gaf@cmu-cs-h.ARPA (Gary Feldman) (01/30/85)
I had the good fortune to see a sneak preview of "Consenting Adult" tonight. The movie is scheduled to be shown on Monday, 4 Feb, on ABC. Marlo Thomas and Martin Sheen star as the parents struggling to come to terms with the homosexuality of their son, played by Barry Tubb. The movie is based upon the book of the same name by Laura Hobson, which in turn was based upon her personal experiences. Like the book, the movie is really directed more towards parents (and friends and relatives) of gays, rather than towards gays themselves. For the most part, the reactions of the parents are realistic, though sometimes overacted. A few times, however, the dialogue has been contrived to conform to stereotypes, particularly with respect to the guilt felt by the mother. Overall, the sensitivity and emotions are the important parts of the movie. (A couple of the bar owners at the screening even cried--and you thought they only cried when profits decline.) There are, of course, some flaws. We don't see much of how the son makes the transition from fighting himself to accepting and wanting to be gay; we just see the results. The movie has been recast into the eighties, from the original sixties of the book, and there are some anachronisms. In particular, the word "gay" isn't used until late in the movie. We only see the psychiatrist once, whereas in the book, the first psychiatrist, by his obstinacy, played an important part in making the mother look elsewhere to find understanding. And finally, the mother never becomes quite as supported as she does in the book (although there is a clear time constraint). On a more political note, the movie shares the same squeaky clean, lily white image for which "Making Love" was criticized. The son's boyfriend is yet another gorgeous blond pre-med. There is some affection shown between them, but I really think that prime time is ready to at least show two men hugging. On the other hand, I'm not sure that a movie like this doesn't have to be clean, white, and middle class, in order for it to make progressive changes in the attitude of the audience. (I admit it; movies like this are PR, and PR is usually a con game.) Aside from the acting and script, the movie is technically weak. The score was bland at best, and the lighting at times caused bizarre highlights in the eyes and hair of the actors. On the positive side, the casting directory clearly has good taste in men. (Sorry, I couldn't resist getting that in. And yes, it would still be a fine movie if the people all looked like average people, instead of models. I hope we all know by now that Hollywood has totally unrealistic ideas about what people should and do look like. Or perhaps Hollywood has no confidence in its ability to drama without sexploitation; if so, they're usually right, but not in this case.) In summary (and taking into account my low expectations of TV), I consider this a fine movie, and urge people, especially straight people, to watch it. Furthermore, while it may not seem directly important to gays, please consider the effects it will have on others. Gary