Love! Valour! Compassion! (1997)

Director:

Joe Mantello

Writers (WGA):

Terrence McNally (play)
Terrence McNally (screenplay)

Release Date:

16 May 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Eight men. One summer. Figure it out.

Plot:

Gregory invites seven friends to spend the summer at his large, secluded 19th-century home in upstate New York...

Plot Keywords:

AIDS | Twin Brother | Brother | Twins | Rehearsal

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jason Alexander	...	Buzz Hauser
Stephen Spinella	...	Perry Sellars
Stephen Bogardus	...	Gregory Mitchell
Randy Becker	...	Ramon Fornos
John Benjamin Hickey	...	Arthur Pape
Justin Kirk	...	Bobby Brahms
John Glover	...	John Jeckyll, James Jeckyll

MPAA:

Rated R for graphic nudity, some sexuality and strong language.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | USA:R (certificate #34857) | Australia:MA | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) | Spain:18

Filming Locations:

Beauharnois, Québec, Canada

Company:

Krost/Chapin Productions

Trivia:

The Broadway run of "Love! Valour! Compassion!" by Terry McNally opened at the Walter Kerr Theater on Feb. 14, 1995, ran for 248 performances and won the 1995 Tony Award for the Best Play.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The action takes place in the Northern Hemisphere, over Memorial Day, yet a character mentions seeing the constellation Orion, which is not visible from there at that time of year.

Quotes:

Bobby Brahms: So, is he attractive?
Arthur Pape: I'm not supposed to notice these things, but I believe the word is "hot."

Movie Connections:

References The Red Shoes (1948)

Soundtrack:

In The Summertime

A summer in the country

It's amazing the fate the great play by Terrence McNally suffered on its way to the movies. The fact that it's basically the same team that produced this moving theater piece at New York's Manhattan Theater Club and later transferred to Broadway with basically the same cast, and with the same director, Joe Mantello, doesn't give the film viewer any idea of what "Love, Valor, Compassion" was so effective on the theater in comparison what one watches this version on the screen.

First, and foremost, the replacement of Nathan Lane, the originator of the role of Buzz was the first mistake. In fact, Jason Alexander, a good actor otherwise, throws away the balance of the film as he portrays Buzz. Mr. Alexander is out of his element in the movie. He seems to be acting in a different film, rather on this one.

The rest of the brilliant cast is repeating the roles they originated on the play.

"Love, Valor, Compassion" deals with a lot of serious topics in a matter of fact way. AIDS is at the center of the story as this group is affected deeply in one way, or another, by the plague that is killing most of these men gathered at a summer house. There is also a subtext in the movie about relationships, friendship, and loyalty.

John Glover playing the twin brothers, John, and James, gives one of his best performances in this picture. Mr. Glover is an actor who has a long background in both theater and films and he is a welcome addition to anything he decides to grace with his presence.

Stephen Spinella and John Benjamin Hickey, are Perry and Arthur, a gay couple that has managed to stay together fourteen years, a record for this type of life where relationships tend not to last at all. Stephen Bogardus and Justin Kirk, are Gregory and Bobby, the host of the house and his sweet blind lover. Randy Becker plays Ramon, who appears to be a hustler and has been brought as a guest and ends up betraying his companion and the host.

Finally, the fact the film doesn't work rests with the direction of Joe Mantello, an excellent theater director for casting the wrong man in a key part in the movie and perhaps his unfamiliarity working in films.