Happy Birthday Oscar Wilde

This film is a 'must see' for anyone literate and gay, lesbian, transgendered, bisexual, polysexual, black, white, brown, yellow, or otherwise feeling the least bit like the world needs to be a gentler, better place. If you love Oscar Wilde's work (and who doesn't), you will be moved, as well as entertained, by the orchestration of this tribute by famous, beautiful and articulate actors, musicians, producers, directors, writers, singers, dancers, painters, politicians. Bill Hughes, who shares Oscar Wilde's birthday, October 16, set out to honor the great man on his 150th birthday. By joining hands with public television in Britain, Ireland, Ausralia and the United States, and Amnesty International (thanks to Bono of U2), Bill Hughes and co-produce Bernadine Carraher were able to shoot international and diverse talent in four locations. It is one of the best and most stimulating ensemble pieces of its kind, in my opinion.

I LOVE ANYTHING "WILDE" but this is the worst representation of the famed Victorian literary master that I have ever seen! All it is a bunch of famous(?) people quoting the ascerbic and witty Oscar. It really tells nothing about the man. And the choice of people to appear is all over the place. What does Rosie Perez have to do with anything!? She did manage to lose that usually overdone "NuYoRican" accent long enough to give the great man his due; maybe director Bill Hughes managed to convince her that the viewer would not be able to appreciate Wilde's barbed quotations if they were unable to understand the speaker? In the immortal words of the "Men On" duo of television's "In Living Color", the equally witty Blaine Edwards and Antoine Merriweather, "HATED IT!"

About 150 actors and friends of the director, most of whom I had never heard of, were plopped in front of a camera and told to do something. Many said something roughly like this "Happy 150th Oscar baby. I hope you enjoy many more. I wish I had met you and we could have got drunk." I gather these people had no idea who Oscar Wilde was. Many quoted or requoted something Oscar Wilde said. These performances were in general overly hammy, full of extended pauses and strange gestures, in the style of William Shatner. Many blew kisses. Some performances were outright revolting/disgusting especially that woman from SNL with the rubbery lips. There was quite a bit of crude camp which is gay, but not really Oscar. However, there was one performance right near the end by a young Neanderthal of a fellow that was spellbinding.

It is a very international cast. Some of the accents are music to the ears.

There is very little background about who Oscar Wilde was or the trouble he got into. They presume you know who he was. The main appeal of the movie is contrasting accepting modern attitudes to those of his mocking contemporaries. We have come a long way. Oscar was born too soon.