PARTNERS (3+ outta 5 stars) Very funny movie... I guess you could basically call it the situation comedy version of "Cruising". In the Al Pacino role of the reluctant undercover cop who has to pretend to be gay is Ryan O'Neal. He is teamed up with Kerwin, an actual gay man (John Hurt) who will help them gain legitimacy as they move into LA's gay community to search for a killer. O'Neal does a nice, light comedy job (and even gets to show off some naked tush) but Hurt really gives this movie some heart as it becomes more and more obvious that he is starting to have tender feelings for his hetero partner. For the life of me I can't understand how people have gotten the idea that this is an ANTI-gay movie? Sure, some the attitudes towards homosexuals and the jokes directed at them are offensive at times... but the movie makes it clear that the people making those remarks are in the wrong! The film's sympathies are definitely with Hurt and not with the gay-bashing cops and their snide comments. As a police story or a mystery the movie is only so-so... but as a smile-inducing buddy movie it hits the bullseye. Scripted and produced by Francis Veber, who created "La Cage Aux Folles" and many other similarly-themed movies in France. The direction might be a little crude and uninspired, but the movie's heart is in the right place.
