← Back to Reviews
in
The Boys in the Band (William Friedkin, 1970)
Mart Crowley adapted and produced his play for the screen with Friedkin doing an estimable job of staging it for the screen. This movie is actually about a birthday party where all the guests are gay, except for maybe one of them. Of course, even if this film wasn't exactly a revelation at the time, the fact that it was ALL basically about gays and pretty much showed them as being full of the same anxieties and concerns as any other human being did make it a watershed film, at least in American mainstream cinema. I mean, Friedkin's next two films (The French Connection and The Exorcist) both were enormous mainstream hits even though he used indie filmmaking techniques.
The thing which makes this film so powerful is that the script is both hilarious and pathetic; rather, the characters are both hilarious and pathetic. None of the characters are shortchanged and I don't actually find the relationships and the characters' concerns dated in the least. The Boys in the Band is obviously one of the sharpest plays of its era, and the movie has so many solid performances, it's worth seeing for that alone, even if it wasn't so honest. For example, Cliff Gorman, as the most flamboyant member of the fraternity is heartbreaking during his serious scenes. Truly exceptional acting by everyone, but that Michael character really gets to encompass everything from Earth Mother to self-loathing creature. Anyway, now that it's available on DVD, do yourself a favor and watch the film. This is another one I could go on about for awhile, but hell, it's getting late.
Mart Crowley adapted and produced his play for the screen with Friedkin doing an estimable job of staging it for the screen. This movie is actually about a birthday party where all the guests are gay, except for maybe one of them. Of course, even if this film wasn't exactly a revelation at the time, the fact that it was ALL basically about gays and pretty much showed them as being full of the same anxieties and concerns as any other human being did make it a watershed film, at least in American mainstream cinema. I mean, Friedkin's next two films (The French Connection and The Exorcist) both were enormous mainstream hits even though he used indie filmmaking techniques.
The thing which makes this film so powerful is that the script is both hilarious and pathetic; rather, the characters are both hilarious and pathetic. None of the characters are shortchanged and I don't actually find the relationships and the characters' concerns dated in the least. The Boys in the Band is obviously one of the sharpest plays of its era, and the movie has so many solid performances, it's worth seeing for that alone, even if it wasn't so honest. For example, Cliff Gorman, as the most flamboyant member of the fraternity is heartbreaking during his serious scenes. Truly exceptional acting by everyone, but that Michael character really gets to encompass everything from Earth Mother to self-loathing creature. Anyway, now that it's available on DVD, do yourself a favor and watch the film. This is another one I could go on about for awhile, but hell, it's getting late.