Liebe! Stärke! Mitgefühl!

I had the good fortune to see the play in New York, with it's almost original cast; many of the actors who appear in the film were still in the roles on stage when I saw it. This leads to the film's only (in my opinion) flaw...it's not the play. The theatre creates an intimacy that is perfect for the issues and performances in this piece. However, we allow ourselves a detachment when seeing it as a film that really doesn't mix with the story. Here's the thing for those who have a problem with either the overt homosexual themes, or the stereotypical characters...imagine if half the cast were women and the other half were heterosexual men...would you feel different about the piece if Arthur and Perry were a hetero couple? If Ramon was a female dancer instead of a male? The thing is, the piece is not primarily about the fact that the men are gay, or about how gay they are. It's a love story, a story of friendship, and a story of loss. The fact that all of them are homosexual is simply a backdrop to everything else going on. Excellent performances by John Glover, Jason Alexander and Steven Bogardus. I see what everyone is saying about not being able to get Seinfeld out of their heads, but I didn't have that problem. The rest of the cast is only adequate, but no one lets the ensemble down.

There is a trend of making filmed versions of stage performances available to the public...this would be the perfect piece with which to do that. The movie is good, and I very much enjoyed it...it just doesn't have the vibrancy and immediacy of seeing these characters live.

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.

I would die to see the play. I didn't want to see it at first because I'm not a fan of Jason Alexander but I must admit he did surprise me, who knew he could act (although he was trying a little hard to BE Nathan Lane). I cried through most or it and I'm not much of a crier so BE WARNED! IT IS A CHICK FLICK! but a damned good one.

LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION!

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Dolby Digital

This perceptive drama - written by Terrence McNally, adapted from his award-winning Broadway play - starts out as a warm-hearted examination of the lives and loves of eight middle-class gay men during three eventful weekends at the isolated country home of ageing dancer Stephen Bogardus and his blind, youthful boyfriend Justin Kirk (ANGELS IN America). As it progresses, however, McNally's snappy screenplay begins to expose the faults in his principal characters, as well as their virtues, leading inevitably to fireworks and revelations. Set in a beautiful lakeside house somewhere in upstate New York (filmed in Quebec, though you wouldn't know it), director Joe Mantello - also responsible for the original Broadway production - and cinematographer Alik Sakharov take full advantage of the area's natural beauty, moulding a defiantly cinematic template from the material's inherent staginess.

All but one of the fine ensemble cast was culled from the stage version, including Stephen Spinella and John Benjamin Hickey as a staid yuppie couple, and Randy Becker (LIE DOWN WITH DOGS) as the handsome young stud whose overt sex appeal creates emotional tension in a household dominated by middle-aged men. However, the film is virtually stolen by "Seinfeld"s Jason Alexander (in a role essayed by Nathan Lane on-stage) as the archetypal Broadway-loving queen who lives in fear of his HIV status and masks his anxiety with outrageous humor, and John Glover in dual roles as English twins, one of them noble and humane (and dying of an AIDS-related illness), the other a mean-tempered bitch of the highest order. McNally's script finds something deeper than mere stereotype in these disparate characters, and he examines the many ways in which they love each other, despite their differences. The full-frontal nudity which characterized the original stageplay (causing a minor stir at the time) has been toned down for the film, but not completely erased, and Becker in particular seems entirely at ease during his frequent nude scenes.

Eight gay men spend Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day in a remote house near NYC. Film follows their friendships and relationships. Previous posters have complained about the lack of character development but remember...the original play ran 3 1/2 hours! They had to cut out over an hour's worth of material to get a two hour film and the cutting does hurt. Still I like the film. The entire cast is good...even Jason Alexander. The setting is beautiful and the script is very good...but I saw the play so I was constantly remembering things they cut out. Ramon's (Randy Becker) part especially was chopped down. Still, the film shows a bunch of gay men dealing with AIDS, sex, love etc truthfully and with great humor. The best performances come from Alexander, Justin Kirk, John Glover and Randy Becker. Also the film has plenty of casual male nudity (especially Becker who is handsome and has a very nice body). Worth seeing...especially if you never saw the play.