The Velocity of Gary is
a film about Valentino, a one-time porn star who is now dying
of AIDS. The focus of the film is Valentino's relationship
with his two love interests, his girlfriend Mary-Carmen, and
his boyfriend and Gary. The three make an unlikely trio, as
Mary-Carmen and Gary are constantly at odds due to their
jealousy and competition for Valentino's affection. As
Valentino slowly dies, Mary Carmen and Gary struggle to come
to grips with what is happening, but ultimately form a bond,
via the birth of Mary-Carmen and Valentino's baby after
Valentino dies.
Animal Action:
There is a dog used
throughout the movie called "Rodney", a boarder
collie mix who belongs to Valentino. Rodney appears in various
scenes throughout the film. At one point, he walks up to Gary,
who is sitting on a curb, and sits down next to him. In
another scene, Rodney lays on the floor next to Valentino and
Mary-Carmen in a public building. For this scene, the trainer
placed the dog on its mark and told it to stay.
During a Halloween
parade, we see Rodney walking across a street full of people
dancing and partying. Rodney is wearing devil horns on his
head. At another point during the parade scene, we see another
dog, a golden retriever who is wearing some type of harness
with two fake dog heads attached to it (to appear as if the
dog has three heads).
A puppy is also used
in the film in a flashback scene where Valentino meets Rodney
for the first time. We see an actress hand the puppy to
Valentino.
In another scene,
Valentino opens the door to his apartment and peers out into
the hallway. We see a big white fluffy cat walking down the
hallway toward Valentino.
At various points in
the movie, Valentino is hospitalized. During one of his stays
in the hospital, Rodney, the dog, runs away. We see Rodney,
dirty and tired wandering the streets. In one scene, Rodney is
walking down a street, and he comes upon a dead dog lying by
the side of the road. Rodney sniffs the dog and then keeps on
walking. For this scene, the trainer sent the dog over to the
stuffed "dead" dog, which was a prop, using voice
and hand commands.
In another scene,
Rodney crosses paths with a homeless woman who bends down and
offers him some food, which she holds out in her hand. After
Rodney licks her hand, the woman picks him up and walks away.
This scene was achieved with two trainers. One trainer
released the dog and another trainer called the dog to the
actress. The actress then pets the dog and picks it up.
At the end of the
film after Valentino dies, we see Mary-Carmen and Gary leaving
the hospital. Outside of the hospital sit Rodney and the
homeless woman. Rodney barks at Gary and Mary-Carmen who run
over and pet him and look him over to see if he's all right.
