GAY
FILM REVIEWS BY MICHAEL D. KLEMM
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GAY
FILM REVIEWS BY MICHAEL D. KLEMM
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The Sum Of Us MGM Video, 1994 Director:: Screenplay: Starring: Jack Thompson, Russell Crowe, John Polson, Deborah Kennedy, Joss Moroney, Mitch Matthews, Julie Herbert Rated R, 100 minutes
The
Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert Director/Screenplay: Starring: Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, Bill Hunter, Rebel Penfold-Russell, John Casey Unrated, 104 minutes
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Films
From The Land Down Under
When one thinks about Australian cinema, visions of Mad Max movies with Mel Gibson usually come to mind. But filmmakers from the land down under have also made a few lavender contributions to the annals of world cinema. Back in 1994, for example, two exceptional Aussie films reached the silver screen: The Sum Of Us starring Russell Crowe (yes, that Russell Crowe) and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of The Desert. Both films discarded old and tired cliches to emerge as true originals.
The answer, believe it or not, is "c." The film is The Sum of Us, adapted by David Stevens from his own play, and directed by Kevin Dowling and Geoff Burton. Stevens' stageplay, and the resulting film, are both remarkable for the way in which they jettison the usual stereotypes to present a healthy relationship between a father and his gay son in a manner which is both funny and poignant.
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Harry's openness stems in part from his experience with his own mother. Upon being widowed, his mother found love in the arms of another woman and then lived with "Aunt" Mary for 40 years until both women became too old and sick to look after each other. Haunted all his life by their forced separation, Harry tells the audience that perhaps gayness is hereditary but skipped a generation with him since he loves women. Because he recognizes the extraordinary relationship his mother enjoyed with Mary, he has no trouble accepting the concept of two men in love. The "family values" that he tries to impart to his son are simply this: love is the greatest adventure, follow your heart.
Stylistically, the film breaks down the "fourth wall" by allowing both Harry and Jeff to talk to the audience. This common stage device is often a disruption in movies, but it works beautifully here and adds to the film's charm. (These chats with the audience were what really distinguished the play when I saw it on stage.) Flashbacks are artfully presented in silence and in black & white, allowing for a number of events that were only described onstage to be visualized onscreen. The flashbacks of Grandmother and "Aunt" Mary are touching, and their separation scene is a heartbreaker.
While The Sum of Us presents a dream father-gay son relationship, it also allows that this is not the case in all families. Greg is not out to his parents and doesn't get along with his father. In fact, it is Harry's unexpected approval of his son's lifestyle that initially scares Greg away. Joyce is shocked to discover that Jeff is gay, but she is angrier because Harry never told her. Harry is devastated when she asks if the reason for his silence is shame when the real reason is that he is so comfortable with his sonŐs sexuality that he never thought to bring it up.
Like much foreign cinema, The Sum Of Us avoids Hollywood slickness and the result is a refreshing addition to the growing list of outstanding gay films. It presents a touching story for our enjoyment without getting either maudlin or preachy. Theatregoers who saw Richard Lambert's fine production in The New Phoenix Theatre On The Park a few years ago will be pleased to know that The Sum of Us made the transition to film without any compromises to its integrity. And playing queer didn't seem to hurt Russell Crowe's career, did it? Highly recommended to both fans of Russell Crowe and of queer cinema. |
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On the campier side is The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, directed by Stephen Elliott. This lively and hilarious story, about three drag queens whose dilapidated bus, Priscilla, breaks down in the Australian Outback, examines gender bending issues, culture shocks, homophobia, and how to dress fabulously.
Priscilla begins with Mitzi and Felicia, in full drag, comically lip-synching "I've Been to Paradise but I've Never Been to Me" in a bar while patrons play billiards and throw beer cans at the stage. Looking for a change of scenery, they accept a four week casino engagement in Alice Springs, a town in the middle of nowhere. Mitzi calls an old friend, a pre-op transsexual named Bernadette, who has just suffered the recent death of her lover. He invites the grieving Bernadette to join them on the cross-country bus trek from Sidney to Alice Springs. Anticipating peace and quiet, Bernadette instead has to deal with the ABBA-loving Felicia who wishes to achieve his lifelong dream: to climb Devil's Canyon in a full length sequined gown and a tiara. "Just with this country needs," quips Bernadette, "A cock in a frock on a rock." |
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Priscilla is a great drag comedy whose script offers far more than just outrageous camp. It's also the only film in history to ever be boycotted by an international ABBA fan club. Priscilla can be rented at most chain video stores, but The Sum of Us might be a little harder to find. Both can, however, be rented at Rainbow Pride, (located in Buddies, 31 Johnson Park), and at Mondo Video, 1109 Elmwood Avenue. The three Fassbinder films that were reviewed in the last issue can also be found at Mondo and Querelle is also available at Rainbow.
More On Hugo Weaving:
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Picture
this scenario: Jeff, a young gay man, brings a date home and they begin
to make out in the living room. In walks Jeff's father. Does the father:
Jack
Thompson is Harry Mitchell, a middle-aged widower who lives with his son
Jeff (Russell Crowe). Jeff is a likable slacker-type who plays football
and works as a plumber. He enjoys a wonderful relationship with his father
in which they are best friends. Harry completely accepts his son's homosexuality
to the point where he even tries to help him find a date! Harry is so
accepting that he actually scares away Greg, the date that his son brings
home, when he cheerfully sticks his head into Jeff's bedroom to ask Greg
how he likes his tea in the morning. 
To
parallel Jeff's courtship with Greg, Harry finds love again with a widow
named Joyce who he meets through a computer dating service. All is fine
until homophobia rears its ugly head when she discovers Jeff's lifestyle
and expresses her disgust. 
This
is a captivating and remarkably acted film which treats homosexuality
as an everyday fact of life. The Sum of Us
is very funny because audiences are unaccustomed to seeing a father and
son speak so frankly about gay sexual concerns. Perhaps its only concession
to straight audiences was the addition of a few more scenes involving
Harry and Joyce (she only appears once in the stage version). But this
does not compromise the film, nor does a scene involving Joyce and her
daughter which nicely balances the intimacy between Harry and Jeff. Thankfully,
the filmmakers did not add a scene where Joyce tries to fix up
Jeff with her daughter. 
To
the film's credit there are no gay stereotypes. Even the gay bar
scenes aren't loaded with drag queens in the background. Russell Crowe's
portrayal of a gay man is commendable and convincing. As is typical with
Hollywood soundbites, Crowe's role in The
Sum Of Us is rarely, if ever, mentioned. It is always Romper
Stomper, a film in which he played a neo-Nazi, that is brought up
whenever his Aussie film background is discussed. Crowe underplays Jeff
with just the right amount of passion and depth, foreshadowing his later
tour-de-force performances in LA Confidential and The Insider.
And Jack Thompson is a pure delight as his Dad. 
The
casting of this film is unique to say the least. Former international
sex symbol Terrence Stamp stars as a transsexual named Bernadette (nee
Ralph). Hugo Weaving is the sad Mitzi, and Guy Pierce (who, like Russell
Crowe, would also later play a tough cop in LA Confidential) is
Felicia, a handsome and muscular drag queen who is the most flamboyant
of the trio. 
This
is a film that triumphs by setting up audience expectations and then going
off in totally different directions. For example, after assuming that
Bernadette's lover died of AIDS, the viewer learns that he asphyxiated
on peroxide fumes in a bizarre bathroom accident. During the bus trip,
Bernadette and Felicia discover that Mitzi has a wife waiting for
him at their destination. While stopping over in a small town, the trio
dresses up and performs in a local bar. A very nasty woman pushes through
the speechless crowd to announce, "We don't want your kind here," and
then Bernadette and the woman sit down to a riotous drinking contest that
is lifted right from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Later, when their
bus breaks down in the outback, opposites attract when a very rugged mechanic
takes a shine to Bernadette and brings her flowers. 
But
this isn't just another non-threatening "let's laugh at the drag queens"
movie like the Spielberg-produced clone, To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything,
Julie Newmar. The Hollywood version features three principals who
are always in drag, whereas Priscilla's
characters are often more believably seen wearing street clothes. Wong
Foo's characters are also virtually sex-less, making it such a safe
and innocuous film that you could take your Grandmother to it.
Priscilla, on the other hand, has
more to offer than scenes of macho movie stars in drag and often ventures
into dangerous territories. The exuberant drag scenes alternate with moments
of soul searching and even a few flashes of intense homophobia. At one
point, they find the words "AIDS Fuckers Go Home" painted on their bus.
Things turn even uglier when Felicia, stoned on ecstacy, dresses up and
stupidly flirts with some rough men in a mining town who don't take too
kindly to his ruse. 
It's
true that many of the laughs rise from familiar "stranger in a strange
land" themes, but the film provides more than just bizarre images like
Bernadette stopping to put on lipstick while lost in the desert or Felicia
riding atop a bus wearing a football field-length train which flaps in
the breeze. Priscilla also
offers three fully developed characters with human needs and frailties.
Hugo Wearing and Guy Pierce create characters who are flamboyant but also
human beneath the glitter. Terrence Stamp's portrayal of Bernadette is
a masterpiece of subtlety, underplaying it rather than coming across as
a shrill Bette Davis having a bad hair day.