Um Dia Desses

With ample opportunity to turn heavy-handed and sappy, Any Day Now is surprisingly authentic without jerking tears about a 15 year old Down-Syndrome boy being saved from institutions by a male couple. The film does not turn on sentiment but rather on the weakness of the 1979 judicial system that might deny custody just because the parents are gay.

Rudy (Allan Cumming) is a drag queen, who wants to care for neighbor boy, Marco (Isaac Leyva), abandoned by druggie mom. Paul (Garret Dillahunt), an assistant district attorney, comes out to Rudy and falls in love with him. Both men love Marco, yet they struggle to convince the court that because a couple is gay, it should not be denied custody.

It is the '70's after all, and being gay and a drag queen can be a real drag for the authorities. To the film's credit, even the tough-minded judges can have moments of sympathy. Minor players like the prosecuting attorney go beyond stereotype, and the ending goes against expectations, a real plus for a film that could have followed the play book for tears and happiness.

An audience favorite at Tribeca and Chicago film fests and winner of the Golden Space Needle award at Seattle, Any Day Now, inspired by a true event, delivers an honest conflict with an honest conclusion. I'll take that any day now

I've never been a fan of Alan Cumming, but this film has turned me around. He gives a great performance in this, and it's confounding to me why this never got a broader release. Yes, there are some flaws in the way the 70's are portrayed, and some of the characterizations are a little trite; but I thought overall the film was poignant and made its statement very effectively. Like other reviewers have mentioned, the ending was not at all what I thought it would be and took me by surprise. What stays with me after seeing the film are the brief clips of Cummings singing, in particular, "Love Don't Live Here Anymore," in which he almost sounded like someone wounded. I will be buying this DVD, as I really feel like the film wasn't given much of a chance at the box office to gain the wider audience it deserved.

Travis Fine's remarkable film "Any Day Now" deals with the very thorny issue of gay parenting or more specifically, gay adoption. Alan Cumming, (superb), is the drag artist who feels responsible for the mentally handicapped child next door, (a terrific Issac Leyva), after his mother is picked up by the vice squad and who decides to do something about it by legally adopting the child himself with the help of his new lover who just happens to be a lawyer, (a very good Garret Dillahunt). It's the kind of topic the movies tends to shy away from and it has all the potential for mawkishness but Fine manages to steer clear of sentimentality; the result is both intelligent and very moving, yet not without a degree of humour. Of course, it also deals with issues that many will find grim and distressing and it proves to be a challenging watch. This is one gay-themed film that lays it very much on the line and is all the more powerful for it. In an age when so many polemical films are cut and dried and conventionally on the side of the angels here is one that is content to bleed like an open wound. You won't forget it in a hurry.

This film is about a gay couple who fights the legal system to get custody of a mentally handicapped child in the USA in 1970's.

"Any Day Now" tells a touching story about how two gay men fall in love with each other, and their love extends to a mentally retarded child who is left alone because his mother is sentenced to prison for drug related offence. The film couple becomes loving and caring parents to an underprivileged child, despite the discrimination of the conservative society. This selfless and unconditional love is quite touching in itself, but what is more touching is their solid determination to fight against systematic discrimination and injustice.

I am glad that this film is made, so that this story, together with their activist spirit, reaches a wider audience. Hopefully, someone somewhere is inspired by this couple, and will stand up against injustice like they did.

Opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one. That being said, I loved this movie. Yes, due to the constraints of a 2 hour movie, the leads fall into a serious relationship quite quickly. And maybe two guys in West Hollywood circa 1979 may not have fallen in love exactly like this, but darn it, does every gay film have to depict us all as un feeling sexual beings only. What a great message for future generations, and a timely one with gay marriage at the supreme level, that some gay men actually do want love and a family. My biggest compliment to the film was that by the end I was to enraged to cry. With only 16 theaters in the country showing this, and a mere 40k weekend, I feel so fortunate to have seen it in the theater. Ignore his 4 out of 10 rating and seek this little gem out.