Liberty Sex

A trilogy of gay/lesbian stories tracing societal attitudes towards homosexuals and the homosexual lifestyle from the 1950's to the present, this is the first "legacy" film for gays.

Superbly written, acted and produced, the three tales revolve around the themes of prejudice and acceptance, with the middle story of a young student's "coming out" as an impetus for his role model teacher's lifestyle disclosure, being the standout episode and should be seen by anyone wrestling with their sexual identity.

Bravo Paramount and Showtime for this outstanding and compassionate film.

Although I have seen many excellent "gay" movies, this movie tops them all. Along with Showtime's TV series "Queer as Folk", this movie accurately portrays the struggles and triumphs in the lives of most homosexuals. Luckily, I was able to purchase a copy on eBay (this movie is not available on DVD or VHS, except to members of the Academy Awards Nomination Committee), and I have shown it to all of my friends and family members. All agree that this movie should almost be mandatory viewing. I highly encourage any and everyone to take the time to watch this film. If you are a homosexual, then this film will make you feel great about who you are and your history. If you are not, then this film will certainly open your eyes as to what it means to be a gay or lesbian man or woman in the world today.

Donna Deitch has done a great job of conveying highly pertinent real life aspects of gay and lesbian recent history and modern life.

With very tight scripts and damned fine acting from all players, it would be hard to go wrong, but Donna makes the whole film cohesive and attractive. I also really enjoy the stereo soundtrack.

I've seen Common Ground several times, enough to be inspired to import the NTSC tape - and the only problem with it is that the left and right channels are reversed (it's worth swapping your cables around temporarily).

Even though I know my emotional buttons are being pushed, I still enjoy every word and aspect of this film. It offers inspiration for younger and older gays and lesbians - and food for thought for our family and friends.

This is high quality, gimmick-free and utterly honest film-making.

COMMON GROUND sports excellent acting and generally very strong writing as it tackles different shadings of the gay experience in a small town setting. Small towns can be most unforgiving about differences, especially differences that are hated and feared, like homosexuality. This was brought across quite well in COMMON GROUND which traces gay/lesbian life in three different time settings: 50s, 70s, and the present day. By far the strongest segments were the first two. The last, written by Harvey Feirstein, was lighter in nature, which isn't a bad thing, but the characters were not as fleshed out as in the prior segments. Overall, though, it is an excellent show and a must see for everyone to get a glimpse of the gay experience in America.

This movie is composed of three short stories, all of them about homosexuality and in the small city of Homer. The first on passes in 1954, when a navy officer (the great actress Brittany Murphy) returns to Homer after quitting Navy. When the locals find out that indeed she was expelled from the Navy because of sexual deviation (i.e., lesbianism), she is discriminated and rejected by them. The second one takes place in 1974, and is about a teacher of French, gay not assumed aiming to be the principal of his school, and his best student, who is not secure of his sexual identity. The last one is in 2000 and is about a gay wedding between two successful men. When I watch a movie, I never read anything about it, because I want to have my own opinion. This film was a great surprise for me: its proposal is to show and discuss the prejudice of the society (who shares the common ground) against homosexuals and it is very well presented. The screenplay, performances and direction are superb, but I really would like to highlight the first short story: Brittany Murphy is really a great actress and has an outstanding performance. My vote is eight.