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A landmark film
I first heard the play on LPs in the listening room at my college library in the late 1960's. It was my first exposure to what seemed at the time to be "real" gay people in a play written by a gay man, and I listened to it over and over. When the movie came out, I went with friends to see it in a nearby large city (the film didn't get wide distribution). The theater was almost empty, but I sat totally enthralled throughout the entire film.
I've seen it many times since then, and of course I realize why younger gay people are put off by it, because it's so far removed from their reality. Not only that, but today there are hundreds of films that portray positive gay characters who effectively confront a variety of situations. But in the context of its time, this was a breakthrough film. Up until that time, there had been very few films with openly gay characters, and when a gay character did appear in a mainstream film, it was as a figure to be feared, scorned, pitied, or derided. There had never been a Hollywood film in which all the main characters were gay or bisexual.
It's true that many of the characters in the film were extreme stereotypes, but at least some of them were portrayed sympathetically, and that was a first. The dialogue may seem campy and dated, but it has a certain wit and intelligence that haven't faded. Furthermore, whether we want to admit it or not, the film accurately depicted the self-loathing that plagued certain gay men of that generation. Before blaming some of the characters in this film for failing to accept their homosexuality, let's not forget that suicide among gay teens continues to be an issue of concern. Clearly, even in more enlightened times, very few people find it easy to deal with their homosexuality. So the film can serve to remind us not only of how far we have come, but how far we still have to go.
Reading some of the other reviews here, it's good to know that I'm not the only one upon whom this film had such a powerful impact. While it was many years before I was able to acknowledge my own sexual orientation, this film was one of the first steps that allowed that process to occur at all. For that reason alone, it will always be a landmark film for me, and not just a historical artifact.
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This Film Was One of the Milestones on My Young Life
There is a part of me that is tempted to believe that the type of debate concerning the film The Boys in the Band , which has taken place over the last three decades, is a unique occurrence in the queer community. I'm not really sure why I would ever believe that. The ultimate reality of our society is that our perceptions are shaped by our experiences growing up. Based on how we perceive the world some of us believe that proverbial glass to be either half empty or half full. Given that the film is one of my all-time favorite guilty pleasures, I do tend to think of it in a positive light. But of course there are those who let the negative aspects of the film prevent them for seeing the writing itself as a milestone in American cinema.
Much of the controversy surrounding the film resurfaced recently with a brand new print of the film having recently been released nationally. One still has an opportunity to rent it at your larger video stores.
Mart Crowley wrote the play Boys in the Band in1967, the summer of which he says life "came crashing down" around his ears. He managed to get his play to Broadway producers Richard Barr and Clinton Wilder, who in turn passed the work to another popular playwright had written the Broadway theatrical sensation of1963. The play was Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and not surprisingly the playwright, Edward Albee became interested in Boys, which has since been--very understandably--compared to Woolf. Eventually Boys in the Band became enough of a hit on Broadway that it was made into a film in 1970. It was directed by William Friedkin, a little known director who followed Boys with The French Connection, The Exorcist and eventually Cruising, which also caused great controversy within the queer community with it's rancid portrayal of the gay leather scene in New York.
There are usually at least three popular reactions to Boys in the Band among many gay men. First, there is an overwhelming opinion that the film is depressing and it shows gay men in an unsympathetic light. Secondly it supports negative gay male stereotypes. Lastly the extent that the play airs the dirty laundry of "gay male culture" makes even some of the most liberal amongst us squeamish.
The way my perceptions of the Boys were formed by my experiences growing up involves my seeing the film the year it was released--as I was in the midst of dealing with my identity as a young man who was attracted to other men. I must've been about 16 and I remember the almost unexplainable desire I had to see this film which I knew I wasn't supposed to see because of my age. I felt like an undercover agent who had to sneak into the theater. Instead of the horror and disdain that so many other gay men seem to have experienced as they viewed the film, I watched in awe at the different types of gay men parading in front of my eyes. The film follows what happens during a single evening when a group of nine gay men get together to celebrate a birthday and are infiltrated by a supposedly straight friend of the party's host.
As a young African American male I was especially drawn to the fact that the film featured what seemed to me to be a fairly well-adjusted, well educated, handsome black gay man among the group. There didn't seem to me to be anything stereotypical about Bernard. It was a milestone to not only include a gay couple but the issues that Hank and Larry were grappling with are issues that gay men constantly deal with today--to boink or not to boink outside the confines of a committed relationship.
Even as a teen I was able to look beyond the admittedly heavy handed direction by William Friedkin to appreciate Crowley's writing and his fairly complex cast of characters. I was too fascinated by the "boys" to think of them as unsympathetic and too engrossed by the storyline to find the film depressing. One would have to be from the "Ostrich School of Reality" to ignore what seems to be the negative aspects of Boys.
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the truth of the game is---mesmerizing!
With no reservation, I can say that it is one of the most
captivating movies I have ever seen. One could even expand the "gay" theme
to touch the universal--when a person is "different"--and therefore
suffers the pain of prejudice. Mr. Friedkin's direction is outstanding and the actors are--superb! Proudly recommended.
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Genius Work
I first saw this phenomenal work on TV many years ago in an edited, sanitized version. When it came to VHS I bought it and watched it hundreds of times with many friends. I have to first say that the character of Michael is any actors dream to play. His emotions go from A to Z in a matter of two hours. And Kenneth Nelson, who portrays Michael, and also starred in the original cast of "The Fantastiks!" is nothing short of brilliant! Personally, I think it was his best role and his life cut way too short. It was a very smart casting move to use the stage cast. They are all very comfortable with the material and I cannot imagine another cast. I am so thrilled that this is comming out on DVD and has been restored by William Friedkin himself. While it is true that homosexuals are no longer so self loathing, it is also true that this is a valuable piece of history that we should never forget. Leonard Maltin wrote in his review of this picture that......"It is the only time in movie history where one tiny claustrophobic set can be one of the films biggest assets......" He was right. This film works on all levels. Well directed, acted, and written. I simply cannot wait until November. Great extras only enhance this gems worth. My only hope is the 'lost' scene of Larry and Hank upstairs be restored. Buy this picture. It really is worth it.
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There Are Straight Fans Too
I, as well, eagerly acquired a fullscreen DVD of this film from a VHS master. I discovered this play via the film when I was a teenager. (I had a VERY progressive-minded grandma, for an old-world Russian immigrant, who took me to see it -- and her only question, when it was over, was, "If you're with people like that, could you be like them?" I assured her it didn't work like that, which she seemed to need to hear. Over her, happily many, remaining years she could not have been warmer to my gay friends and colleagues.) I thought it was just swell, bought the cast album (which I still own) and while I agree it can be viewed as an artifact of another time, it was pretty powerful stuff for a young and naive straight male to see IN its time, because it was really the first compassionate, coherent mainstream presentation of a subset of society that had otherwise been marginalized, ridiculed, handled dismissively or simply inaccurately. The film is a somewhat darker experience than the play (Friedkin and/or Crowley introduce an unexpected rainstorm into the proceedings, which forces a patio party into the living room where Michael's claustrophobic variation of the Truth game takes place) but it sure is something to experience the energy of those original guys.
A good number of the play's original cast (and its director, Robert Moore) did indeed perish of AIDS-related illnesses, as reported here by others, but not all. Cliff Gorman (Emory), married and hetero (whose biggest claim to fame was playing Lenny Bruce in Julian Barry's play LENNY on Broadway, not long after the film of TBITB put him in the public eye), died of non-AIDS related cancer; Laurence Luckinbill (Hank), former husband of Robin Strasser, currently husband to Lucie Arnaz, is very much alive, and has remained active as actor, writer, director and producer (he has played historical figures in one-man shows, some of which he authored, including Lyndon Johnson, Teddy Roosevelt and Clarence Darrow); and Peter (Alan) White (orientation unknown to me) has pretty much never stopped working as a ubiquitous TV character actor.
For those interested, Crowley wrote a published and Amazon-purchaseable sequel to this play called THE MEN FROM THE BOYS (in a volume called THE "BAND" PLAYS). The sequel is set 30 years later and, though interesting, really depends on your knowing the first play for any genuine impact.
Metropolitan Grill
