My Romance with Movies: From the 1990s: Love! Valour! Compassion!

1997 Romance Comedy Drama

From First Line Features

Directed by Joe Mantello

Starring

Jason Alexander

Randy Becker

Stephen Bogardus

John Glover

John Benjamin Hickey

Justin Kirk

Stephen Spinella

We know how I love it when a cast of actors all perform together in the same scenes. Add to that a big, beautiful house where they roam from room to room and throughout the lovely grounds engaging in a little drama, a little comedy and a little romance and I practically gurgle with excitement. Make all of the characters gay and I rejoice in a rare opportunity (even today). This enchanting film is what happens when The Big Chill meets Boys in the Band.

Like BITB it was previously a Broadway play and when it was turned into this film, it featured most of the original cast. (Jason Alexander replaced Nathan Lane who couldn't leave his current Broadway show when the movie started production.) Of the four gay-themed movies we're presenting this month, it is the most contemporary. None of the others showcase gay quite as openly or honestly as this one nor do the others have the romantic and nude scenes (including several full-frontal) as seen here.

It is the story of eight gay men, most somehow connected to the New York theater district, who get together on Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day during the same year in upstate New York. Gregory (Stephen Bogardus), a prominent Broadway choreographer, opens up his beautiful home to several friends for long weekends of mirth, mayhem and meandering. His much younger lover, Bobby (Justin Kirk), a blind legal assistant, helps Gregory get ready for the guests.

They include two business associates who have been together for 14 years, the sweet-natured Arthur (John Benjamin Hickey) and the emotionally fraught Perry (Stephen Spinella). Providing most of the comedy relief is Buzz (Alexander), a costume designer and the most flamboyant, who is quite the Broadway enthusiast and lover of gossip about big-time actresses. He is also in the early stages of AIDS.

Also present is John (John Glover), a British Broadway composer and an embittered loner. One occasionally wonders why he joined up for the fun he is so reluctant to have. He brings along Ramon (Randy Becker), more or less a summer lover, a hot, young stud that no one else has seen before. We get to know him well. He will be the cause of much of the drama.

At the second and third outings, one more person joins in, John's twin brother James (also played by Glover) who has a far more advanced case of AIDS. James is as gentle, kind and welcoming as John is hard, temperamental and hurtful. John has a lifetime grievance with his brother that seems to dissipate some during one of the film's most heartfelt scenes.

The two AIDS sufferers find loving solace with one another and watching their relationship blossom always makes me teary-eyed. Arthur tries to direct Perry into experiencing his better self. It seems obvious that Ramon is with John for the financial rewards and likely a place to stay. It is also obvious that Ramon is on the make for Bobby and their scenes together are XXXX. When Bobby confesses to Gregory that he slept with Ramon, Gregory becomes enraged.

L to R, Glover, Bogardus, Alexander, Kirk, Becker, Spinella, Hickey

The sweet Gregory who always believes the best in people is feeling middle age and his career slipping away. Toward that end of the Labor Day gathering he wants to put on a performance of Swan Lake for an AIDS benefit with his houseguests donning their feathered tutus and ballet slippers. The film ends with their practice sessions in the attic and then an all-nude romp in the lake at the end of the property.

At a point in their dancing there is a piece where the camera captures each man individually and a voiceover tells what happens to each one as his life goes on... or doesn't. It always produces a lump in my throat.

These kinds of films, the gathering of friends, whether gay or straight, aren't event films. There's not a particular event happening nor are we necessarily waiting to see one happen. This is a character-driven story (my sentimental favorite) and the power and insight comes from spending time with these characters. I didn't much care what they did... I just wanted to be a part of it. I also don't see this story as being as much about homosexuality as homosexuals.

This is quite an affecting cast. I particularly liked Glover in both his roles. (He won a supporting Tony award.) The good twin-bad twin has been done often but here it is done with such compassion by an actor who knows how to deliver the goods. Kirk is also a standout as the blind Bobby, a sweet man full of complexities. Alexander provides the comedy and is so lovable. I imagine Nathan Lane would have brought a more brittle texture to the character.

I was intrigued by Bogardus's quiet intensity and Hickey's calm reassurance and even Spinella's sometimes femme insecurity. Becker, of course, is the elephant in the room. I've been to enough gay parties where one hot number arrives and causes a stir and knows he does and wouldn't have it any other way. He isn't at the first gathering two minutes before all his clothes are off and as he heads to the water, we see and understand the effect. His performance is sharp as an arrow.

Due to most of the cast coming from the stage version, the characters have a delightful live-in feeling and are richly nuanced. And that is the main reason I find this one of my very favorite gay-themed movie experiences.

Terrence McNally adapted the screenplay from his own Broadway work. No one but a gay writer could have written it this well. His words, the circumstances, the reality of eight gay guys getting together for three long weekends passes the rest of believability. While I love Boys in the Band, I have always realized it was a bit rough for some. Here is the user-friendly version. I do, of course, know of some who didn't like it and I don't particularly understand that. McNally won a Tony for Love! Valour! Compassion! and has the distinction of having it and his Kiss of the Spider Woman and Master Class all playing on Broadway at the same time.

Actor-director Joe Mantello directed the movie and Broadway versions and would later direct the award-winning TV version of The Normal Heart. He also helmed the second Broadway rendering and its recent Netflix adaptation of Boys in the Band and also appeared in Hollywood on Netflix. This film was his first movie directing chore.

The ending with the Swan Lake performance and the nude swim couldn't have been more appealing... as is the entire film.

Here, take a peek: