Reviews

I like to watch at least one film from the '40s, '50s or '60s of a weekend, and by preference a war film. Often, it will be one I remember watching many years ago on TV, so there's a kind of nostalgic added-value.

Sometimes I can't find one I remember watching, or have even heard of, so I cast around to find something to fulfill this craving. This weekend's search produced this one.

It's ... OK. It's not good enough to have engaged me fully, nor leave a lasting impression, but not bad enough to give up watching once I'd started.

My feelings may be somewhat marred by the version I got hold of being dubbed. I'm not a fan of that, prefering instead to hear 'natural' voices and read subtitles. Actually, though, that was one thing that scored quite highly for me. The dubbing was pretty good, so I didn't spend much of the time being distracted by lips moving completely out of sync with what was being said.

On the whole, though, I wish I'd chosen something else.

Others here have vividly described what this episode is about, and if you're reading these reviews you most likely already know anyway, which is great because it relieves me of the need to describe it myself.

I would say that whilst most episodes are merely worth rating 10/10, several easily deserve 11/10. This one goes even further than that, and I would give 12/10 if I could.

My chief reason for this is the ending montage. OK, it's not QUITE as stirring as that of 'In Excelsis Deo', but it's pretty damn close. Maybe it's my Englishness driving my love for this. After all, the play IS by Shakespeare (sort of) and I agree with President Bartlet that the song they sing seems exactly right for the hallowed halls of a Cambridge college. Combine that with the emotions evoked by the scenes immediately preceding it, and it gets me every time.

Although, in fairness, at the conclusion of nearly every episode I'm left feeling "yeah, that's one of my favourite endings".

I guess you have to have watched Leo McGarry being a no nonsense, just get on with it, it is what it is, type of character from the very first episode to fully appreciate the closing scene in this one.

Sure, you understand virtually from the series get-go that underneath that tough exterior beats a very caring heart but though that's often made plain, it rarely breaks through to the surface.

At the end of this episode, when President Bartlet gives Leo an early, sentimental, Christmas gift, Leo finally cracks and you see a tear in his eye as the scene starts to fade. This has so far never failed to have the same effect on me, no matter how many times I watch it.

Oh, and by the way, did you know that when he wasn't being President Bartlet's Chief-of-Staff, he went around pretending to be an actor called John Spencer?

I rarely rate anything ten out of ten ... I mean that means something is perfect, doesn't it? And nine out of ten is extremely respectable isn't it?

Then I thought about the film I'd just watched, read a few of other people's thoughts expressed here, and thought to myself: "Seriously. What could possibly have improved this film?" I couldn't think of a thing ... so ten out of ten it is.

Besides, there's one line which alone is worth the extra point. I guess you need to live as long as, and through everything, Pat Pitsenbarger has to fully appreciate what he says, but it's already ringing pretty true for me. Spoken after a short reflection on the world that he now lives in:

"I wouldn't even know HOW to be gay anymore."

The cast list for this movie includes actors who regularly turn in fine performances, seemingly effortlessly. Usually, actors of the calibre of Sean Bean can read out the ingredients list on the back of a cornflakes packet, or the contents of a local telephone directory, and make it sound interesting and exciting.

My congratulations to the writers and director who somehow persuaded them to deliver mediocre dialogue in such a flat and unconvincing way.

I'm guessing this movie was aimed at a younger, unsophisticated, audience. I came away with a feeling that this was made BY them, rather than FOR them.

The wait for this show to air the last ten episodes seemed to drag on for so long. Then, finally, they were released.

I was just about to start watching episode fourteen of the last season, when a sudden realisation dawned on me. I just don't care anymore.

I never found the show that great, but it was an enjoyable watch so I stuck with it. Usually once something has grabbed my attention I persevere even if it gets pretty dire. I have a kind of optimism that more 'good stuff' is just around the corner.

I have loads of other stuff on my 'Watch List'. I've decided I'd rather take my chance with that.

I remember well the incident this documentary covers and, as a young (at the time!) out gay man, my revulsion at how the tabloid press was covering George Michael's (and my own!) sexuality. I'm fairly sure this was the final straw that enabled me to persuade my mum to give up buying the hateful Daily Mail. I was elated, until I found she'd switched to The Sun instead. :-(

The 'lewd act' itself? Well, yeah, it probably is a little sordid, but GM was only doing the same thing as thousands of other gay men at the time. Several of the newspaper clippings shown presented it as being a cheap thrill for the perverted. Doing it 'for the thrill' may have been the motivation in a small minority of the cases, but not many. For most, the risk of discovery was just another thing to be scared about. What the journalists who wrote about it at the time, and spoke of it in this documentary, fail to admit is that they themselves were a primary cause. It's probably hard for those being born around the time of the incident, or after it, to imagine not having the internet or apps like Grindr through which to meet like-minded men. The fear of becoming a few column inches in the local rag, or national press if you had any level of public recognition, was enough to make the idea of openly visiting a gay bar unthinkable.

Cruising was a fairly dumb thing for GM to do, given his global recognition and public image, and if the police hadn't arrested him on that occassion no doubt eventually one of his encounters would recognise him and go public with the story (for a few bucks and their fifteen minutes of fame). I can't help wondering if at some level, subconsciously probably, that's actually what he wanted to happen. Whilst the immediate aftermath can't have been anything but hurtful to all but the extremely thick-skinned, both his confidantes at the time and he himself spoke about how trapped he felt by his public image. Once the initial furore had become old news, it must have been a relief to finally be able to live just the one life as he wanted.

What I didn't recognise, in the months or even years that followed, was just how much of a sea change GM's handling of this incident brought about. Yes, there was Stonewall, and Pride marches, but this documentary brought home to me just how liberating it was for everyone else to have such a huge star, dripping with sex appeal, publicly say "Yeah, I'm gay ... so ****ing what?"

One thing I believe this documentary clearly highlighted is the deliberate obfuscation by the press of the difference between 'in the public interest' and 'of interest to the public', using the former as an excuse for publishing what actually belongs in the latter. It's something in which the public they spout 'have a right to know' are complicit. Drug dealing may be wrong, but if people weren't buying the drugs, there would soon be no dealers!

So the next time you come across one of the many pieces that purport to be 'news' but are really no more than an infringement of someone's privacy, turn the page / switch the channel / click away. You'll soon find that, in many cases, when you strip out what has no right to be there, there's little of substance left. That's the time to cancel your subscription and search instead for somewhere REAL news, that ought to be heard, can be found.

Only two issues with this show: (1) It was WAY too short; (2) At no point did Danny Vo expose anything more than his gorgeous smile.

Okay, okay ... I should have several issues, like the total lack of showing any police interest in the dead bodies that must litter the campus, but who cares? I put my critical self on hold to just enjoy this fun little show. There are some great one-liners and moments when just a look, or a reaction, had me creased up.

My comment about Danny Vo, though. That's serious. Very much hoping to see a lot more of him in the very near future ... in more than one sense.

I'm trying to make a dent in the list of gay-themed short films I've amassed.

Some have been deep, many present self-reflections, I've struggled to get through some, others I've watched and still wonder what they were supposed to be about. I even accidentally watched one that wasn't gay-themed at all.

Then I watched this one.

It's not heavy. It's not loaded with important messages or lessons. It doesn't have nakedness, or drool-worthy cast members. ... Sorry, guys. :-)

It is, though, very funny. A quarter-of-an-hour well spent and, like a sorbet between courses, I'm now refreshed and ready to tackle another batch of 'meaningful' movies.

I have to admit there were a few times early on in this short that I started to skip forward, trying to decide if it was something I really wanted to watch. Every time I landed on a moment that made me want to go back to where I'd skipped from and follow it properly. After five minutes or so, I stopped wanting to do this.

Most of the story is left unsaid. It's for the viewer to fill in the blanks, but there are enough clues for this to not be too difficult. By the end you realise you've just crammed the better part of two lifetimes into twenty minutes.

It's probably not something I'll add to my rewatch list. But it's twenty minutes that I'm glad I spent.

This seems to be cheerfully heading in one direction, then bam! Everything changes. I'm squarely in the son's camp.

Mums (Dads, too, though probably more a 'Mum' thing): Spare a few minutes to watch and learn.

For a proper synopsis, read the 'Critics Review' by David Hall. He's done a much better job of capturing the essence of this piece, without actually giving much away, than I ever could. That said, why not just watch it? It's only fourteen minutes long!

What really sticks in my mind is the response Dan gets from the shop assistant when buying a gay magazine and announcing "I'm gay!" ... "And?"

Oh, how things have changed since the time I finally plucked up the courage to buy my first one.

The storyline here for this should actually read:

"Westchester, Summer 1991. Teenager Daniel Rosen and his gay uncle Ira, who is dying of complications from HIV/AIDS, have a last conversation before Daniel heads off for Summer Camp."

I'm fairly sure that if the conversation had gone on for just a minute or two more, I would have burst into tears.

Ok, but apart from the hotties, the fine acting, Sor Pucci's passion, the charming settings, and the hinted at back stories ... what have the Romans ever done for us?

Brought us a delightful little coming out story with a delicious twist, that's what.

I don't watch a huge amount in the horror genre, so maybe I'm just easily pleased, but ...

This is one of those films that could easily have been two or three times longer, that time being used for background, scene setting, and explanation. Instead, all you need to know is provided in just a few lines.

If you're looking for a slasher movie with lots of gore, this ain't it. If you prefer your horror psychological, there's an awful lot of that crammed into just a few minutes.

I absolutely loved this charming little piece. You start out thinking it's one thing, fairly quickly realise it's something else, then with a delicious twist everything is reversed.

Oh, and it makes a statement about choice which hadn't really occurred to me before, but which has now permanently lodged in my brain.

OK, it's usual for me to get gripped by, and wrapped up in, a film I'm enjoying but it doesn't often happen when just one or two minutes in.

The premise works extremely well as a film short. In fact, much longer than the just under five minutes it runs would probably have felt too much and forced. As it stands, the length is pretty much perfect.

It does occur to me though, if you happen to read this Katie, the same premise could be applied to a wide array of variations. I couldn't watch a dozen similar items back-to-back, but as sorbets to cleanse the palate between main courses, these would be excellent.

One word of warning to anyone who is planning to watch this little gem ... don't end it too soon. There's a pause nearly at the end that could easily be mistaken for the ending of the piece and the credits starting to roll. Wait a beat. There's a few seconds more which puts a different slant on things.

Cramming a forty-year relationship into just nine minutes seems a heck of a challenge, one that this little piece accomplishes with ease.

Nothing much happens, just two guys recalling how they met, fell in love, and spent their lives together.

Have to admit, I was somewhat teary-eyed when it ended.

It also doesn't hurt that the male lead is gorgeous ... though way too young to have made it to the position he's supposed to be in.

Luckily, I don't speak mandarin chinese, so if I do watch it again it will be with the subtitles turned off. A little of the dialogue is in English though, and the music is frequently OTT ... but there's always the mute button.

If I hadn't understood what they were saying, I'd have given this a six, maybe even a seven!

... this has always been one of my favourite episodes. I've just started my annual rewatching of this incredible show, which must mean it's the twentieth or so time I've seen it. With many of the episodes I can't quite remember from the title exactly what's in them and, to be honest, there are a few I think "Shall I skip this one?". Luckily, I never do, and within a few minutes I remember what's coming and am glad I didn't. At the end of each I tend to think it's one of my favourites. With this episode, there's never any doubt.

Apart from one short element setting up a major plotline coming in the next few episodes, it doesn't really advance the story and could be pretty much slotted in anywhere in the first two or three seasons. It's not quite "stand alone" because a large part of it's appeal is how the story is viewed through the eyes of different characters as it unfolds, and knowing those characters is integral to making that segment work so well.

There aren't any individually truly memorable scenes, such as in "In Excelsis Deo" (burial of a war veteran intercut with a choir singing 'The Little Drummer Boy') or "The State Dinner" (President Bartlett talking to Signalman Harold Lewis aboard the Hickory), yet for me the whole episode has me glued.

So why is this such an outstanding episode? Absolutely no idea, but it really is!

A great little film! If you're prone to getting emotionally drawn in, be prepared for some serious sobbing.