January 20, 2003
This second madcap Manhattan romance from Beck (It Had to Be You) has sexy boys, mild comedy and even a little amateur sleuthing. Thirtyish Adam Wilson ditches his renovated farmhouse in Eau Claire, Wis., to design Web sites for artists and musicians in New York City. He makes friends with fuchsia-haired 21-year-old Blythe ("artist-slash-whatever-pays-the-rent") when he catches her reading his online porn over his shoulder at Café Pick Me Up. Blythe becomes Adam's guide to the big city's social whirl, introducing him to spiritual guru Ethan and drama queen Martin. At a party for Blythe's artist friends, Adam catches a glimpse of the unforgettable Jeremy, a hunky blond television actor who is as down-to-earth as our country-boy hero. Soon after, Adam befriends Jeremy's ex-boyfriend Daniel (readers of Beck's debut will remember him as drag queen Princess 2Di4), but Jeremy himself remains elusive. At a spiritual retreat, Adam's collection of computer diskettes (containing plans for a revamping of local hotspot Club Chaos) goes missing and catty nightclub persona Wade Van Atterson is the primary suspect. In a last-ditch recovery effort, Daniel, Martin and Adam don drag disguises and rifle through Wade's office. Is this any way to meet the man of your dreams? A saccharine ending caps this pleasantly chatty indulgence from Beck, who seems to have found his calling serving up featherweight fun.