Review: ‘Eternity: The Movie’ is fleeting fun

“Eternity: the Movie,” a purposely cheesy sendup of mid-1980s pop music, offers committed performances and a few chuckles, but it’s a largely one-note rendition.

Directed by Ian Thorpe from a goofball script by Joey Abi-Loutfi, the film tracks the journey of Todd Lucas (Barrett Crake) and B.J. Fairchild (Myko Olivier), a Hall & Oates-like R&B duo called Eternity. These earnest dolts meet as employees at clothing emporium BJ Maxx, become instant buds, and follow their musical dreams together: Todd writes corny love songs, B.J. plays the sax, and both sing with blue-eyed soul élan.

With the help of a loopy record-label exec (a fun Jon Gries), Eternity scores with such junky hits as “Make Love, Not Sex” and “Sambuca and Cider.” Cue the requisite music video parodies, chart-climbing montages and giddy swarms of fans. But can it last? Of course not!

The overriding joke here is that, despite their many alleged female sexual conquests plus a mutual crush on sexy songwriter-neighbor Gina Marie (Nikki Leonti), pretty boys Todd and B.J. are gay for each other. The gag is milked to death here, yet, in keeping with the film’s retro, juvenile sheen, it never “goes there.” (That bromantic bubble bath the guys matter-of-factly share? Just a tease, folks.)

What the movie does get right are the period trappings, from the hair, clothes, cars and sounds to the Rubik’s Cubes, bulky phones and Tab sodas (dubbed “Teb” here). Still, like the film itself, these visuals come off as more self-consciously glib than authentically clever.

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“Eternity: the Movie”

MPAA rating: None

Running time: 1 hour, 31 minutes.

Playing: At Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills.