Were The World Mine, Tanner Cohen Would Be A Star

I saw Were the World Mine in New York and while I wish the movie were better, it's worth seeing just for lead Tanner Cohen (below left with Nathaniel David Becker, who ain't too shaby himself) who is beautiful and has a beautiful singing voice and exudes star quality (and he's rumoured to be the new Claude in the revival of Hair on Broadway).

The movie is a gay spin on A Midsummer's Nights Dream where an ostracized gay teen (Cohen) comes upon a magic potion that makes people turn gay and fall in love with the first person (of the same sex) they see. Oh, and it's kind of a musical too.


Tanner Cohen (right) with Nathaniel David Becker. photo: Sara Krulwich/NYTimes.

Yes, the movie is very very gay with lots of hot boys in the prep school showering semi-naked in the showers after playing rugby and the few numbers are weird and wonderful. Unfortunately, this little independent movie shows it's low budget sleeves with some really bad casting in all the peripheral characters (like ALL the peripheral characters) and poorly lit scenes (outside the musical numbers). The editing could be snappier, and the writing needs to be tightened up, with the plot speeding faster along the first half to get to the Puck parts. I almost wish Working Title Films would take this movie and re-shoot it with a bigger budget (and maybe turn it British since the Prep School things feels more right in the UK) and their Working Title crew.

Still, there's enough shine in Tanner Cohen's performance that I enjoyed the movie despite its flaws. It's not a great movie (and it could have been with a professional team behind it)

Here's the trailer:


Were the World Mine = B or 7/10

Here's a sneak peak:


Here's Tanner Cohen singing "Were the World Mine" from the movie of the same name (Song only):