Based on the book by Vito Russo but it really should have been the other way around. Let's face it. Hollywood likes to take jabs at everyone else, it should have taken this good look at itself first. But Russo's book was a great kick in the butt for Tinseltown. Enter filmakers Epstein and Friedman and you have one hell of a great documentary that chronicles the silver screen's long running 'fascination' with the homosexual.
For much of it's 100 years of movie-making, Hollywood has 'used' the homosexual as gag material and to reinforce stereotypical myths. From comedy to villany, this picture traces the portrayal of gay and lesbian characters with film clips and celebrity interviews which tell the story of how the film industry managed to circumvent the censors to include gay characters in almost every light from the silly, mincing queen to malicious villan to brutalized victim. It also gives insight into some films that were ahead of their time and those which are beginning to turn Hollywood around and bring gay characters into the mainstream as the real people they are.
If you are serious about movies and the struggle for gay rights, this film belongs in your collection. It contains clips from some of the world greatest films, in which many of the gay characters are delicately camouflaged. It contains controversial footage of homosexual people in some very exagerated situations. But most importantly, it is a documentation of how far and how long we have travelled along the road to equallity. A bold and daring look at the cinema's highs and lows in it's portrayal of gays and lesbians.
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