LGBT ROUND-UP

Far From Heaven

Here's our annual round-up of gay/LGBT films in honor of the Gay Pride celebration in New York City. Its a really mixed bag this year, with everything from the William Wyler classic The Children's Hour to a silly documentary about two self-hating gay men who live with a woman, Three of Hearts. Then we've got Tom Hanks in his Oscar-winning turn in Philadelphia; Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert, and Julianne Moore in Far From Heaven; and a couple of ersatz "gay" movies such as the telefilm Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn, Coffee Date, and the highly interesting -- and somewhat ambiguous -- Family Way.

Over the decades gay portrayals and how society sees homosexuality has greatly changed, although sometimes it may seem that the more things change, the more they stay the same. In any case, positive portraits of LGBT individuals are always welcome, but that doesn't always add up to a successful movie.

Anyway, here are a few films to ponder.

PHILADELPHIA

Tom Hanks

PHILADELPHIA (1993). Director: Jonathan Demme.

"Everyone in this room is your friend, more than your friend -- family." -- Wheeler to Beckett.

Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) is a young lawyer in Philadelphia who is going places -- until he gets AIDS. Although he tries to hide it from the partners, he is fired (just as much for being gay as for his illness) on a trumped up charge of incompetence. Turned down by most lawyers for a wrongful dismissal lawsuit, he is finally represented by ambulance chaser and part-time homophobe Joe Miller (Denzel Washington). Although Charles Wheeler (Jason Robards), the head of the firm, is importuned to settle with Beckett, the crusty old lawyer is not about to give in ... Philadelphia, the first major American movie to deal with AIDS and homophobia, is an admirable if flawed motion picture. It doesn't shy away from stark realities such as depicting the illness and its effect on other people; the way that gay partners are not considered "family" in the hospital; invisible gays and closet cases; and difficult questions about so-called "risky" behavior. On the other hand, with so many points to be made on such an issue, the characters sort of get lost, and the viewer probably gets to know Joe Miller better than it does Andrew Beckett. Andrew's partner Miguel (Antonio Banderas) is only given a couple of scenes, remains a distant figure, and worse, the two men seem more like friends than partners -- it's almost as if Banderas was afraid to ruin his "macho" image by kissing Hanks. Hanks [Road to Perdition] won a Best Actor Oscar, and is quite good, even if he's perhaps a bit too "fluttery" on certain occasions [the film seems to show the diversity of the gay male community, and even indulges in some stereotype-busting at times]. Washington [American Gangster], Robards [You Can't Take It With You], and Mary Steenburgen as opposing counsel are excellent, and there's an effective cameo by director Roger Corman as one of Beckett's former clients. As for the music (the main score is by Howard Shore), the soundtrack makes effective use of Maria Callas singing "La mamma morta" from Giordano's Andrea Chenier, although one wonders if either Bruce Springsteen (Oscar winner for the title tune) and Neil Young (composer of the haunting end-title piece "City of Brotherly Love") knew the subject matter before they wrote the songs.

Verdict: Whatever its imperfections this is an often powerful and very affecting picture. ***1/2.

THREE OF HEARTS: A POSTMODERN FAMILY

Sisters: Sam Cagnina, Samantha Singh, Steven Margolin

THREE OF HEARTS: A POSTMODERN FAMILY (2004). Director: Susan Kaplan.

In this documentary two delusional homosexual men, Sam Cagnina and Steven Margolin, have been in a relationship seven years when the former importunes the latter to bring a woman, Samantha Singh, into the mix. Sam, the "queenier" of the two, admits years later that he was ashamed of his sexuality, and wanted to have a "normal" life and be "part of society" -- the typical reason most closeted gay men get married to women. [In an interview he also said he wanted children, which is also, of course, a way for men to "prove their manhood."] Most women would certainly shy away from being in a relationship with two gay men in a committed relationship, but because they sleep with her she apparently sees them as legitimately bisexual, which turns out not to be the case. The trouble with this trio is that we have three very immature (both chronologically and emotionally) people who decide to "play house" and make babies, indulging in the kind of polygamy that may work great in college during an experimental stage, but hardly flies in the long run. "I stayed with my experimentation and made it my life," says Samantha. Some people see this as a study of unconventional people trying to be themselves, but it comes off more as a loving gay couple being destroyed by bad decisions and the insertion of an unnecessary third party. The guys' desire to be in some kind of ersatz hetero relationship hardly makes them "unconventional" in any case. Steven says late in the film that "I was never very comfortable with my homosexuality" and it is probably his increased awareness in that regard, dealing with his internalized homophobia, that leads him to finally ditch the other two and make his own life with a male partner. [The two Sams stay together and raise two children but no longer have sex.] Samantha says of Steven, "you never expressed that you were gay," which makes her seem so clueless as to be laughable; she's the ultimate "fag hag." One senses that Steven is furious at the other two for getting him involved in a situation he probably never really wanted to be a part of, but he still has to bear some of the responsibility. Three of Hearts is not without its interesting aspects or entertainment value, but the outcome of this silly "experiment" is obvious from the first. The filmmakers never ask the tough questions, such as what other motives Samantha might have had for hooking up with these guys (that all three participants are exhibitionists goes without saying) and so much else goes completely unexplored. Ultimately, the whole movie, while well-produced, seems like a bad LOGO flick or a really lousy idea for a sitcom. One critic even suggested that the picture was contrived and phony from the get-go.

Verdict: Thank goodness gay couples can now adopt! **.

COFFEE DATE

COFFEE DATE (2006). Writer/director: Stuart Wade. Note: This review reveals certain plot points.

Todd (Jonathan Bray) is anxiously awaiting a date at a coffee shop where he runs into Kelly (Wilson Cruz), who is also awaiting a date. It turns out that they are each waiting for the other, which is awkward because Kelly is a man and Todd is straight. Apparently Todd's brother, Barry (Jonathan Silverman), has played a mean trick on him, but Todd gets even with him by bringing Kelly home and taking him into his bedroom as a joke. Barry spreads the word to their mother, Mrs. Muller (Sally Kirkland), and before long everyone seems to know that Todd is gay, even though he keeps protesting that he isn't. As they continue to go out together as friends, Kelly begins to fall for Todd even as Todd wonders if he might be gay after all, leading to rather ridiculous developments. Coffee Date is one of those mediocre independent "gay" movies that was LGBT cable channel LOGO's bread and butter in the early days (and maybe still is). It actually starts out well, with likable characters and attractive actors, but it becomes increasingly stupid as it proceeds. Todd can't figure out if he's gay or not unless he goes to bed with Kelly -- what, at 35 he can't just tell if he's attracted to men or not?! -- but decides that he's really straight after all. Todd's flamingly gay associate Clayton (Jason Stuart) suggests that a "stiff dick knows no conscience," especially when there's alcohol involved, and it doesn't mean anything, but Todd suggests that he and Kelly get it on when he's sober, and he doesn't just lie there to be serviced -- it's a full-on bedroom sex scene (even if it's played mostly in the dark). What seems especially weird in these modern days of alleged "sexual fluidity" is that no one ever suggests that Todd might be bisexual, which would explain his (supposed) interest in women and his attraction to Kelly, and certainly makes more sense than his being "straight." [For another thing, maybe Kelly just isn't Todd's type.] For a movie that possibly was supposed to smash stereotyping on both sides, it does just the opposite, and virtually every gay character with a speaking role is swishy; even Kelly is a self-described queen and some of his lines suggest a degree of self-hatred. Like The Boys in the Band decades before, it's almost as if Coffee Date is assuring conflicted men in the audience that only campy guys are gay and everyone else is safe. What makes it more confusing is that Todd, without being a raging queen, pretty much comes off as gay from his first appearance. Both of the lead actors are good, although one suspects they may have played gay a bit too much; Sally Kirkland, even if her character is stupid, nearly steals the movie as Todd's mother. Jonathan Silverman is given a thankless role and can do very little with it. Even a silly comedy shouldn't have this many gay cliches. In fact with its narrow view of gay life, gay men, and LGBT realities, Coffee Date almost comes off as homophobic. 

Verdict: Some amusing moments of one man's dilemma, but it goes in all the wrong directions. **.

THE HUMBLING

Greta Gerwig and Al Pacino

THE HUMBLING (2014). Director: Barry Levinson.

Simon Axler (Al Pacino) is an actor who suffers a nervous breakdown, leaves the institution where he was ensconced, and returns home to find himself playing host to the daughter of some family friends. Pegeen (Greta Gerwig) has always had a crush on Simon, or so she says, and the two embark upon an affair, which is not only complicated by the age difference but by Pegeen's decided preference for females. Right off the bat let me say that Pacino gives a terrific performance, Oscar-worthy in fact, but The Humbling, although never tedious, is not a very good picture. Based on a novel by Philip Roth, its attitude towards LGBT characters, including Pegeen and others, is dated at the least and insensitive at the worst. [The notion that she dresses in a more feminine manner as she moves from women to a man is as offensive as it is ludicrous, and her sexuality is never really dealt with in any honest fashion, although it's clear she's upset that her female lover had a sex change.] Gerwig, Charles Grodin (Simon's agent), Dianne Wiest (Pegeen's mother), Dylan Baker (Simon's shrink), Billy Porter (a transgender man who was once Pegeen's female lover), and Kyra Sedgwick (another patient who wants Simon to kill her husband) are all excellent, and there are some good scenes and amusing moments, but this should have been so much more than a "hot lesbian" dirty joke; it never quite gets past that foolish notion [despite the fact it may only be meant to illustrate the insanity of Simon's life]. With a writer, director, and star all over seventy, one might not expect modern-day attitudes, but being old is no excuse for being old-fashioned. As with Scent of a Woman, Pacino sometimes does superlative work in movies that aren't worth his attention, although one can understand why he took this great part. This is another Pacino movie, after Gigli, where a woman who is basically a lesbian sleeps with a man for no good reason except perhaps to titillate some "Old Straight Guys" who love the notion of deflowering or "turning" a lesbian. Well, at least this isn't Cruising!

NOTE: The studio obviously had little faith in the film. It was on DVD within what seemed like two weeks and was streaming on Amazon the same weekend it opened in theaters!

Verdict: Some old men really are old poops -- but Pacino is outstanding. **1/2.

GREAT OLD MOVIES EXTRA -- GAY-THEMED FILMS

Forbidden kiss between two men in The Sergeant

GREAT OLD MOVIES EXTRA: Gay-themed movies.

In honor of the 2013 Gay Pride March in New York this Sunday June 30th, here is a group of gay-themed movies in  review. Gay men and lesbians were generally invisible in movies for decades aside from the occasion "nance" or caricature. Then there was a new wave of liberalism, if that's what you want to call it, in the sixties, and a new cinematic frankness in regard to sexual themes. Unfortunately, the gay community did not benefit from this as much as you might expect, as there were less enlightened, realistic portraits of gay people then there were more caricatures, evil "fags" and nasty "dykes," all manner of homo-villains, and a plethora of suicides among gays who hated themselves even more than society did. Even the supposedly sympathetic The Boys in the Band presented mostly negative, pre-Stonewall [modern day Gay Liberation] attitudes. For better or worse, here are some gay-themed movies that run the gamut [full reviews below or click on a link]: Advise and Consent, where one character's closeted homosexuality is a major plot point; the unrequited love story of The Leather Boys; the lesbian burlesque of The Killing of Sister George; the tortured sturm und drang of The Sergeant; and the more modern sitcom-like Straight-Jacket.

Other gay-themed movies [or films that at least have gay characters or sub-plots] that have been reviewed on this blog include Streamers; Prayers for Bobby; Scream of the Butterfly; Reflections in a Golden Eye; Walk on the Wild Side; The Legend of Lylah Clare; Fellini Satyricon; Something for Everyone; and even The X Files: I Want to Believe; among others.