Riff-3

Was there a contest to come up with the film that could pack in the most cheesy third rate film school moments? That is the only reason I can imagine for this film to have ever been made. The overall concept behind this "story" (if one could be so generous) seems promising - the climax of the war, secret codes, mysterious characters. But the execution is so self-conscious you don't believe a moment of it. Weird isn't always interesting.

Are you tired of seeing films with pretty gay boys wandering through a Freshmen magazine glossy world who are constantly given the opportunity to take off their shirts? Well, I am and therefore this film was a disappointment. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious eye-candy but the boy-meets-boy boy-gets-boy boy-loses-boy storyline is tired and the characters are flat and dull. Will some film maker (other than the brilliant John Greyson) realize that the gay film-going audience wants more, needs more, and deserves more?

This play had significant personal meaning for me in the early 80s and I only recently found a copy of this film adaptation. Like many stage comedies, the translation to film falls flat in most scenes partly due to the absence of theatrical elements (including the audience) but the biggest problem with this version is the casting. With ethnicity at the core of much of the humor, it was less than convincing to have Rita Moreno as an Italian widow, Madeline Kahn as an Irish floozy, and other characters trying to "play" an ethnicity that was not natural for them. But I really liked the ending on this filmed version, and the scene between Francis and his father at the end was very real and touching making this a nice "coming out" film for the whole family.