"There's a nothing quite like feeling sorry for yourself."
Even with the stellar setup, The Boys in the Band misses a mark. I expected something but got a different story instead. The movie has an all-star cast with great performances, with the exception of two a little too over-the-top actors, and a story that should be a good time. What comes is strange tonal shifts and not enough emotion to care as much as we should. The experience of watching is fine but what follows is a mainly forgettable movie.
Plot summary
At a birthday party in 1968 New York, a surprise guest and a drunken game leave seven gay friends reckoning with unspoken feelings and buried truths.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
September 30, 2020 at 05:05 PM
Director
Top cast
Movie Reviews
Fine Until You Forget About It a Day Later
A film of connection, and self acceptance while enjoying life and friendship!
"The Boys in the Band" a current "Netflix" film based on a 1968 Broadway hit play which is adapted now by mega producer and director Ryan Murphy sheds light perfect on the times of the late 60's and how it was to cope with being in the closet. I say the movie is an emotional connection and some may find the film just a gathering and party of drinking, singing, and dancing of a group of gay guys. Yet while watching you discover more as it show emotions and connection proving it's okay to be honest come out and be truthful as feelings are abound and it really proves that's what friends are for! The story is pretty simple a group of gay guys gather at a duplex to celebrate the birthday of a pal, and along the way this safe space leads to coming out honestly about love while being who they are and the movie is a reflection of how they deal with society. The cast is all pro and all star as their chemistry works it was nice to see Jim Parsons, Matt Bomer, Zachary Quinto, and the others involved gave good supporting performances. This matter may not be everyone's cup of tea still viewers can relate to friendship and connection as the movie gives off plenty of it.
Makes "The Birthday Party" look like a tea dance.
Much has been made of the fact that this one of the few times in American cinema that an ensemble gay cast has been the entire subject of a movie - and whist that is a good thing, the film isn't. Jim Parsons is birthday boy "Michael", who invites a few of his "friends" to his apartment for a few drinks. What follows is your typical bitchy, angry, collection of queers with secrets whose characterisations reflect just about every stereotype imaginable from the gamut of camp, closet, alcoholic - you name it. Except, possibly, for Matt Bomer ("Donald") they all come across as rather self-obsessed, odious individuals with little to redeem them - and when they alight on the party game from hell which involves ringing up men with whom they have had (or do have) a relationship to admit there love or to apologise for being a twat at some previous stage in their lives; the whole thing descends into a mire of booze-driven self pity and viciousness that appears entirely for effect and for little beneficial purpose. It has a very theatrical (largely single scene) production style to it, which certainly aids with the intensity and both Parsons and Andrew Rannells ("Larry") play their roles well, but Zachary Quinto ("Harold") just came across as a poor Elliott Gould and the others seemed there to make up the numbers. The 1970 version had much more to it - perhaps a less starry cast helped it cut through, but for a man exposed to the delights (and disasters) of European gay cinema for the last forty years, this is just a dull, dreary, effort trading on what it might/should have been, rather than what it is.