Badpuppy Gay Today

Monday, 05 May, 1997

With the emergence of South Beach as a major gay resort, it was only a matter of time before someone wrote a novel about it. MY WORST DATE is like South Beach itself: sexy, exciting, entertaining, escapist, superficial, inconclusive and irrelevant. Like visitors and newcomers to the beach, MY WORST DATE avoids day to day problems and the harsh realities of life. It is a world of parties and clubs, quick sex and short-term romance. In short, it is the perfect novel to read during a South Beach vacation, that is if the readers can keep their eyes off of the bulging bodies around them.

David Leddick, once a dancer and now an advertising consultant, lives in South Beach for part of the year, and his first novel shows some detailed knowledge of the "Sun and Fun Capital of the World." Even so, Leddick's Beach is essentially that of the tourist or seasonal resident. Hugo, MY WORST DATE's unlikely hero, is just sixteen, but experienced beyond his years. The son of a former model-turned Realtor and her faithless (and gay) Brazilian lover, Hugo goes to school by day and go-go dances at a gay club by night. Mom does not know about Hugo's night job; nor does she know that Hugo is dating a much older man, Glenn Elliot Paul, who also happens to be his mother's beau.

Alright, so it's not MADAME BOVARY. Though MY WORST DATE is not a deep or engrossing novel, it makes for light and entertaining reading, which is what most people look for these days. Hugo is as cute as a button, as sharp as a tack, and mature enough so that his fling with Mr. Paul comes across as a relationship between equals and not as a pedaristic romp. Iris Carey, Hugo's mother, is delightful, even when she doesn't have a clue, and Glenn is slick and selfish but otherwise OK. But the most lovable character in the book is Hugo's friend Macha. I don't know if there's a rule in gay comic novels that the hero has to have a big mouthed, sex-starved straight female friend but these women seem to have popped up in quite a few books lately. Macha fits the bill nicely, not to mention the fact that she seems more authentic than Hugo, Iris, or Glenn Elliot Paul.

All in all, if you want a literary experience, read ANNA KARENINA. If you want to have fun, read MY WORST DATE. The title, by the way, refers to a "truth or dare" game that Hugo and his go-go dancing pals play to pass the time between sets. Like this book, the game is silly and superficial but quite fun while you are into it. Though MY WORST DATE is not the Great American Gay South Beach Novel, it will keep you amused until the real thing comes along.

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