Films about gay life have become more frequent and more professional in recent years. The latest, The Broken Hearts Club — A Romantic Comedy, unfortunately says nothing new despite clever lines and good acting. Director Greg Berlanti exposes filmviewers to the problems of those in their late 20s who search in vain for a well-trod formula for success in gay life. Since parents, schools, and the media tend to be unfamiliar with what will produce happiness in gay life, those who “come out” must learn by trial and error. Modeled on The Boys in the Band (1970), but somewhat more upbeat, the movie focuses on those who work for a gay restaurant in West Hollywood called Jack of Broken Hearts, including the owner Jack (played by John Mahoney). The waiters form a mutual support group for one another, with Jack as the mother hen. For nearly every remark by one of the gay men, another dispenses what might have been intended to be advice, but the words come out nastily, provoking similar rejoinders back and forth until the discourse hits bottom. The film identifies a variety of relationship problems. Bitchy complaints from Howie (played by Matt McGrath) drive his erstwhile partner Marshall (played by Justin Theroux) to hunt elsewhere. Cole (played by Dean Cain), the best looking guy in the club, is good at picking up tricks but does not want a relationship, leaving those who idolize him to become depressed. Macho-appearing Kevin (played by Andrew Keegan), age 23, is in the process of coming out, finds that his parents are accepting, but he is dumped twice. Benji (played by Zach Braff) frequents a gym, where he is approached by a muscular bodybuilder; but, to fit into the gym queen subculture, he nearly dies of a cocaine overdose. Anne (played by Mary McCormack), a lipstick Lesbian, asks her gay brother Patrick (played by Ben Weber), the most unsuccessful at love in the group, for sperm to inseminate her dyke lover Leslie (played by Nia Long), and he ultimately looks forward to becoming a father and an uncle. Taylor (played by Billy Porter), the token African American, boasts of a long-term relationship in the film, albeit measured in months, but is dumped later on. In due course Jack, the only one with a relationship that has lasted many years, dies, leaving some of his employees disconsolate because now they lack a mother hen. Dennis (played by Timothy Olyphant), age 28, who supplies voiceovers, also sleeps with one guy after another, knowing that until his career is more in gear that he will not have much to offer besides a pretty face, similar to the message in Relax . . . It’s Just Sex (1999). Having viewed the film in West Hollywood, I can attest that bellylaughs from the audience at the bitchiest lines in the film eloquently validate the depiction of life for those in the largest gay majority city in the world as narcissistic and unfulfilling. In the words of an older character in the movie, “Sometimes I wonder what you boys would do if you weren’t gay — you’d have no identity.” MH