J Kendall Dane One of the best gay-themed films of all time. Definitely in the top five!This movie takes you on a roller coaster ride of feelings as it touches every emotion possible...so be prepared to laugh hysterically sometimes, on your feet cheering at others, and you'll be reaching for the Kleenex occasionally, too. But one thing's certain, you will be smiling at the end and will watch it over and over.Brilliantly written and portrayed by the stars. The kiss Matthew Broderick shares with Brian Kerwin in the barn loft was so well done even Johnny Carson dared ask him on the Tonight Show if he was coming out?Bottom line is: You don't fully qualify for a pink card unless you've seen this one! ;)

mark.waltz Harvey Fierstein is Arnold Beckoff, a somewhat quiet drag performer who comes alive when he paints his face and performs a torch song in his early '70's New York cabaret show. Fierstein only longs for a husband and child, and when he meets the bi-sexual Ed (Brian Kerwin), it all seems possible. But Ed is confused, goes off to marry an ex-girlfriend, and Arnold finally finds happiness with the handsome Alan (Matthew Broderick), a model whom Arnold at first can't believe would give him the time of day. Finally, there's Arnold's mom (Anne Bancroft), a hard-nosed stereotypical Jewish mother who refuses to accept Arnold's homosexuality, especially when he adopts a gay teenager (Eddie Castrodad) whom she initially suspects is a mugger.Along the way, there is lots of comedy, some true-to-life tragedy (involving a very violent gay bashing), and finally, a confrontation between mother and son that makes Arnold want to find his own lamppost, a la Fanny Brice, and sing another torch song to reveal his own inner torment. This makes for a very enjoyable film that many gays and lesbians can identify with in their desire to find a partner and gain acceptance from a parent. Broadway actor Ken Page ("Guys and Dolls", "Ain't Misbehavin'"), Axel Vera and drag legend Charles Pierce appear as Arnold's co-stars in the drag revue, all featuring funny drag names. There's also a bit of sexual action which takes Arnold inside the back room of a gay bar where obvious fornicating is taking place, another variation of the torch song which reveals how sometimes gay men use sex to deal with their tragedies. ("At least I won't have to make them breakfast", Arnold snidely tells someone he earlier cursed at before making his way into the back room.) Throughout the entire film, you really feel the weight of Arnold's world, his very untypical hero very much worth rooting for as he deals with the loss of lovers (through break-up and death), the anger of a parent, and finally, being frustrated himself as a parent. Bancroft is extremely intense in her handful of scenes as the frustrated mother, tired of her son throwing his homosexuality in her face, and even more angry when he shows what she considers disrespect at the family grave site. She's not the type of mother you want to see showing up unannounced, yet there's a sense that, like Neil Simon's grandmother character in "Lost in Yonkers", there's a ton of regret that her emotions can't handle and has been replaced by an over-load of bitterness that cannot be diminished. As directed by Paul Bogart (best known for TV's "All in the Family"), "Torch Song Trilogy" is one of those small emotional dramas that will touch your heart and leave you thinking long after the movie is over.

Scott Amundsen I was born, raised, and lived in New York City until I was forty, and I saw a lot of Broadway shows, but it has always been one of my great regrets that I never saw Harvey Fierstein's monumental play TORCH SONG TRILOGY, which he both wrote and starred in. So when I saw that a film version had been made, and wonder of wonders it starred Fierstein, I rushed out to see it. And I was not disappointed.In the interim I had read the play. On the stage, TST was an experimental piece with minimal sets, lots of overlapping dialogue (something that works well on the stage but is hard to do on film), and a running time of nearly four hours. So when I saw that the film's running time was just two hours, I prepared myself for a hack job. But Fierstein himself adapted his own play to the screen; I should have known better. The end result is, you might say, a "compressed" version of the play: Fierstein made a good many judicious cuts in the dialogue, leaving only the choicest bits, and the finished product shines like a well-cut diamond.TST tells the story of ten years in the life of Arnold Beckoff (Fierstein), a female impersonator in New York City with a romantic nature; surrounded by men looking for sex, Arnold is looking for love, and it can be cold out there in the big city.Yet he does find love, and more than once. The first time in the person of a *bisexual* schoolteacher named Ed Reese (winningly played by Brian Kerwin), who ultimately can't make up his mind which bed he wants to sleep in. Ed isn't a bad guy, but he is terrified of being gay and tries desperately to make a life with his girlfriend Laurel (Karen Young in a brilliant, funny-sad performance), in the end succeeding only in hurting both Laurel and Arnold, who drops him.Arnold's next love interest literally falls into his lap. Onstage at the club, Arnold is heckled by a bunch of young men who are very drunk, and one of them, upon being confronted, responds by passing out. Arnold takes him home to sleep it off. The young man, by name Alan Simon, barely out of his teens, is brilliantly played here by the indecently beautiful Matthew Broderick. Looking down at the sleeping boy, Arnold says, "If you have an IQ of over 30, then there is no God." When Alan awakens Arnold serves him breakfast, gives him directions to the subway, and locks himself in the bathroom until the kid leaves. But what he does not know is that Alan has developed a huge crush on Arnold, and he pursues him quite openly until Arnold's defenses crumble.Arnold's love life goes on with more than its share of triumphs and tragedies. Running on a parallel track is his relationship with his mother (Anne Bancroft, sensational as always), on the surface your typical New York Jewish Mother who hovers over her kids and has a gift for laying on the guilt. But there is more to her than that. Arnold loves her and is frustrated by her in equal measure; she has never accepted him for who he is and constantly makes references to the mythical *wife* he will *someday* have.Arnold's journey of love and loss and reconciliation climaxes with a final confrontation with his mother in which he finally lays down the law: "There's nothing I need from anyone except for love and respect and anyone who can't give me those two things has no place in my life!"Condensing a four hour play into a two hour movie seems an impossible task, but Fierstein and Company pull it off brilliantly, and the end product is a warm and winning film, often funny and sometimes tragic, but always real. And the best part is that Hollywood did not insist on putting a name star in the lead. The part was written by Fierstein for Fierstein because on some level Arnold IS Harvey, and it's perfect for his rubbery, funny face which reflects every emotion he feels, and while he starts out considering himself somewhat less than attractive, by the end of the film, he has gained considerable dignity and is almost handsome.A joy to watch from start to finish.

johnmaclean69 It comes as a shock to any grown man to cry at a film.There, I've said it. I cried, and quite openly - when I saw this at a local cinema, and later when I got given a video tape (they used to be THE thing before DVD's)...Sad thing is that the woman who gave the vid to me had spoken to me in the queue in store...I had expressed my love for the film, she confessed that she was dying.Two months later, she popped the vid into my work.I had no contact with her, which made the film even more poignant. I wish I know what has gone on with her life...I have it on DVD now, hell I may even watch it tomorrow - and yes, I will cry, and laugh too, in equal measure.Harvey Fierstein and Ann Bancroft - why would you not watch this? F