The Art of Being Straight

Being straight is hard to do in this brief, ponderous mumblecore flick: Jon (Rosen) and the infinitely more charismatic Maddy (Castillo) are trying to figure out whether it’s worth it, and the answer is a resounding no. Perhaps that’s because the actors playing their hetero friends, like Matt (McGowan), soon let their frat-boy, homophobic facades crumble into something that looks suspiciously like real-life campiness. Jon and Maddy’s angst unspools persuasively enough against a pretty Santa Monica beach backdrop, but interiors are clearly shot after hours in someone’s best friend’s office cubicle.