JOE MANTELLO

Bil’s rating (out of 5):   BB.5. 

USA, 1997.  Krost/Chapin Productions.  Screenplay by Terrence McNally, based on his play.  Cinematography by Alik Sakharov.  Produced by Doug Chapin, Barry Krost.  Music by Harold Wheeler.  Production Design by Francois Seguin.  Costume Design by Jess Goldstein.  Film Editing by Colleen Sharp.  

Cardboard adaptation of Terence McNally’s play about a group of gay men who gather together in a country home in a last chance to appreciate summer before autumn sets in. Two main things kill this film’s chances of ever being great: the director and entire cast of the original play (with the exception of Jason Alexander here filling in for Nathan Lane) have been hired to reprise their roles on film, making it feel like a filmed dress rehearsal, and McNally’s immeasurably undeveloped talent for subtlety.  The film does benefit from talented performers, even if their characters are too self-conscious as “characters” to be emotionally affecting. Call it The Boys in The Bland.