Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Lancoor A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

pointer165 in any movie, no matter who the actors are, the script is very important to me , as it should be for everyone involved, especially the actors.This script, story, is so beautifully written..in the first lines"the sloping stairs " of that beautiful staircase..always takes me "home" to anytime in my life, when I felt safe, at home, wherever I was living or visiting at the time or whatever relationship I was in...it's truthful for most of the story...I just do not see a person with AIDS being accepted into the USA from the UK ..but all done for the story...and the stage version must have been just as incredible..it takes you from a beautiful summer, from several different couples, that have been invited to a a summer home in the wilderness(it seems), through several seasons and what happens at the end..allot happens in this story that spans lifetimes but done so beautifully

jotix100 It's amazing the fate the great play by Terrence McNally suffered on its way to the movies. The fact that it's basically the same team that produced this moving theater piece at New York's Manhattan Theater Club and later transferred to Broadway with basically the same cast, and with the same director, Joe Mantello, doesn't give the film viewer any idea of what "Love, Valor, Compassion" was so effective on the theater in comparison what one watches this version on the screen.First, and foremost, the replacement of Nathan Lane, the originator of the role of Buzz was the first mistake. In fact, Jason Alexander, a good actor otherwise, throws away the balance of the film as he portrays Buzz. Mr. Alexander is out of his element in the movie. He seems to be acting in a different film, rather on this one.The rest of the brilliant cast is repeating the roles they originated on the play."Love, Valor, Compassion" deals with a lot of serious topics in a matter of fact way. AIDS is at the center of the story as this group is affected deeply in one way, or another, by the plague that is killing most of these men gathered at a summer house. There is also a subtext in the movie about relationships, friendship, and loyalty.John Glover playing the twin brothers, John, and James, gives one of his best performances in this picture. Mr. Glover is an actor who has a long background in both theater and films and he is a welcome addition to anything he decides to grace with his presence.Stephen Spinella and John Benjamin Hickey, are Perry and Arthur, a gay couple that has managed to stay together fourteen years, a record for this type of life where relationships tend not to last at all. Stephen Bogardus and Justin Kirk, are Gregory and Bobby, the host of the house and his sweet blind lover. Randy Becker plays Ramon, who appears to be a hustler and has been brought as a guest and ends up betraying his companion and the host.Finally, the fact the film doesn't work rests with the direction of Joe Mantello, an excellent theater director for casting the wrong man in a key part in the movie and perhaps his unfamiliarity working in films.

Libretio LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! Aspect ratio: 1.85:1Sound format: Dolby DigitalThis perceptive drama - written by Terrence McNally, adapted from his award-winning Broadway play - starts out as a warm-hearted examination of the lives and loves of eight middle-class gay men during three eventful weekends at the isolated country home of ageing dancer Stephen Bogardus and his blind, youthful boyfriend Justin Kirk (ANGELS IN America). As it progresses, however, McNally's snappy screenplay begins to expose the faults in his principal characters, as well as their virtues, leading inevitably to fireworks and revelations. Set in a beautiful lakeside house somewhere in upstate New York (filmed in Quebec, though you wouldn't know it), director Joe Mantello - also responsible for the original Broadway production - and cinematographer Alik Sakharov take full advantage of the area's natural beauty, moulding a defiantly cinematic template from the material's inherent staginess.All but one of the fine ensemble cast was culled from the stage version, including Stephen Spinella and John Benjamin Hickey as a staid yuppie couple, and Randy Becker (LIE DOWN WITH DOGS) as the handsome young stud whose overt sex appeal creates emotional tension in a household dominated by middle-aged men. However, the film is virtually stolen by "Seinfeld"s Jason Alexander (in a role essayed by Nathan Lane on-stage) as the archetypal Broadway-loving queen who lives in fear of his HIV status and masks his anxiety with outrageous humor, and John Glover in dual roles as English twins, one of them noble and humane (and dying of an AIDS-related illness), the other a mean-tempered bitch of the highest order. McNally's script finds something deeper than mere stereotype in these disparate characters, and he examines the many ways in which they love each other, despite their differences. The full-frontal nudity which characterized the original stageplay (causing a minor stir at the time) has been toned down for the film, but not completely erased, and Becker in particular seems entirely at ease during his frequent nude scenes.

sherlock_2040 A very powerful and moving story, particular the relationship between Buzz and James; both dying of AIDS and both in love.Very well acted and incredibly moving, especially when happy-go-lucky musical loving Buzz begins to break and confesses how he really sees things.It may not be real life, but you could believe that these characters exist. The script is good, as are most scripts based on plays AND adapted by the original writer. I would be very inspired to actually see this performed."I am sick and tired of straight people, there are just too many of them. I was in a bank the other day, they were everywhere writing cheques, two of them were applying for a morgage, it was disgusting."