bneyman

This is exactly what Rod Serling would have written if he had been a comedy writer.

Billie Golden (played by Isabel Rose, in a part she wrote herself) is an extremely small-time cabaret performer in a seedy neighborhood of Queens (or is it Brooklyn?). She sings pretty well, and loves the great cabaret standards, but her musical career is going nowhere, and when she loses the one real performing job she's ever had it precipitates a crises in her life.

Billie lives in a world of Technicolor musical numbers, which occur at frequent intervals throughout this extremely entertaining romantic comedy. She meets a handsome corporate lawyer and falls in love with him, then gets an unexpected chance to perform again at her old stand. Many complications ensue, some of which are quite predictable, but all of which are written and enacted in a very charming way.

Andrew McCarthy as the third corner of the love triangle is very appealing here, in a scruffy sort of way. Isabel Rose is terrific, and the remaining cast members turn in quirky and convincing performances. Of particular note are the cinematography, set decoration, and costumes, which manage to achieve the look of vintage Technicolor on what must have been a very small budget.

This film has been released for cable under the title "Anything but Love," from the song that is a key part of the musical score. Whatever the title, "Standard Time" is well worth watching.

From the startling beginning to the somewhat ambiguous ending, this is an extremely watchable bit of cinema. The characters are diverse and interesting, and the acting throughout is excellent. The director uses the camera skillfully and the music underscores the action perfectly. I happened across this gem at 2 a.m. and couldn't turn it off, despite the fact that I have an aversion to subtitles. Actually, one thing that helped is that the titles were always legible, unlike those of some other films I've tried to enjoy on the small screen. This film is a depiction of a certain segment of gay Italian life as seen through the eyes of an outsider -- the widow of the central gay character's dead lover. The ex-lover and the widow, who also happens to be an AIDS doctor, form a complex relationship that's fascinating to watch. There are many other characters in the story, some of whom appear only fleetingly, but all of whom are artfully portrayed. I'll definitely watch His Secret Life again when I have the chance.