Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Momo and Okarun share a close moment in Dandadan

    Momo And Okarun: The Gold Standard For Shonen Romance

    07/03/2025
    Ironheart Episodes 4 6 But Why Tho 1

    ‘Ironheart’ Explained: Explore MCU’s Bold New Chapter

    07/01/2025
    Buck in 9-1-1

    ‘9-1-1’ Has To Let Buck Say Bisexual

    06/29/2025
    Nintendo Welcome Tour promotional image of the maraca mini-game

    The One “Game” That Justifies The Nintendo Switch 2 Purchase

    06/25/2025
    Destiel Confession in Supernatural - Castiel (Misha Collins) and Dean (Jensen Ackles)

    The Destiel Confession: The Lasting Importance Of Supernatural’s Greatest Ship

    06/22/2025
  • Squid Game
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2 Games
  • Summer Game Fest
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » REVIEW: ‘Down Low’ Is Irreverent With A Cast Of Gold

REVIEW: ‘Down Low’ Is Irreverent With A Cast Of Gold

Jason FlattBy Jason Flatt07/18/20233 Mins ReadUpdated:01/19/2024
Down Low — But Why Tho
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Down Low — But Why Tho

Zachary Quinto plays recently divorced Gary, who hires Lukas Gage‘s Cameron to give him a happy ending in director Rightor Doyle and writers Gage and Phoebe Fisher’s Down Low. Gary spent his whole life trying to conform to what his wife and kids needed him to be, but recently, when he finally came out as gay, they divorced, and he hasn’t spoken to his kids since.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Down Low is a wonderfully lude and irreverent comedy about the dangers of self-repression. It hits the nail a bit too hard on the head in the final moments, but while spending 90 minutes with Gary and Cameron, you can’t help but quickly love them both, so the schmaltzy ending does its job successfully. Everything that happens in the interim is pure and unadulterated chaos.

You can’t say too much about the specifics without giving away many of the movie’s punchlines, but for starters, Gary and Cameron never finish that happy ending. Their age difference is as apparent as their difference in sexual and romantic experience, and it kicks into play instantly in the first scene. What starts off a bit discomforting from Gary starts off perfectly riveting for Cameron, and his energy and allure carry the first few blocks of the film. Down Low’s action is not in the least bit about accepting yourself. That’s an aspect that plays in the background and comes in at the end, but for the majority of the run, it’s really just a movie about two vastly different gay men odd-coupling their way through some outrageous situations over the course of a night neither will soon forget. So once Gary softens up a tad and we get used to the banter between these two, they’re on equal playing fields of charming the rest of the way through.

A whole lot of Down Low is just Gary and Cameron playing off each other as the only two actors in the scene, and Quinto and Gage together have all the right chemistry for it. Of course, when other characters do occasionally enter the scene, each of them brings something completely different and unexpected. The style of irreverent comedy in Down Low is not always my favorite — there’s a lot of situational comedy about some truly absurd situations, but the characters here really make it all work without a hitch.

The ending is definitely a bit cheesy. I’m not entirely sure what lesson I’m supposed to take away. Even as I’m quite positive the very direct nature of several of Gary and Cameron’s conversations are trying to point me towards some kind of moral. I’m not especially bothered by it since the movie does end quite conclusively and with plot satisfaction. I just was left wondering a bit what I was meant to take away with regard to living out and living fully. I’ve drawn my own satisfactory conclusions, but I can’t feel assured they were the movie’s explicit intentions. Still, it works for me, mostly because the hijinx of the prior 85 minutes was a fun and ridiculous time that I wasn’t left dwelling on the sentimentality for all that long.

Down Low is a totally absurd comedy with a cast of gold and nearly the right mix of sincerity and moralizing in the end.

Down Low screened as part of Outfest LA 2023.

Down Low
  • 7/10
    Rating - 7/10
7/10

TL;DR

Down Low is a totally absurd comedy with a cast of gold and nearly the right mix of sincerity and moralizing in the end.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Barbie’ Does It All
Next Article REVIEW: ‘Exoprimal’ Reminds Us Fun Finds a Way (PS5)
Jason Flatt
  • X (Twitter)

Jason is the Sr. Editor at But Why Tho? and producer of the But Why Tho? Podcast. He's usually writing about foreign films, Jewish media, and summer camp.

Related Posts

The Old Guard 2
5.5

REVIEW: ‘The Old Guard 2’ Is Distracted And Half-Baked

07/02/2025
Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey in Jurassic World: Rebirth
5.5

REVIEW: ‘Jurassic World: Rebirth’ Is Best When Nobody Is Talking

06/30/2025
MEGAN 2.0 promotional image
7.0

REVIEW: ‘M3GAN 2.0’ Puts Action First

06/29/2025
F1 (2025) promotional key art
8.0

REVIEW: ‘F1’ Is A High-Octane Blockbuster

06/24/2025
KPop Demon Hunters Promotional image form Netflix
9.0

REVIEW: ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Brings Beautiful Animation And An Even Better Message

06/20/2025
Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams in 28 Years Later
8.5

REVIEW: ’28 Years Later’ Is How Franchises Should Return

06/18/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Taecyeon and Seohyun in The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8
7.5
TV

REVIEW: ‘The First Night With The Duke’ Episodes 7-8

By Sarah Musnicky07/03/2025

The First Night With The Duke Episodes 7-8 spends welcome time in pre-domestic bliss before new developments stir up trouble.

The Terminal List: Dark Wolf trailer First Look Image From Prime Video News

Prime Video Unleashes Teaser for Prequel Series The Terminal List: Dark Wolf

By Kate Sánchez07/04/2025

The first Terminal List: Dark Wolf trailer was released today by Prime Video. The series…

Together (2025) still from Sundance
8.0
Film

REVIEW: Have A Grossly Good Time ‘Together’

By Kate Sánchez01/27/2025Updated:07/04/2025

Dave Franco and Alison Brie’s Together (2025) is disgustingly funny, genuinely ugly, and just a good time at the movies.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here