Some of My Best Friends Are...

Yes, 1970s gay life was no picnic but it was not as bad as presented in this dark movie. But I suppose it could be this way in some situations. Too bad it was not more balanced through use of some positive characters. I was surprised to see some long-time as well as up-and-coming entertainers in this movie: Carlton, Rue and Gil. And the filming technique resembled the handheld shooting technique of more recent horror movies.

... in that it is two years post Stonewall, but there is going to be time needed - about 17 years or so - before you can explore these kinds of themes more in depths as is done in "Torch Song Trilogy".

This film is set around Christmas time at a gay bar in New York City called, the Blue Jay. "Some Of My Best Friends Are..." had a very large cast and the story bounced around from character to character or relationship to relationship exploring the dynamics of the characters or the relationships as it pertained to their personalities, attitudes, and realities associated as gay men in 1971 (when the film was made).

There are several people that were familiar to me, but I couldn't recall their names. The four characters I did recognize were Rue McClanahan (a bar customer who likes to mock some of the clientele but realizes the bar is a safe haven for her since it's unlikely any patron will make advances to her), Fannie Flag (the coat-check lady that everybody loves), Gary Sandy (narcissistic stud who looked for some yum-yum on the side once he tired of his sugar daddy), and Gil Gerard (a pilot who comes off as straight, but loves being the 'rock' for his boyfriend). It wasn't a bad film, and I'd probably want to see it again to see if I could make other observations that might have passed over me the first time around. I'm not going to spoil anything here, but there is a fight scene toward the end of the picture, and the camera work with its quick movements in a tight space containing a lot of people is quite masterful.

This story takes place on Christmas Eve in 1971 in an old-fashioned gay bar (there doesn't seem to be a "back room") in Greenwich Village.

We get a bunch of vignettes as the major players tell their stories amid the increasingly uproarious night. No gay cliche is left untold. What defeats much of the film is a murky lighting and lines that are drowned out by noise.

This is not to say that the film is a total dud. It's an important look at that pre-AIDS world and in many ways is a more honest look at gay and closeted-gay life than better known films like THE BOYS IN THE BAND or TORCH SONG TRILOGY or THE RITZ.

There are also several very good performances. In his NY Times review, Vincent Canby noted that the women come off better than the men and he's right. Rue McClanahan is good as the aging "fag hag" who cavorts with gay men as a glamorous token female in a gay world. She dresses like a drag queen and drops acid lines with the best of them. But it's also a sex-free world and therefore a safe world for her.

Sylvia Syms, not to be confused with the British actress of the same name, is excellent as the bar owner Sadie. She's sort of the over-arching mother of all the "boys" and she loves them all. At one point she poignantly tells that she never married, never had children, but she never missed out because she's always had her "boys." On the other hand, Peg Murray plays the hysterical Mrs. Nabour, who pitches a fit when she discovers her son is gay. She disowns him.

Gary Sandy plays a gay hustler who constantly boasts (it seems to be a lie) that he swings both ways, but after a bad drug trip, his self-loathing turns into a blind rage as he beats a timid cross-dresser. The cross-dresser is played by Candy Darling.

Fannie Flagg plays the cheerful hat-check girl with her hair stacked high (a la drag queen) and she even sings a number. David Drew plays a timid man who finally work up the courage to ask someone back to his apartment. Gil Gerard plays a gay man who poses as a straight guy in real life.

James Murdock (billed as David Baker) plays a drama queen who has tricked a guy (Dick O'Neill) into meeting him at the bar by posing as a woman on the phone. Then there's Carleton Carpenter as a silent older man who simply watches all the action without ever getting involved. Paul Blake plays the sarcastic Kenny.

Here and there a character utters a memorable line. One says "Facing death does not take courage. Two men facing a life together does." Another says "Everybody wants someone. Some want anybody."

As a sign of the time, there's a cop prowling around and there's a sign warning the men about dancing together. Although the film takes place after Stonewall, it's still a dangerous time.

If the film had had a central plot and central characters, this might have worked better as a film, As it is, however, it's worth a look into the dark recesses of this very dark bar.

It's Christmas Eve at a gay bar in Greenwich Village.

It's a portrait of a bunch of isolated people who, in one of the ending statements, have nowhere else to go. The range of characters run from flashy queens all the way to uptight New Englanders who don't do anything about their sexuality but talk about it. The bar is owned by a woman who presides like a mother at a party; her staff is mostly middle-aged men who go home to their wives. There's an undercurrent of sadness under the almost hysterical holiday partying. Like many of the cheap movies of the era -- of any era, really -- the cast includes actors years after their cinematic prime, like Carleton Carpenter, the current stars of queer cinema, like Candy Darling, and performers before they became well known, like Fannie Flagg, Gil Gerard, and Rue McClanahan.

In the end, Christmas Eve is no time to be alone, and these people are more alone than most.

This film now plays a lot of gay film festivals..billed as.... " The movie you love to hate"! Of course it now looks very politically incorrect. But there was a time that it really was like this. I know..I was there! P.S. It's so much fun to see so many people who went on to greater things. Michael Bluegrass