Common Ground (2000) [VHS]
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VHS Movie Reviews of Common Ground (2000) [VHS]
Movie Review: Common Ground
Summary: 3 Stars
I can't help saying this film was taxing for me. It appeared too long to say what could have been said in half the time. The film as a whole felt disjointed to me, like a bunch of snippets from Pulp Fiction edited and spliced together, perhaps flashbacks of the 50's to the 90's and back again would have given the film more life, credibility, and continuity with regard to the "gay" issue which surely was handled differently in the 50's than in the 90's. The constant reference to being gay at every turn, and these were not happy people, became tedious and exhausting..., maybe I'm just missing the point. What was this film made to teach us? That there was prejudice and discrimination against gays in the 50's? Who doesn't know this? The setting of the film was predominently on a Naval base, making reference to a feeding ground for people who went in straight and came out "gay," Mimi Rogers plays a Captain who herself is gay and covers it up, while the plot over-emphasizes a kind of "duck and cover" against that which breeds recruits to a gay lifestyle only to be kicked out of the Navy for being so later. What's the point of this film?
References to the Flag, God, and Country were evident and perhaps could have been more emphasized, pride in oneself and one's country as a people not a group, so the character who raises the flag every morning, through three generations, and lowers the flag every evening, with pride, and who acts as a witness to everything around him, who served himself in a war which took his arm, helped tone down the over-exaggerated homophobic issue, making the film a little more palatable, no pun intended honestly.
For me this was a sadly dissatisfying film with potential for greatness with a great cast of actors, but instead it left me hanging with no resolution.
Movie Review: Another Must See film!!
Summary: 4 Stars
Common Ground was a surprise movie for me. A Showtime feature film that actually was sensitive and accurate! The three stories told in the film were tied together beautifully. The only regret I had in watching Common Ground was not enough time was devoted to Harvey Fierstein's character. But this is a personal preference as Harvey's work in any film is always great. The film had several highlights and perhaps the only segment which was a little disappointing was the father/son chat in the third story. It was a tad underplayed and somewhat un-emotional in my opinion. All in all, it was a great film and one which I am glad to have added to my collection.Movie Review: smart stories, extraordinary cast, heartfelt storytelling
Summary: 4 Stars
this movie tries to examine the attitudes toward gay people in the past half-century in a small us-town, and has nearly all the ingredients needed to be counted a good movie.in the first of three stories ("a friend of dorothy's") a young homosexual naval women (brittany murphy) comes home to homer, conneticut, in 1954 with a dishonorable discharge due to "sexual deviancy". as a matter of time it comes clear that the townspeople are not happy about her return as the news of her "crime" spread very soon and even her mother (margot kidder) turns on her in disgusting. only a sympathetic restaurant owner (helen shaver) gives her hope and make her escape from homer possible.
the secound segment ("m. roberts") featuring former sitcom stars steven weber and jonathan taylor thomas concentrates on the harassment and hostility toward a gay high-school student (thomas) in 1974's homer and how his french-teacher (weber), who tries to keep his own homosexuality a secret, reacts on the torture against one of his best students. a violent attack in the school shower forces his comeing out and shows how he finally deals with his homosexuality (in pubilc).
the final segment ("andy & amos"), placed in todays homer, then centers on the realationship between a father (ed asner) and his gay son (james legros), who plans to marry his lover at the community center. the whole segment is not very well written and harvey fierstein, the writer, too often serves stereotype and flat characters. the story has not the depth as the first two stories and is - in complete contrast to them - not worth watching.
the only reason i rated this video only 4 instead of 5 stars is the third part and - all in all - i can recommend this movie to nearly everyone.