Two of Us

The tale is about two school boys who discover a love for one another, and run away to the seaside. It was made by the BBC, and was the first of it's kind. It caused a lot of political controversy. There are actually two different versions of this tale. The one that was released has one of the boys going back to his girlfriend. However in the original he leaves his girlfriend and goes back to his friend (the gay happy ending).

The film is beautifully written and acted, and will be enjoyed by both a gay and straight audience.

I saw this at the Gay Film Festival and at the time found it an excellent film to watch. It caused quite a fuss back then in the UK and was cut to shreds and had the ending changed for UK TV. It's purpose if I recall was to help young gays.

Australian TV has also shown this a few times but I don't believe it was the original uncut or modified ending version.

22 years later I've managed to buy on Ebay, the original uncut version that was released on VHS.

Keep in mind it's purpose and when it was filmed and shown, and you should enjoy it. Hard to believe nowadays that it caused such controversy which caused it to be cut and its ending changed to be allowed to shown on TV.

The good: Very attractive and appealing actors (the two men - the two women are dispensable); extraordinarily positive story, in which the two men (especially Phil, but he practically drags Matthew along with him) don't even question their freedom to be themselves, even though everybody around them is hostile. They don't like the way their friends and families are acting, so they just leave. None of the tiresome old angst of trying to get their families to accept them, thank God.

I've seen practically every gay movie that's ever been made, and I can't think of any other that gives its lead characters such joyous and yet deeply grounded freedom. It's a rare and astonishing gift, even more remarkable in the first TV movie ever made in English about gay teens. It's far better than the much more popular (and later) Beautiful Thing, because it's not a fairy tale. Phil is a marvelous and amazing and yet profoundly believable character.

The bad: The movie's pace is atrocious, with long dead periods and jarring transitions, so that it seems much longer (not in a good way) than its 58 minutes. The director evidently just didn't have any idea what he was doing. So although the movie isn't great, the story is, because Phil is, and Lee Whitlock makes him very real. It's well worth buying the DVD just to see him.

It is important to view this benchmark TV film in the context of the time it was made. Positive and non stereotypical representations of gay characters was extremely rare on British TV up to this point and to have a programme of this nature made for the Schools/Education market had been unheard of.

Whilst by today's standards - post Queer as Folk - this may appear tame it was groundbreaking when first shown. To get an understanding of this, the version broadcast in 1988 is different to the version made available on VHS with cuts to some scenes where the two protagonists kiss and the ending changed to have one of them return to his girlfriend (thankfully the VHS is the restored version). In 1988, I clearly remember the tabloid press going into frenzy with calls from MPs to have it banned. It was later shown at night to allow teachers the opportunity to assess its suitability within the classroom.

I would urge the importance of this film but bear in mind the time it was made and the social climate we lived in then - and you should get a lot out of it.

I, for one, would buy this if made available on DVD. Hope this helps.

Twenty years ago I fell in love with this little gem, its message, and its two extraordinary leads. I have treasured my VHS copy of this heart-rending and -warming sixty-minute film. I am delighted it is now on DVD and may reach the wider audience it deserves.

Phil (Lee Whitlock) is an ebullient high school lad who loves two people: his best mate Matthew (stunning Jason Rush), and his banal, mean-spirited girlfriend. She wants him to choose between the two. Considering Matthew's meltingly blue eyes, that seems too easy. In any case, Phil has no problem with his bisexuality and considers himself twice blessed. But not everyone shares his joy: the boys are taunted, intimidated, threatened, and attacked by classmates and family, receive no help from school authorities, and are hassled by police. Matthew and Phil run off on a "honeymoon" to find a place where they can be themselves. Cue up 'Somewhere' from West Side Story. They end up at a seaside resort, where Phil's girlfriend shows up and pressures him to return home with her -- and leave Matthew. The boys find that the most important thing is, no matter who is against them, they have each other.

One cannot help but fall in love with Phil and Matthew as they fall in love with each other. Their beauty, innocence, and struggle for freedom will melt your heart and may even restore your faith in our future.

It's hard to imagine how such a sweet story could offend anyone but, after much controversy in England, it ended up being shown at midnight though it was made for an after-school audience. The BBC, apparently, was reluctance to present a positive picture of loving young gays, or to educate teenage viewers.

Such reaction reminded us that we have not come so very far since 1905 when E.M. Forster stated privately that he could not publish his gay novel "Maurice" because it had a happy ending.