STREAMING CINEMA
The Boys are Back
Netfl ix movie reunites Broadway cast of “Boys in the Band”
Jim Parsons, Robin de Jesú s, Michael Benjamin Washington, and Andrew Rannells in the new fi lm adaptation of Mart Crowley’s “The Boys in the Band,”
directed by Joe Mantello, premiering on Netfl ix on September 30.
BY DAVID KENNERLEY
When “The Boys in the
Band” premiered in
1968 at a tiny theater
in New York, it
became a surprise hit that quickly
transferred to an Off-Broadway
theater, where it ran for more than
1,000 performances. Mart Crowley’s
caustic drama, about a group
of anguished gay men at a birthday
party gone horribly wrong, was one
of the rare plays to spotlight gay life
when homosexuality remained seriously
taboo. In fact, simply dancing
with a same-sex partner could
land you in jail.
Gay folks were thrilled to see
themselves onstage. Mainstream
audiences were gobsmacked.
Netfl ix movie reunites cast of
“Boys in the Band” Broadway revival
But soon the play became as polarizing
as it was groundbreaking.
Many hailed the bold narrative
where, as one character puts it,
“Not all faggots bump themselves
off at the end of the story.” Yet others
were incensed because they
viewed the portrayals as pathetic
stereotypes –– simpering, selfloathing
losers incapable of loving,
fulfi lling relationships. Some
queer historians have even suggested
that the play helped spark
the Stonewall riots a year later.
The 1970 fi lm, adapted by Crowley
and directed by William Friedkin
(“The Exorcist”), featured the
entire ensemble from the play.
The gritty cinematography and
harsh portrayals served to propagate
these sad caricatures, and it
grew to be a source of shame for
the LGBTQ community. A review
of the 1999 re-release published in
the San Francisco Chronicle proclaimed
“70s Gay Film Has Low
Self-Esteem.”
Fifty years after the premiere,
“The Boys in the Band” fi nally
made its Broadway debut. Produced
by Ryan Murphy and directed
by stage and screen wizard Joe
SCOTT EVERETT WHITE/ NETFLIX
Mantello (“The Normal Heart” and
far too many credits to list here),
the show boasted a stellar cast, every
one of them out and proud. The
production breathed new life into a
problematic story by transcending
stereotypes. It won the 2019 Tony
Award for Best Revival of a Play.
And now, in a striking echo
of the past, there’s a shiny new
screen version, starring the cast
of the Broadway revival. Developed
by Netfl ix, the fi lm is directed by
Mantello and co-produced by Murphy,
Mantello, and others.
This fi lm is a stunner. The scope
of the drama has been opened up
and the portrayals have deepened
since the Broadway run. Like the
original movie, there’s an opening
montage that offers glimpses of the
characters going about their lives
in New York City. Exteriors were
shot in New York and Los Angeles.
We meet the acid-tongued party
host Michael (Jim Parsons, in one
of the fi nest performances of his
career), a screenwriter who can’t
control his drinking or his whining.
Strapped for cash and leveraged
to the max, he’s obsessed
with buying designer clothes. His
collection of sweaters and ascots is
impressive.
There’s the impossibly handsome
Donald (Matt Bomer), Michael’s
former lover undergoing
analysis to cure his homosexuality.
For maximum comic relief, there’s
Emory (Robin De Jesús), a sassy,
swishy interior decorator who never
misses a chance to crack wise.
We also glimpse Emory’s close
friend Bernard (Michael Benjamin
Washington), an offi cious librarian;
Larry (Andrew Rannells), a
commercial artist who is shamelessly
promiscuous; and his jealous,
straight-acting, live-in lover
Hank (Tuc Watkins). The couple
is shown at Julius’, the now-landmarked
gay bar in Greenwich Village,
in a brief sequence lifted from
the original fi lm. We also see Cowboy
(Charlie Carver), the hustler
ordered up as a “gift” for the birthday
boy. Rounding out the group is
Alan (Brian Hutchison), Michael’s
supposedly straight college roommate,
visiting from out of town,
who is struggling with a secret.
They all converge at Michael’s
shabbily charming Upper East
Side duplex for a night of boozing,
dancing, and snappy repartee. The
night takes an ugly turn when the
inebriated Alan lets his homophobia
get the best of him. Insults and
punches are hurled.
At that very moment Harold
(Zachary Quinto), the birthday
boy, makes his now-iconic entrance,
refusing to apologize for being
late: “What I am, Michael, is a
32-year old ugly pockmarked Jew
fairy. And if it takes me a while to
pull myself together… it’s nobody’s
goddamn business but my own.”
Halfway through the evening,
the sloshed Michael insists his
guests play a sinister, sadistic, party
game, where each must dare to
telephone someone they are deeply,
perhaps secretly, in love with. He
enjoys watching them squirm as
➤ THE BOYS IN THE BAND, continued on p.33
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