Torch Song Trilogy (1988)
Average Rating: 6.2/10
Reviews Counted: 17
Fresh: 12 | Rotten: 5
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 7.8/10
Critic Reviews: 6
Fresh: 6 | Rotten: 0
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 4/5
User Ratings: 5,566
My Rating
Movie Info
Harvey Fierstein's Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway hit was adapted for the screen by Fierstein himself. The playwright also repeats his stage role of female impersonator Arnold Beckoff, aka nightclub entertainer "Virginia Hamm." The three-part plotline, whittled down to accommodate the film's 117-minute running time, concerns Arnold's seriocomic efforts to find a lasting relationship. We first meet Arnold in 1971, when his heart is broken by his bisexual lover, Ed (Brian Kerwin). Next we find
Dec 14, 1988 Limited
May 4, 2004
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Cast
-
-
Matthew Broderick
Alan -
Harvey Fierstein
Arnold Beckoff -
Brian Kerwin
Ed -
Karen Young
Laurel -
Eddie Castrodad
David -
Chuck Pierce
Bertha Venation -
Ken Page
Murray -
Axel Vera
Marina Del Rey -
Tracy Bogart
Secretary at School -
Michael Bond
Bar Patron -
Alva Chinn
Photographer -
Lorry Goldman
Phil Beckoff -
Paul Joynt
Heckler in Club -
Peter Mackenzie
Young Man -
Robert Neary
Chorus boy -
Peter Nevargic
Young Man -
John Norman
Basher -
John Beckman
1st Cab Driver -
John Branagan
Teacher -
Bob Minor
Gregory -
Michael Warga
Bartender -
Catherine Blue
Teacher -
Mitch David Carter
Heckler in Club -
Kim Clark
Female Bar Patron -
Byron Deen
Roz -
Naill Gartlan
Boy in Fight -
Gregory Gilbert
Hustler -
Geoffrey Harding
Man with Lighter -
Ted Hook
Old Man -
Harriet C. Leider
Maitre d' -
Nick Montgomery
Chorus Boy -
Stephanie Penn
Female Bar Patron -
Benji Schulman
Young Arnold -
Phil Sky
Man in Back Room -
Edgar Small
Arnold's father -
Rabbi Elliott T. Spar
Rabbi -
Mark Zeisler
Basher -
Frits de Knegt
2nd Cab Driver
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All Critics (18) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (13) | Rotten (5) | DVD (6)
Bracing in its frank depiction of gay sex life, both promiscuous and committed.
Top CriticA straightforward, very funny love story which glows with fulfilment and promise.
Greatly shortened from Mr. Fierstein's long-running, Tony Award-winning play, the film version emphasizes the lovable at every turn, but the surprise is that it does this entertainingly and well.
The themes are universal, and Arnold is an Everyperson who wants to be loved not for what others want him to be, but for what he really is -- "a person, a valuable person."
I have not seen anyone quite like Fierstein in the movies, and the fact that he is a specific individual gives this material a charm and weight it might have lacked if an interchangeable actor had played the role.
Simply viewed as a movie about people, Torch Song Trilogy has the kind of wit, grace, and intense feeling that Woody Allen tried for unsuccessfully in Interiors, September, and Another Woman...
Matthew Broderick shows his versatility and might as an actor here
Torch Song Trilogy is a fondly remembered classic from queer cinema and it should have strong enough characters to break out into mainstream viewing as well.
A rousing screen version of the 1983 Tony Award-winning play.
Effective, moving film version of Fierstein's play
An earnest, emotionally accurate, but seriously flawed drama.
Audience Reviews for Torch Song Trilogy
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Arnold Beckoff: Try as I may... I just can't walk in flats!
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Foreign Titles
- Das Kuckucksei (DE)
