A Different Story

In order to stop her homosexual friend Albert (Perry King) from being deported back to Belgium, Stella (Meg Foster) decides to marry him. The only other problem with that is that Stella herself is a lesbian. The two have their separate lives when one night after Albert's birthday party, they fall into bed and then into love. Later in the film after falling in love, Stella suspects Albert of cheating and shows up at his job one night late after closing. What she finds will leave the viewer stunned. This is a great film, very original. Perry King and Meg Foster are so good in their roles that it is amazing that they were not better recognized for their work here. Very controversial upon its release in 1978, the "R" rated film is now "PG" in this much more liberal time.

Recently released on DVD, the disc contains a "Making Of" segment on the special features and in it it's stated that the film was based on an actual story so the viewers who say the film is not "real" are mistaken. Everyone is an individual and different people fall in love for different reasons-these are the issues explored in this wonderful film for everyone who has ever loved!

This movie is as unique as it is overlooked......A Different Story is just that, it shows how out of the need to survive or maintain, one can find the capacity to love if you have an open heart as well as an open mind. I first saw this on cable in the late 70's and it truly depicted the limitations of the gay community at the time. I believe this movie was ahead of its time in depicting a little slice of an obscure way of life. It is truly a classic in the sense that it was a precursor to what is now depicted as the extended family. This film should be available on DVD/VHS so that not only the extra ordinary performances of Meg Foster & Perry King can be acknowledged, but to show how far we have come & still have to go where relationships are concerned.

Filmmaker Paul Aaron ("A Force of One", "Deadly Force") began his career with this odd spin on the romantic formula. Written by Henry Olek, the premise has a gay female real estate agent, Stella (Meg Foster), and a gay male designer, Albert (Perry King), living as housemates. He turns out to be an illegal alien, and she gets the bright idea to marry him so he won't be faced with deportation. One night, after some drunken birthday celebrations, they end up in bed together and thereafter develop romantic feelings for each other.

This certainly had the potential to be a total misfire, and could still easily be seen as problematic to a number of viewers. But it actually works fairly well, at least in its first half, before succumbing to corniness and predictability in its second half. Some audience members could probably do without the character of Stellas' previous lover Phyllis (Valerie Curtin, '9 to 5'), who's clearly unbalanced. But the characters of Stella and Albert are treated as healthy, happy, balanced individuals. This admittedly wouldn't be as successful if King and especially Foster weren't so good in their respective roles. You really do like these two, despite everything.

Available now on Blu-ray in its original R-rated form (with some brief profanity and nudity), this was unsurprisingly quite controversial 43 years ago. Even today, it's not going to be to all (or very many) tastes. But curious movie watchers may still want to give this a look, if only for the performances (including Peter Donat ("The China Syndrome"), as a prominent orchestra conductor who was Alberts' previous romantic partner).

Seven out of 10.

This film was seen by my wife and I when it came out in 1978. It was a revelation to us. We actually thought that we were the only gay and lesbian couple who had ever married and had children. Obviously we were wrong. Love may come from where you don't expect it and maybe don't want it. But we both chose that love anyway.

And no, it never changed our sexual orientation. That kind of stuff is for the Christian wackos.

When we were young we both had affairs, but never with the opposite sex. As we aged we stopped having extramarital affairs.

This story is not far fetched. However, the suggestion that they became heterosexuals seems pretty unrealistic to me. My wife and I have been sleeping together for the last 40 years. We are still gay. End of story.

A time capsule of a certain L. A. circa '77/'78 in which Meg Foster and Perry King are believable in their roles. The script and the film's direction are what make it hard to swallow.