mike@whuxl.UUCP (BALDWIN) (11/12/85)
Review time, I suppose:
I thought it was reasonably well done; for a prime-time TV movie it was
quite impressive. The characters were believable and not overdone (well,
Michael & Peter's $1,000,000 apartment was a bit much), and Victor's lines
were hilarious!
At first the ending threw me (hey? huh? what happens?) but now that I
think about it, it seems appropriate. Not as depressing as it could
be (a real downer), but not as rosy either (everything just fine). A
strange mixture of hope and sadness.
The segment with Tom Brokaw had the facts, but seemed particularly
brutal; maybe I was just tired. One thing I'd like to know: what's
the status of AIDS in Africa? I.e., how many cases, what groups?
Anyway, it was good to see a realistic portrayal of gay people (my god,
they actually said they *loved* each other!!) and their families on TV.
Too bad it had to be about this.
"Rose tint my world to keep me Michael Baldwin
from this trouble and pain." {at&t}!whuxl!mikelevasseur@morgan.DEC (Ray EMD & S Admin 223-5027) (11/12/85)
Well last night I queued up the VCR to tape "An Early Frost" with the
remote control so I could view it again sans commercials. I personally
thought that the movie handled the subject pretty well, complete with
some pretty intense emotions. I know that some will think that the movie
was condescending but I feel that it captured a pretty real picture of
what the victims and their loved ones go through. I'm glad that they
didn't kill of Michael in the film. The ending left me feeling that he
had resolved himself with his parents and that his s.o. would stand by him.
The producers seemed to have done their homework on this one. It wasn't a
very happy story and left me a little unsettled afterwards, but a well made
movie just the same.
The Life and Times of Harvey Milk will be airing in Boston this Wed-
nesday on PBS Channel 2 at 9pm. for those of you wh might not be aware.
Raysdyer@bbncc5.UUCP (Steve Dyer) (11/12/85)
Surprisingly good, within the genre of "relevant-made-for-TV-movie." This
meant, of course, that we had to suffer through a group therapy session for
people with AIDS in which each individual represented one of the canonical
risk groups, and frequent wooden dialogues that served no purpose except to
inform the masses about certain facts about the disease. As agitprop it
was surely effective, although it weakened one's emotional involvement in
the melodrama.
On the other hand, I thought the uncompromisingly positive portrayal of the
relationship between the lawyer and his lover, and the eventual integration
of this relationship into the lawyer's extended family was quite bold for
television, a medium usually given to bland equivocation and "balanced
treatment." Also, it skirted many opportunities for bathos; for instance,
the film ends with the lawyer's return to his home, work and lover, after
spending time recuperating at his parents' home. No "Steven and Luke"
death scenes, nor any false hopes. Very intelligent and restrained for TV.
Any other comments?
--
/Steve Dyer
{harvard,seismo}!bbnccv!bbncc5!sdyer
sdyer@bbncc5.ARPAkeith@whuxl.UUCP (TITUS) (11/13/85)
> I thought it was reasonably well done; for a prime-time TV movie it was > quite impressive. The characters were believable and not overdone (well, > Michael & Peter's $1,000,000 apartment was a bit much), and Victor's lines > were hilarious! AGREED! While I think the characters in this and many of these movies are entirely plausible, the settings that they take place in (million dollar condos, doctors, lawyers etc... are in general unrealistic. Where are all the real people?? If the set were in NJ, (my home state) 3/4 of them would be hairdressers, airline attendents, or retail salesmen! Not bad professions but a little bit more normal in Jerseyana. > The segment with Tom Brokaw had the facts, but seemed particularly > brutal; maybe I was just tired. One thing I'd like to know: what's > the status of AIDS in Africa? I.e., how many cases, what groups? I must give job well done to NBC for at least trying to inform rather than scare the general public who waited up to see this segment after the 11:00 news. However for better and more complete information I would suggest getting the NY NATIVE or the ADVOCATE. I think the politics of AIDS prohibits the general press from really getting all the pertinent information out to the public. > Anyway, it was good to see a realistic portrayal of gay people (my god, > they actually said they *loved* each other!!) and their families on TV. > Too bad it had to be about this. > QUESTION ?????? Does anyone know if either of the actors portraying the central gay characters are in fact GAY themselves?? I ask this only in reference to the film industry ruling of years ago that said that blacks should play blacks, indians should play indians, etc... It would be interesting to find out in the light of the fact that there are many well known good gay actors in Hollywood. Keith Titus Bell Laboratories, Whippany NJ . *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***
sdyer@bbncc5.UUCP (Steve Dyer) (11/13/85)
The most recent issue of the Advocate has an interview with the movie's
scriptwriters, and it is fascinating to hear them relate some of the
stupidities they had to endure to get the script approved. One example:
Grandmother to lawyer-grandson: "I liked your friend."
was scrapped, because this was an "affirmation of the 'gay lifestyle'."
They replaced it with:
"Why don't you have your friend come over my house. He can fix my radio--
it hasn't worked since Jack Benny was on the air."
--
/Steve Dyer
{harvard,seismo}!bbnccv!bbncc5!sdyer
sdyer@bbncc5.ARPArob@ptsfb.UUCP (Rob Bernardo) (11/14/85)
In article <801@whuxl.UUCP> mike@whuxl.UUCP (BALDWIN) writes: >Review time, I suppose: > >I thought it was reasonably well done; for a prime-time TV movie it was >quite impressive. The characters were believable and not overdone (well, >Michael & Peter's $1,000,000 apartment was a bit much), and Victor's lines >were hilarious! One of them was a lawyer; the apartment fit.
manis@ubc-cs.UUCP (Vince Manis) (11/15/85)
I think NBC ought to be congratulated on ''An Early Frost'': not only was it intelligent and very sensitive (it even had the courage to suggest that some gays *are* ''stereotypical'', and that that isn't so bad). I was also delighted to see that it was not in fact a ''look at how The Gay Issue breaks up an well-to-do family'' movie (i.e., not a rehash of Consenting Adult). I was very moved by Ben Gazzara's performance, in particular. The framing shots of the tree, with the leaves blazing gold and then falling from the tree, were particularly worthy of comment. In Canada, it was broadcast by the CTV network; there were lots of ads, including at least one from Apple Canada. I was delighted that a film on such a ''controversial'' issue could be so widely supported. The TV reviewer in our local newspaper (The Vancouver Sun) should be given equal time, however. He called ''An Early Frost'' pornography of the morbid, and explained how TV AIDS sufferers even have to deal with repressed fathers even if they don't have limp wrists. Plus ca change...
kbb@faron.UUCP (Kenneth B. Bass) (11/18/85)
In article <805@whuxl.UUCP> keith@whuxl.UUCP (TITUS) writes: >> I thought it was reasonably well done; for a prime-time TV movie it was >> quite impressive. The characters were believable and not overdone (well, >> Michael & Peter's $1,000,000 apartment was a bit much), and Victor's lines >> were hilarious! > > AGREED! While I think the characters in this and many of these > movies are entirely plausible, the settings that they take place in > (million dollar condos, doctors, lawyers etc... are in general > unrealistic. Where are all the real people?? If the set were in > NJ, (my home state) 3/4 of them would be hairdressers, airline > attendents, or retail salesmen! Not bad professions but a little > bit more normal in Jerseyana. > > >Keith Titus >Bell Laboratories, Whippany NJ > One of the goals of this show was to show that AIDS *isn't* a hairdresser's disease. Even yuppies can get it. Just a passing thought. "It ain't necessarily so" ken bass linus!faron!kbb