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.

preppy-3 Movie follows the life and times of gay drag queen Arnold Berkoff (Harvey Feinstein) from 1971-1980. It goes into his dealings with bisexual Ed (Brian Kerwin), Ed's girlfriend Laurel (Karen Young), cute young model Alan (Matthew Broderick), his mother (Anne Bancroft) and an adopted gay son David (Eddie Castrodad).The original play was about 4 hours long so naturally a lot was left out of this adaptation. Still, the fact that this got made at all back in 1988 is amazing. This was years before "Will & Grace" or "Queer As Folk". It came and went quickly but it should be rediscovered. The script is sharp and (for the most part) the acting is excellent. It deals realistically with a gay man trying to deal with family, love, men and relationships in the 1970s--but I think any gay man from any era could find plenty to identify with here. Fierstein is excellent in his Tony Award winning role. His voice is a little hard to take at first but you get used to it. Kerwin seems a bit too earnest as Ed but he's still pretty good. Broderick seems nervous too but he pulls off the role of Alan (although seeing him falling all over Fierstein IS pushing credibility). As a point of interest Broderick played David in the original stage version and said it helped his career quite a bit. Young is very good in her small role as Laurel and so is Ken Page in his small role as Murray. Bancroft is WAY over the top as Arnold's mother (but it fits the role) and Castrodad does what he can with his severely edited role as David. However his first meeting with Bancroft is hilarious. Also there's some beautiful direction here--a shot from up above NY after Arnold meets Ed always takes my breath away. Funny, smart, sweet, touching and sad--a very good movie. The two hours just fly by. WELL worth seeing. A 9.

leroysemail I remember watching this movie in my early years of coming out (but not after my mother found out and had her hissy fit). This movie I think is all our lives, from coming out to coming of age to find peace in our own skin. It tapes into everything, partners, mothers and the yern to be ourselves. Ann Bancroft in this role surpassed any other I have seen her in (even The Assisn), the scene in at the gravesite will bring you to tears and laughter as we all have been there. Trying to justify our live to someone who we love and suppose to love us (I am tearing up writing this). Harvey also does a great job. We all got lost in the gay scene, trying to find who we were. First you think, well I am gay so this must be what I do. Soon later you realize what Harvey is saying. Your not a gay, your someone who just happens to be gay. To finish up, the end scene when they come back to the house after the gravesite, I remember thinking, has my mother seen this movie, she was saying things that my mother said to me, "I AM THE MOTHER", there comes a time we all deserve respect from everyone including our parents and if they can't they have no place in our lives.Thank you Leroy Box

moonspinner55 Ineffective, miscast, and curiously awkward comedy-drama about a gay drag queen's search for true love. Harvey Fierstein adapted his stage triumph for the screen and has the leading role, but Fierstein (who has proved to be a great character actor in showy supporting roles) isn't quite able to carry off a lead, at least not on film. On-screen almost constantly, his sandpaper voice breaking up in mock-happiness or despair, he's too needy, too unsure of himself, and he takes visual and verbal short-cuts to emotions without taking the audience's sense of rhythm into consideration (he's always two steps ahead, beating us to the laughs and the pathos). As for his script, the dialogue has the unmistakable ring of late-night-movie clichés, and director Paul Bogart's comic timing is gummy and rehearsed. Anne Bancroft, a great actress, is miscast once again as Harvey's mother (she seldom found a role that suited her, particularly after "The Graduate"). Tidy, lackluster scenario is plastic and unconvincing, as are Matthew Broderick and Brian Kerwin as Fierstein's lovers. It's a harmless sitcom...and what a shame that is. ** from ****