
Hollywood hunks James Marsden ("X-Men") and Scott Speedman (WB's "Felicity") are hoping to get a critical career push with "The 24th Day." The independent movie features the two budding actors in a break-out performance that might shed their pretty boy image.
The flick will be shown at the Los Angeles OutFest movie festival that will be held July 10-13.
The movie tells the story of Tom (Scott Speedman), a married metrosexual who has lived his life as straight. It has been 24 days since Tom finds out he is HIV-positive. Consumed with sorrow and rage about his situation, Tom kidnaps Dan (James Marsden), the only man he's ever slept with and the person he believes is responsible for giving him the virus. Tom threatens to kill Dan if the HIV he administers comes back positive.
Tom's violent kidnapping of Dan and Tom's murderous threats clearly pass the bounds of legal and rational behavior. And yet, if Tom's conviction about Dan is true, then Dan is accountable for more than a minor moral lapse.
The suspense-filled movie is based on a play that director Tony Piccirillo wrote for an acting class in the 1990s.
You'll be disappointed if you're hoping to watch Speedman and Marsden make out in this movie. The indie drama does not feature any intimate moments between the two actors to not take away from the dramatic suspense. Speedman says in an interview with the Cinema Source that he wouldn’t have had a problem with getting a bit closer to Marsden.
The film has met mixed reviews when it was first shown at New York's Tribeca film festival. The New York Post even went as far as calling it a movie with "the most ludicrous plot ever." However, bloggers have embraced the movie simply because "hot boys who can act are a rare breed."
"The 24th Day" is available on DVD at TLAvideo.com.