Love, Small Town Texas Style (Movie Review: Pit Stop)

There's gay love in Texas, who knew? Of course I am being facetious, because love is everywhere, and gay love can thrive even in small southern Texan towns. But not before some heartbreak. Two gay men live on opposite sides of a town: Gabe (the swoon worthy Bill Heck) has a wife and kid, and they have a weird modern family set-up: he is still very much present in their lives even as he and his wife navigate paths to new love. Ernesto (Marcus DeAnda) just broke up with his live-in boyfriend, and they still live in the same house, even as the set-up gets more complicated. Both are sad, and it makes you think how gay life in a small town is as lonely as it can be in the city. But the film isn't all melodrama. Malaysian Director Yen Tan infuses some subtle comedic moments that kind of splashes small color to the film, which is coated in a lot of drabness (perhaps to show the provincial element of a small town)  In this day and age, gay people can pretty much be comfortable everywhere, and it kind of felt a little weird to still see Gabe be uncomfortable being out, or for two men to feel comfortable giving each other a goodbye peck for fear that someone will see them. But there is a great earnestness for romance here, and it is subtle and quiet but just as effective. Gabe and Ernesto meet towards the end of the movie, and its happily ever after still feels jarring, in a great way.