When Bears Attack

Lawrence Ferber and director Douglas Langway

Unfortunately, I’ve missed out on all the steamy sex scenes featuring hirsute muscle daddies like Broadway stud Sebastian LaCause, but after only a few takes of the quippy barroom exchange I find myself sucked into the everyday dramas of this ragtag group of bears and their admirers. Though this ursine story of love and friendship was originally conceived as a series of webisodes, TLA Releasing, which will distribute the film next year, encouraged Ferber and Langway to create a furry full-length feature.

The pitch? “Sex and the City with bears,” says Ferber, an entertainment journalist (and frequent Advocate contributor) also known for his short films Cruise Control and Birthday Time. “Bears will now finally have their own date movie.”

“The New York bear community has come out in droves to support the film, which could not have been realized without their creative input and passion,” says Langway, who’s either a bear or a chub or something else entirely, depending on whom you ask. But along with manly men of all imposing shapes, sizes, and hair patterns, there are some suspiciously smooth and slender sisters on set.