Mart Crowley's 1968 play "The Boys in the Band" focuses on a group of gay friends getting together in a New York apartment. It addressed the internalized homophobia of the preceding decades. Therefore, one might think of Terrence McNally's "Love! Valour! Compassion" as a follow-up. This one depicts eight gay men getting together at a country estate. The year is not identified, but AIDS gets mentioned, so it's probably mid-'80s at the earliest.
Joe Mantello's* big-screen adaptation of the play is a fine piece of work. I should admit that I've never seen a stage production, but it's clear that a lot of passion went into this movie. The characters muse on the issues affecting their lives, as well as the popular culture from which they've taken inspiration (with one man positing that the US produced as many gays in 250 years as England did in 2,000).
All in all, the movie has its flaws, but the assets outweigh those. I recommend it.
So is Glenda Jackson really the British version of machismo?
*Joe Mantello more recently directed a Netflix adaptation of "The Boys in the Band" starring Jim Parsons and Zachary Quinto. He also appeared on the Netflix miniseries "Hollywood" as a 1940s executive.
Joe Mantello's* big-screen adaptation of the play is a fine piece of work. I should admit that I've never seen a stage production, but it's clear that a lot of passion went into this movie. The characters muse on the issues affecting their lives, as well as the popular culture from which they've taken inspiration (with one man positing that the US produced as many gays in 250 years as England did in 2,000).
All in all, the movie has its flaws, but the assets outweigh those. I recommend it.
So is Glenda Jackson really the British version of machismo?
*Joe Mantello more recently directed a Netflix adaptation of "The Boys in the Band" starring Jim Parsons and Zachary Quinto. He also appeared on the Netflix miniseries "Hollywood" as a 1940s executive.