Review: Tara's Done It Again
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 11, 2012
Tara's done it again. Well, of course she's delivered another tale of life and love in Laguna Beach. More to the point, she's ramped up her storytelling again. We've become accustomed to beautiful boys working out their romantic issues, surprising us along the way with the depth of their commitment. Now she's bringing us a character whose life has been truly damaged by coming out in the workplace.No, I won't put in spoilers, but I will bring up another epiphany on my part, through Tara's writing. It took meeting JJ to realize how poorly gay men are treated in movies. Remember Jeff Goldblum's totally ineffectual assistant in "Independence Day?" He fluttered and flustered and waved his hands around until you just wanted to smack him. It seems he was the token gay for that movie, even though it's very likely at least some of the brave pilots who attacked the mothership were also gay.JJ fans his hands and bounces around and "acts gay" until he tries to be someone he's not, to please the man of his dreams. But JJ's mannerisms are a manifestation of his personality, not a Hollywood stereotype,and when those chips are down he is one hundred percent effective and efficient. Both he and Ryan learn to look beyond the surface to the wonderful people they really are, and learn to accept themselves and each other.A wonderful read, thank you Tara.