The Boys in the Band
Ratings: 3/5
Duration: 02 Hrs 01 Min
Director: Joe Mantello
Genre: Drama
Release Date: 30th September 2020
Streaming Platform: Netflix
Star Cast: Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, Matt Bomer, Andrew Rannells, Charlie Carver, Robin de Jesus, Brian Hutchison, Michael Benjamin Washington, Tuc Watkins, Brian Dole, Mark Thomas Young, Alpha Miknas, Paul Douglas Anderson, Marc Basil, Jack O'Connell, Walter Cox, Tina Fabrique, Tyler Miles, John DeLuca, Julia Parker, Jack Armstrong, Zackry Colston, Paul Chirico, Derrick Simmons, Peter Epstein, Fahad Alhaj, Jay Arthur, Scott Eliasoph, Ken Holmes, Kevin D. McGee
Plot: ‘The Boys in the Band’ is set in 1968 New York City - when being gay was still considered to be best kept behind closed doors.
The film takes place over the course of a single hellish evening in a New York apartment, in which several friends have gathered to seemingly celebrate a birthday, which devolves into a group-therapy session featuring accusations, apologies, and confessions.
Review: Mart Crowley originally wrote the landmark play ‘The Boys in the Band’ in 1968 and it played off-Broadway for a healthy run of over 1,000 performances. When it came time for the play to make the leap to the silver screen, William Friedkin brought it to life. In 2018, the play was revived, this time on Broadway with an all-star cast for a strictly limited run that became a smash summer hit. Now director Joe Mantello brought back this entire cast for a filmed version. Both on stage and on screen, The Boys in the Band - a landmark of gay culture, is an interesting time capsule to watch.
The director Joe Mantello, has pretty well managed to let the audiences peek into the 1960s era when gay men were largely regarded as an aberration by the polite society. And he has also perfectly illuminated the homosexual social life - how the twin pressures of societal homophobia and internalized self-loathing disfigure the human spirit until it takes on the shape of something horrifying.
The resulting two-hour film is both a faithful adaptation of a fifty-year-old work and a fresh look at the lives of gay men who struggled then with a number of the same personal issues that are still prevalent today.
When it comes to performances, the performances are all superb, but this is Jim Parsons’ show. He won over here with his take on a difficult role. The same goes for Zachary Quinto who almost manages to make you forget how good the original Harold Leonard Frey was in the role. Even the rest of the cast all get their moment in the spotlight, as in any well-written, long-lasting plays.
There is a reason this show is often done in community theatres (open-minded community theatres, which is) and it is because each role has a showcase moment.
As far as the technical aspects of the film are concerned, looking at pictures from the 2018 revival, it appears the costume and set design have been tailored back to the original design from the 1968-1970 productions and is the right choice.
The new production felt a little too luxurious. However, the visuals made it look campier than it seems was intended.
Overall, ‘The Boys in the Band’ movie is entertaining and focuses on the stigma of being gay in 1968. It is a movie about acceptance and what it was to be a gay person back then. Things weren’t as easy as they are now (though it is not even THAT easy in 2020). However, acceptance aside, the movie is still extremely cruel.
