Strictly average movie

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

disgusting, overrated, pointless

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

This was a wonderful character study - beautifully filmed, well acted, and nicely put together. Yet for all of that, in the end it lacked the depth - and more importantly, the tension - to pull off the story in a compelling way.The story, or perhaps more accurately, the situation is a group of eight gay men who gather on several occasions throughout the summer at the palatial of home of Gregory Mitchell (Stephen Bogardus) and his blind, and rather cloying, lover, Bobby Brahms (Justin Kirk), who live just outside of New York City. The guests include the hot-tempered, and occasionally politically incorrect, Perry Sellars (Stephen Spinella), and his long suffering lover, Arthur Pape (John Benjamin Hickey), who is occasionally embarrassed by Perry's outbursts; their campy friend Buzz Hauser (Jason Alexander), whose flamboyance hides his fears over his HIV positive status; the lugubrious John Jeckyll (John Glover), a man whose unexplained anger rules his every move; and John's companion for the first weekend Ramon Fornos (Randy Becker), a man who decides that he will have any man he wants regardless of the cost. Ramon's first conquest is Bobby which leads to tensions between Ramon, Bobby, and Gregory later in the summer. To further complicate matters, John's twin, James (again, John Glover), arrives from England midway through the summer. James, who is in somewhat more advanced stages of AIDS than Buzz, is as sweet as John is sour, which means that he fits in much better than his brother, much to John's chagrin. In addition, Buzz falls for James, which further complicates the already complicated dynamics of this group. As the summer progresses, each individual deals with his internal conflicts as well as his conflicts with the others, and at the end of the summer, they will resume their lives in the city.It's more a character study than a story, so it comes to a somewhat inconclusive ending, but along the way you do learn to care about all of the characters. Or at least you're supposed to. I never really cottoned to Ramon, and never developed much sympathy for John. Still, this movie does a good job of portraying this group as men who happen to be gay, rather than gay men. And there is a world of difference.The ensemble acting is excellent. All the performances are uniformly good. Alexander plays Buzz's flamboyance with surprising skill and tenderness. And Glover is masterful in giving the contrast between the two twins he plays. The rest of the cast does a fine job.The cinematography is gorgeous. The house and grounds are appealing, and you can almost feel the warmth of the summer as you watch.It's a very cerebral film, and for those who want more action and more story, it may seem a little dull. But it does present an excellent character study of many aspects of gay life, and as such, it is a rewarding experience.

Gay men have been around for years, in all forms, shapes, and sizes. Except on film. That was sacred ground where no sexual deviates dared rear their nasty head. And if they did, it was as the fall guy, the pervert, the weirdo with a lisp, the psycho-killer who had a thing for dresses. So when the zeitgeist of the 90s decided it was time to give "the gays" stories of their own, no one, it seemed, knew how to approach the material. It was all so risky, like walking on eggshells.It's so evident here as to cry for help. Setting myself aside from the praise pretty much everyone and their mother have given Terrence McNally for coming up with this "un-fabulous" story, I don't buy it. I don't get it. I don't even believe in it -- that's how strongly I feel against this movie that somehow became a hit if a dated hit. It reeks of fabricated fake. I can't identify with a story that whacks me on the top of my head like an angry stick trying to troll for prizes as it tries to let me in on the miles of angst these people spew out. Especially when it revolves on clichés and a predictable setup involving two of the most stereotypical characters ever to grace a story: the Latino sex-bomb and the fey disabled man, so sweet you want to club him.Sure, the times gave it its importance, the people who saw it -- gay men among them -- were more than validated, and everyone was happy. I for one, was not. Not partaking in self-pitying, self-loathing, womanly emotions gone to hell, and the need for excessive, over the top drama, I saw it for what it was -- a dated story closer to the spirit of the 80s, i. e. LONGTIME COMPANION -- and moved on to the next flick. And hoped never to fall for manipulative melodramas such as this hypocritical, soulless, un-recommendable movie.

I recently saw this movie again since it hit DVD. I'd seen it once at the theater and was less than impressed. It seems to have aged well. It was better than I remembered. Most of the cast is excellent, given that they should know these roles pretty well after playing them night after night on Broadway. One of the main problems is the absence of Nathan Lane. The play was written for him specifically. The role of Buzz is the center of the play. While Jason Alexander is a capable actor, he is no Nathan Lane. As it stands, this is a pretty good movie with most of the cast intact, but there is a substantial piece missing from the whole and it shows.

Often it is very tricky to adapt a play, especially one of a rather long length, to the screen and keep the story and characters intact. Though I have not had the pleasure of seeing a theatrical production of this film, I do own the play and have read it numerous times. Although the film did suffer a tiny bit from some things being edited out, characters speaking directly to the audience, further character insight etc., it is still a wonderful film, full of superb acting and characters that you fall in love with.The characters are brought to life with superb accuracy, due to the fact that all the actors, except Nathan Lane, reprise their roles that they held on the stage for about all of two years. And it shows that they have bonded as artists with both each other and their characters.As with almost all films there were performances that personally stood out to me. John Glover shows the audience why he won the Tony Award for his performance. Playing twin brothers, 'John the Foul and James the Fair' showing the defination of range. The other actor that really stood out was the always brilliant Justin Kirk, playing the young, blind Bobby Brahms, showing why he won the OBIE Award for his spectacular performance. The cast also includes Stephen Spinella, two time Tony award winner for Tony Kushner's masterpiece "Angels in America", Jason Alexander, and many other actors that deserve much more recognition and fame than they currently have.This is a beautiful film with precious characters that you will love.