifestyle easier. He also is trying to resolve the conflict between his repressed homosexuality and his inner homophobia during the era of AIDS/HIV. I grew up in New York and know people like Buddy, and those friends who help him with his cultural and sexual adjustments. This picture seemed real to me. Perhaps some of the critics, including 'Rotten Tomatoes' should watch it again. The photography on one of his journeys through the City was superb and brought back many special memories of those places that were and still are a part of the lower Manhattan landscape. Bravo to Michael Waites who played Buddy, and Roger Stigliano, who wrote, produced and directed 'Fun Down There'.