Unconventional families. There are so many books, movies and plays about this subject that it hardly surprises anymore, and more often than not you feel like you have seen it all before. Families have secrets, family members don’t get on with each other, and family reunions are always awkward. It really is a case of been there, done that.
In saying that, The same… but different, feels fresh, if not because of its writing or ideas, but because of its actors. They give all they’ve got, making the characters believable, even if some of the situations they are placed in are not. Simon Darwen’s Archer, a gay army boy who is trying to deal with his feelings (and in doing so, tell his parents about his sexuality) is outstanding. Same goes for Marilyn O’Brien and Emily Holt as the outsider ‘girlfriends’ of sorts, of Archer’s two brothers. They not only have the best lines, but they bring credibility to their characters, something that some of the other actors could learn of.
The main plot though, the one that ties it all together, is the main problem. Not only is it left unresolved, but it feels forced and its premise is completely unrealistic, something that brings the whole production down. Pity then, as there is quite some talent in there.
3/5
Adrian G. Velazquez
