The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me

I did not have the opportunity to see the play and had only heard David Drake do a small portion of his work at a book reading 8 or so years ago. I had always wanted to see the play performed and was very happy to see it released on film. I was not disappointed. Mr. Drakes writing and performance are excellent. The style of the work evokes those nights of staying awake by thoughts that you cannot control. The play is the continuous reliving of your day and the past that jump through your mind. I was totally involved in the film from start to finish.

I felt like I was getting preached at, and -- already knowing the sermon -- felt I'd heard it delivered better from other sources. They tell me the live performance was better, but I doubt I'd have liked that, either. Still, if you were playing this to a young gay man who'd never heard anyone give a call to arms for the war on AIDs and for gay rights, this would be an acceptable 1st movie. For anyone else, it isn't worth your time. Older gay men and women know this stuff from more entertaining and other superior sources. Non-gays have heard it from more sugar coated sources that allow them to separate Equal Rights from the reality of the gay bar scene, Golden Showers references and/or other behaviors that might turn them off.

Mr. Drake explained that in the 8 years between the play's debut and it's capture on celluloid, he changed a few things (such as the details of clubbing), but the major points remained the same. I do agree that the points are still relevant. I don't think this is an entertaining way to bring them up.

I saw this when David did it on stage in NYC. It was great to see the film and realize how relevant it still is. The work has aged very well. It's a very moving snapshot of an era of AIDS activism that not enough people remember.

It ends with a vision for the future, which is really important to prevent the film from being only a memorial of those who have died of AIDS.

David is not merely a great writer - he's a brilliant performer, and it's wonderful to see how well he comes across on film.

I really wish I could reccomend this film, as I was a big fan of the play in live performance. But sadly, director Tim Kirkman was unable to find the cinematic equivalent of the intimacy of this one-man show. I was all too aware of his jerking camera work throughout the film; it was almost as if he was someone's kid brother trying to call attention to himself...When directing a piece that is focused on an individual; it isn't a good idea to attempt to bring in some flashy camera work. This is unfair to the audience and the actor/author. I wish some one had just done a straightforward documentation on video...Unfortunately; this may be all future generations have as a record of a trailblazing one-man show.

David is a gifted writer and an extraordinarily talented actor, and the only reason this film didn't have quite the 'kick in the chest' impact of the original play is that we've all somehow accepted the losses which were so widespread and personally, currently painfully in the early 90's. By bringing back into focus that pain and those times, this work of art has morphed from a 'kick in the chest' to a 'kick in the ass,' as we still have work to do, but it has once again done so in a way that converts pain to pride, and loss to courage to move forward.