Nico and Dani

Here's a first in gay cinema; a story about two seventeen year old boys, both virgins, both not WANTING to be virgins -- but one, of course, is straight, the other? Not so much. And what makes this film so original? It's set in Spain, and it's in Spanish!

Well, if that doesn't give the yaoi/gay cinema fan reason to check it out, what does?

Nico and Dani is set in a small sea-side town in Madrid, and the laid-back atmosphere of this town is pretty much the overall tone of the movie itself. Dani, a young, aspiring novelist, invites his long-time friend Nico over for the summer (of course because his parents are gone), and they have fun. For the first few days.

Dani enjoys having his friend over, but Nico is pretty straight-laced and macho, more concerned about how large his Adam's Apple is than how attractive Dani is. He likes the girls. Dani? By now you should've guessed; not so much. But Dani's perfect vacation is ruined by the intrusion of two girls, cousins Berta and Elena.

Nico, of course, is attracted to Elena (he says Berta has nice boobs, but Elena has the "whole package"), and while Berta in turn likes Dani, Dani would rather be spending time with Nico. Alone. Such is not his luck, since Nico has made a vow to lose his virginity before his 18th birthday.

This movie is about the coming-of-age most teenagers go through, but it takes a different direction with it's content. The exploration of sexuality is done realistically, and it's as awkward as real life relationships. Dani loves Nico, Nico LIKES Dani; but can Dani be happy with this?

The boys engage in what is called "Krampack", which are mutual masturbation sessions. One boy jerks off the other, or both at once, and this is pretty much the extent of it. Dani of course wants it to go further, but Nico just wants to make it with Elena.

Enter the handsome, middle-aged mentor as a love interest for Dani, a few females used as a point of view which we can relate to (walking in on two boxer-clad boys sleeping together, and going 'WHAT is going on here?'), and a few instances of partying, date-rape, and drugs, and you have pretty solid material.

This leaves us to watch the boys go through their separate growths, Dani into a young gay man, Nico into a young straight man. The tale is sweet, realistic, and endearing all the way through. I recommend it highly, though it's hard to find (buy it off of Amazon), just for 90 minutes of enlightenment on the teenage mind. Or just for the line:

"What did you have in here last night? An orgy?"
"No. Macaroni."