Love! Valour! Compassion! (1997)

Gregory invites seven friends to spend the summer at his large, secluded 19th-century home in upstate New York. The seven are: Bobby, Gregory's "significant other," who is blind but who ... See full summary »

Director:

Joe Mantello

Writers:

Terrence McNally (play), Terrence McNally (screenplay)

Stars:

Jason Alexander, Stephen Spinella, Stephen Bogardus

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

Gregory invites seven friends to spend the summer at his large, secluded 19th-century home in upstate New York. The seven are: Bobby, Gregory's "significant other," who is blind but who loves to explore the home's garden using his sense of touch; Art and Perry, two "yuppies" who drive a Volvo and who celebrate their 14th anniversary together that summer; John, a dour expatriate Briton who loathes his twin brother James; Ramon, John's "companion," who is physically attracted to Bobby and immediately tries to seduce the blind man; James, a cheerful soul who is in the advanced stages of AIDS; and Buzz, a fan of traditional Broadway musicals who is dealing with his own HIV-positive status.

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Plot Keywords:

male frontal nudity | nudity | swimming | male nudity | homosexual | 

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Taglines:

Eight men. One summer. Figure it out.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for graphic nudity, some sexuality and strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Fine Line promotional site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 May 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ahava Ometz V'Hemla

Filming Locations:

805 - 835 Pointe Saint-Louis, Beauharnois, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$167,345, 18 May 1997, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$2,874,242, 10 August 1997

Company Credits

Production Co:

Krost/Chapin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stephen Bogardus was nominated for the 1995 Tony Award for Supporting or Featured Actor in a Drama, for "Love! Valour! Compassion!" and recreated the role in the film version.

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Goofs

When Gregory is making the bed in one of the first scenes, he opens the three windows in the room before leaving. When John enters the same room shortly after, while Gregory and Ramon are swimming, the windows are closed.

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Quotes

Ramon Fornos: Fuck you, John.
Buzz: That's right, sweetheart, you tell 'im- fuck you, John!
John Jeckyll: Americans use that expression entirely too often.
All but John: Fuck you, John!
John Jeckyll: In England we think it nearly as often as you do, but you don't actually say it to someone's face- it would be too rude.
All but John: Fuuuuuck you.
John Jeckyll: What do you mean when you tell another person 'fuck you?'
Ramon Fornos: Fuck you! And don't you ever call me 'chiquita' again!
Buzz: This is good.
John Jeckyll: I think it means several things- mixed signals, I believe they call them in theraputic circles. 'I ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Sugar & Spice (2001)

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Soundtracks

In The Summertime
Written by Ray Dorset (as Raymond Dorset)
Performed by Mungo Jerry
Courtesy of Castle Communications

User Reviews

Very good, but not great

Eight gay men spend Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day in a remote house near NYC. Film follows their friendships and relationships. Previous posters have complained about the lack of character development but remember...the original play ran 3 1/2 hours! They had to cut out over an hour's worth of material to get a two hour film and the cutting does hurt. Still I like the film. The entire cast is good...even Jason Alexander. The setting is beautiful and the script is very good...but I saw the play so I was constantly remembering things they cut out. Ramon's (Randy Becker) part especially was chopped down. Still, the film shows a bunch of gay men dealing with AIDS, sex, love etc truthfully and with great humor. The best performances come from Alexander, Justin Kirk, John Glover and Randy Becker. Also the film has plenty of casual male nudity (especially Becker who is handsome and has a very nice body). Worth seeing...especially if you never saw the play.