Andre's Mother (7 Mar. 1990)

Three days in the life of the lover, Mother and Grandmother ofAndre who has just died of AIDS.

Director:

Deborah Reinisch

Writers:

Terrence McNally (play), Terrence McNally (screenplay)

Stars:

Richard Thomas, Sada Thompson, Sylvia Sidney

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Richard Thomas	...	Cal - Andre's lover
Sada Thompson	...	Andre's Mother
Sylvia Sidney	...	Andre's Grandmother
Richard Venture
Haviland Morris	...	Cal's Sister
Conan McCarty

Storyline

Cal is a young writer living in New York when he meets and falls in love with Andre, an aspiring actor. Andre's mother visits from Texas, and has a hard time dealing with her son's relationship and lifestyle, despite Cal's efforts to become her friend. Andre's irascible grandmother is more accepting, but her daughter is intransigent in her disapproval. A call from Cal to Andre's mother in the middle of the night is her first indication that her son was dealing with AIDS - and was against letting her know.

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Plot Keywords:

loss of lover | gay interest | homosexuality | gay son | loss of son | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 March 1990 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Playhouse, DBR Films, New York

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Plain and simple

The 1990 PBS offering of a Terrence McNally play(more like a playlet,since this barely covers an hour's time) is a very simple story of the strained relations between a be-grieved lover and his lover's mother in the wake of said lover's death. The difference,of course,is that the lovers in this instance are gay men and the mother has had extreme difficulty dealing with this fact,which makes her son's death from AIDS all the more painful for her.

This show works on so many levels. McNally's play is chatty--perhaps to a fault--but it never fails to convey the friction of the relationships that Andre's mother has with not only his lover Cal(Richard Thomas,almost saintly here)but also with her mother(Sylvia Sindey) and,of course, Andre himself. The use of symbolism(mostly of white balloons),classical music and Shakespearian verse creates an almost ethereal air to this show. It might seem to be another sainted,gay people dealing with death and intolerance movie from these elements,but the brevity and care that this show is made with allows enough emotional bonding with the characters without tiring the viewer("Philadelphia" comes to mind here)along the way.

A sad and reflective film that,if you bond with it in any way,you will want to know more about these characters after it is over. More of a snapshot than a portrait,but in serious entertainment these days, I personally find that highly refreshing.