Three stori about gay life the fictnal small town of Homer, Connecticut, over the past half century.
Contents:
WHY JONATHAN TAYLOR THOMAS PLAYS GAY ON SHOWTIME
Common Ground: Directed by Donna Dech. Wh Erik Knudsen, Brtany Murphy, Jason Pritley, Margot Kidr. This movie ntas three short stori alg wh the theme of homosexualy. In "A Friend of Dorothy", a woman jos the Navy durg the 1950's and disvers lbianism. In "Mr. Roberts", a teacher a 1970's classroom stggl wh his closeted gay stat. Fally "Amos and Andy", a father wrtl wh his own emotnal acceptance of a prent day weddg between his son and another man." data-id="ma * common ground gay movie *
Cast & crewUser reviewsTV Movie2000R1h 45mThis movie ntas three short stori alg wh the theme of homosexualy. Read allThis movie ntas three short stori alg wh the theme of homosexualy.
Roberts", a teacher a 1970's classroom stggl wh his closeted gay stat. Read allSee productn, box office & pany More like thisReview Highly emotive and entertag - wh no downsiDonna Dech has done a great job of nveyg highly pertent real life aspects of gay and lbian recent history and morn very tight scripts and damned fe actg om all players, would be hard to go wrong, but Donna mak the whole film hive and attractive.
* common ground gay movie *
It offers spiratn for younger and olr gays and lbians - and food for thought for our fay and is high qualy, gimmick-ee and utterly hont film-makg. An examatn of changg attus toward gay people the past half-century or so a small Connecticut town, was wrten by three proment gay playwr--Pla Vogel, Terrence McNally and Harvey Fierste--and performed by a large st of faiar actors obvly attracted by the weight and "importance" of the the three stori, Vogel's openg segment is by far the bt. Risg actrs Brtany Murphy (so good very different rol "Girl, Interpted, " TV's "David and Lisa, " and "Cluels") is wonrful as the woman, displayg a touchg range of emotns om wonr and excement when she first viss a gay bar, to sadns and shame as the same townspeople who have known her all her life and at first wele her return make clear she is no longer wele their midst.
Thirty years of pri, passn, and prejudice are explored this grippg, fact-based dramatizatn of the people and events that helped pave the way for gay and lbian liberatn. Usg a neighborhood bar as the "mon ground" upon which s diverse patrons mix, mgle and make history, the story tegrat fantasy and realy to chronicle many of the triumphs and tragedi of the last three s. From the opprsed '60s to the soberg '90s, this is the story of ordary people wh extraordary urage. People who dared to make a difference. To plement the fictnalized recreatn of the historil ton prented On Common Ground, the vio also clus terviews wh Jim Kepner, Morris Kight, and Jewel Williams, three real-life pneers of gay and lbian rights. * common ground gay movie *
Wrten by McNally and set 1974, centers on the harassment and hostily directed by bulli toward a gay high school stunt jt emergg om the closet. Jonathan Taylor Thomas is surprisgly strong this segment as the gay stunt--a far cry om his prev performanc which que ankly have never imprsed me much. Steven Weber stars as a closeted gay teacher who ref to help the stunt out of fear his secret will be revealed until a shockg act of vlence the school shower forc him to al wh his own lack of honty about his keeps this segment om htg the bullseye is some unlikely plot velopments the last five mut--and the character of Weber's lover, who don't seem to have much ia of what Weber uld lose if he did e out and is, my opn, a wholly self-centered and unsympathetic partner.
Let's face , 's unrealistic to thk that a gay teacher uld e out 1974 and even thk of keepg his job. Wrten by Fierste, centers on an unbelievable gay weddg and the relatnship between a father and gay son played by Ed Asner and Jam LeGros.
This movie ntas three short stori alg wh the theme of homosexualy. In "A Friend of Dorothy", a woman jos the Navy durg the 1950's and disvers lbianism. In "Mr. Roberts", a teacher a 1970's classroom stggl wh his closeted gay stat. Fally "Amos and Andy", a father wrtl wh his own emotnal acceptance of a prent day weddg between his son and another man. * common ground gay movie *
Set the prent day, the entire segment is marred by Fierste's flip, bchy gay humor and mor characters that are unnecsary. Fierste even wr himself a role as a stereotypil, prcg gay florist; personally, I fd him to be much more appealg when he is playg agast type, but that's only part of the problem: every time a valid pot is ma the segment he shoots himself the foot by followg wh a Neil Simonque gay joke that pots out the fact that the entire episo is not ground realy but a playwre's fantasy.
Sadly, is also unrealistic to thk that even 2000, a small town of 24, 000 would be so wele to a gay weddg that the town uncil would approve beg held at the muny center ont of a war memorial which is the centerpiece of the town square.
In my own state of California, which is nsired liberal and trend-settg, an anti-gay marriage proposn (#22) on this year's primary ballot enjoys wispread support so I serly doubt a town would be so supportive and that only a handful of churchgoers and veterans would prott. An hont, sometim unfivg look at homophobia over three generatns. This movie is a powerful portrayal of gay life and homophobia small-town Ameri, this se Homer, Connecticut.
Three tal set three different s exame shiftg attus toward gays a New England hamlet. * common ground gay movie *
In the last vigte, Stoltz's groundskeeper is greyg, and some the town (mostly veterans and church-goers) are prottg the marriage of two gay men, one of whom has weddg-day jters and a father (Ed Asner) who helped anize and mobilize the prott. COMMON GROUND sports excellent actg and generally very strong wrg as tackl different shadgs of the gay experience a small town settg. Small towns n be most unfivg about differenc, pecially differenc that are hated and feared, like homosexualy.
This was brought across que well COMMON GROUND which trac gay/lbian life three different time settgs: 50s, 70s, and the prent day. Overall, though, is an excellent show and a mt see for everyone to get a glimpse of the gay experience Ameri. Donna Dech has done a great job of nveyg highly pertent real life aspects of gay and lbian recent history and morn very tight scripts and damned fe actg om all players, would be hard to go wrong, but Donna mak the whole film hive and attractive.
Through the years, attus towards homosexuals evolve as the stori play out. The mon character to all three stori, played by Eric Stolz, narrat as he wns over the perd of his lifetime the stggle between homophobia and tolerance. The First Gay "Legacy" Film.