Tuesday, July 10, 2012
THE BITTER TRUTH
Today's gay film was a television production, HBO
A dramatization of Randy Shilts' book on the AIDS crisis and how it was "handled" in its first decade.
A bunch of stars surround Matthew Modine as a young epidemiologist who is outspoken and rebellious enough to rattle cages and get out the details of a lot of bureaucratic fiddling while Rome burned. Well, at first it was only "the gays". A lot about Reagan's silence, the lack of funding, the infighting between Gallo the head of the Cancer Institute and others as well as his obsession with the French who were early and ahead of him in the "arms" race. A prick as far as I can tell. Alan Alda who, surprisingly, can play a slick dick better than anyone. So ingratiating. So sweet.
I knew most of the story. It was good to see. The production is wonderful. But I lived through it safely (I was sexually active gay in 1973, AIDs comes into the picture in the late 70s early 80s. Many friends died.
I wouldn''t want to see this again no matter who is in it or how matter how well it was directed and produced. But it is certainly 5star material.
