Video Librarian
The video review magazine for libraries, Sept-Oct, 2006

It starts out funny, with its witty hetero/homo scale, a graphic that pops up on the screen, with which it introduces each of its diverse cast of characters -- so-and-so is 75 percent straight, while whatsisface is 51 percent gay -- and turns unexpectedly profound when lonely, emotionally damaged Tim (Jonathan Slavin) decides, against the objections of his many (platonic) friends, to become an experimental subject in a scientific trial testing a drug to turn gay men straight.

The slightly science-fiction-like premise becomes a powerfully philosophical metaphor with which to explore the cultural pressures gay men -- and all those who love them -- experience from all sides. From the sorta-straight, kinda-gay pal who has been taking sexual advantage of Tim and is annoyed to find his occasional partner no longer interested to Tim’s best gal best friend, who has unrealistic expectations as Tim’s desires turn to the opposite sex, Hard Pill serves up a heartrending drama that deftly examines the biological, emotional, and social aspects of human sexuality. Recommended. DVD extras include a making-of featurette, outtakes, an interview with star Slavin and writer/director John Baumgartner, and more.