Cast: Ed Asner, Beau Bridges, Harvey Fierstein, Margot Kidder, James LeGros, Jason Priestley, Mimi Rogers, Helen Shaver, Eric Stoltz, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Steven Weber, Brittany Murphy
A film of three short plays about the emerging gay culture by three of America's great gay and lesbian playwrights; Paula Vogel, Terrence McNally (Love! Valor! Compassion!) and Harvey Fierstein (Torch Song Trilogy).
Donna Deitch's (Desert Hearts) entertaining and informative new film was made to show how straight and gay America have interacted with each other for the past 50 years; how we've changed, and how much further we have to go.The first segment, "A Friend of Dorothy" by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, Paula Vogel, is set in an America, fresh from WWII in the early '50's. Joe McCarthy was railing against Communists in the State Department and the Navy was ridding itself of undesirables, like our heroine, Dorothy (Murphy) and her adorable gay buddy Billy (Priestley). Dorothy wasn't sure if she even was a lesbian, but the gay bar she was in sure seemed like home! After her dishonorable discharge she went to a less friendly home in Homer, Conn. As news of her sexual deviancy spread around town, the only warm face was that of closeted lesbian Mrs. Nelson who gave her some money and sent her down to Greenwich Village.Tony Award-winning playwright Terence McNally's piece "Mr. Roberts" is set in a country rife with an anti-war movement and a people who are beginning to question some of the dominant paradigms, including homophobia. Monsieur Robert (Weber) is a closeted French teacher at Homer High School, and his prize student, Toby (Thomas) is dealing with issues of coming out and being attacked at school for his sexuality. At the risk of ruining his career Roberts decides to help his young student; he comes out in the classroom and we are in a new era.The third play is Tony Award-winning Harvey Fierstein's "Amos and Andy" about two upwardly mobile gay men who decide to get married, much to the chagrin of Andy's dad Ira (Asner). Ira raises a fuss in Homer and all the bigots come out to protest, looking foolish as the groom's dad walks down the aisle with his son anyway. Andy asks "…is this equality?" leaving room to examine what the next steps are in the gay and lesbian civil rights battle.A worthy film filled with education for people who need it, and entertainment for all others.
