THREE cheers to the National Hockey League for reportedly becoming the first professional sports organization to endorse a gay-themed movie. Too bad Laurie Lynd’s “Breakfast With Scot” is so bland and timid.
TV actor Tom Cavanagh’s Eric is repeatedly identified as a star player for the Toronto Maple Leafs who becomes a sportscaster after a career-ending injury.
Most of his co-workers have no idea he’s been quietly playing for the other team with a lawyer (Ben Shenkman in a severely underwritten role) who’s as “straight acting” as he is.
Eric’s closeted existence is challenged when the couple assumes temporary custody of the flamboyant 11-year-old Scot (Noah Bernett), who wears makeup and feather boas and sees nothing wrong with kissing a male classmate.
Eric promptly tones down Scot’s appearance and enrolls him in a hockey league to toughen up his charge against homophobic bullies. Anyone who’s ever seen an After School Special knows where the family-friendly “Breakfast With Scot” is headed, no matter how well intentioned.
Running time: 93 minutes. Rated PG-13 (discreet references to sexuality and drugs). At the Quad, 13th Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues. – Lou Lumenick