THE Broken Hearts Club (despite its lamentable title) is a touching film about a group of friends experiencing life, love and loss... together. Although that premise is fairly generic, it still hits a few good notes. The key to the heart of this movie, which avoids falling prey to gay stereotyping and too many Dionne Warwick jokes fairly successfully, is the richness and diversity of the characters. As the boys themselves lament, gay movie roles are too often limited to sickly AIDS victims or fashionable best friends of neurotic leading ladies. Not so this time.

Dennis, the narrator, is a budding photographer who is trying to break his habit of 'J Crew guys' and find a meaningful relationship. His group includes: Howie, the hypocrite always on the look-out for a pretty face even as he continues to sleep with his ex; Benji, the young, spikey-haired punk taken in by drug culture; Patrick, the average-looking one searching for love; Cole, the stud of the group whom they all want to be; and Taylor, the scream queen who is going through the break-up stages as he gets over his ex.

Dennis is turning 28, and he can't decide if his friends are the best or worst thing that ever happened to him. The boys meet in a restaurant called Jack of Broken Hearts, where some of them work and all of them drink. Their softball team, the Broken Hearts, has not won a game in its history, but they play for the enthusiasm of the mentor figure Jack.

Each character has his own drama, and they all band together to help each other. Combine the genius of Swingers with a half-way decent episode of 'Friends' and a pinch of fairy dust - you've got 'The Broken Hearts Club'. They let you in on their lingo ("meanwhile" is a passing stranger who looks goo-ood) and share their intellectual theories ("dumb gorgeous people should not be able to use literature in the pick-up pool").

Spending time with these guys is a pleasurable, if fluffy, experience.

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