A marriage of inconvenience

A marriage of inconvenience

IDOProdStills88 (1)Screenwriter and star David W. Ross’s feature film, I Do, has won plaudits across the festival circuit in recent months for its sensitive portrayal of gay life in America circa 2012. Ross plays Jack Edwards, a hunky, family-oriented British photographer who may have to say goodbye to his friends and family in New York thanks to his adopted country’s tough immigration laws. After entering an ill-fated marriage of convenience with lesbian friend Ali (Jamie-Lynn Sigler), he’s dealt another blow when the laws threaten to tear him away from a new lover, Mano (Maurice Compte).
It’s heartrending stuff, played to perfection by an accomplished cast – hard to believe, then, that I Do started life as a broad comedy.

“The idea for the film came when I fell for another English guy who couldn’t get his paperwork, and so we broke up and spent two or three years pining after each other. Then a friend of mine got married for a Green Card in San Francisco and had a very interesting experience,” Ross told the Star Observer down the line from his LA home. “I decided to meld those two issues together into what became a kind of broad comedy… and I hated it. At the same time I was shooting a lot of Prop 8 rallies, and I felt like I didn’t want to make a film about such an important issue be a comedy. That’s when I decided to take a break and rewrite it as a more serious family drama.”

Jack’s early scenes in the film centre on his relationships with his female inner circle – unreliable bestie Ali, widowed sister-in-law Mya (Alicia Witt) and adorable niece Tara. Life is good for Jack, but you can’t help noticing he seems a little unfulfilled – until a chance meeting at a party with a bookish, quiet Spaniard.
“People’s reaction to Mano is really interesting. At the start, a lot of people are like, ‘Who’s that guy pulling focus in this scene? That’s the BOYFRIEND?’” Ross chuckled.

“I’ll admit he wasn’t what I expected, but he brings a darkness to the role that I love. People might have expected that quintessential hot Spanish guy with the rippling torso, but I didn’t really want to go with that option.”
Since debuting at the Austin Film Festival in October last year, I Do has scored ‘Best Film’ awards at the Long Beach, Atlanta, Seattle and Pittsburgh film festivals. But for Ross, getting the story on screen was reward enough.
“I didn’t want to make an issue movie, I just wanted to show a slice of life. And I’ll be honest with you, I was a mess on the set. I was very emotional, and the goodbye scene was especially emotional for me – I couldn’t stop crying for about three hours that day. I said to the girls, Jamie Lynn and Alicia, ‘This is what people have to go through’. I think that’s when it really hit home for all of us.”

INFO: I Do is out now on DVD through Love Films.

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