I loved the women. None of the female characters — Pablo’s mother, Sofia, or Dean’s agent (played by Jennifer Coolidge) — are what you would call “nurturers.” They are tough, sardonic, articulate and direct; they neither romanticize nor weaken women. In fact, they’re often scary and vindictive. Sonia Braga is steely and merciless. Celina Font is kind but never naive. Jennifer Coolidge (most recently seen in A Cinderella Story, A Mighty Wind and television’s Joey) has lost all trace of her ditsy, hare-brained shtick. She’s still got that whiskey-voice, though, and when she bitches that she had to “lick that guy’s ass for two hours” to cover for Dean, she’s completely believable.
I loved the surprises too, many of which I hope I haven’t revealed. Suffice it to say that our expectations and assumptions are often confounded. Our feelings about previous events change as the plot evolves and we consider them in retrospect.
I loved the ironies: Dean Seagraves is a graphic novelist, an art form many are unable to distinguish from comic books. In a way Testosterone is an homage to comic book romance and heroism, but not in the visual sense; say like in Spiderman 2 or Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. It’s more about the bizarre (yet somehow valid) attempt on Dean’s part to salvage his spirit using comic book ideology. He sees his personal romantic struggle in grotesquely disproportionate terms, as do many of us.
Throughout the film, the other characters tell him to wake up, to go home, he’s wasting his time. And it’s not just because he won’t face the excruciating truth, but the added taboo that he’s a man chasing another man. In Mike Nichols’ recent film, Closer (adapted from the Patrick Marber play) he suggests that male/female sexuality is tactically motivated by men’s contempt for each other.
Dean’s queer obsession (unwise as it may be) is expressed as fulfillment of his manhood, rather than a subversion of it. And his insane, psychopathic behavior is ultimately vindicated. Testosterone shows us both sides of the coin, shows us the truth of leading with our dicks - the glory as well as the stupidity. It’s smart, erotic, wrenching, and funny. Maybe unforgettable.
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