In the late 1970s Albert (Perry King) is an illegal alien from Belgium working in LA as a chauffeur and lover to a string of powerful men. Stella Cooke (Meg Foster) is a real estate agent dealing exclusively in mansions, and she has several women lovers. She meets Albert through one of her wealthy clients, then she finds him camping in a palazzo she is trying to sell. Albert is unemployed, so she temporarily takes him in to sleep on the sofa of her comfortable apartment. He stays for good, and soon Albert cooks, vacuums, fluffs pillows and hangs up Stella's clothes. He becomes her cook and housekeeper, time passes, and they marry so he won't be deported. Later, after a boozy birthday celebration with him, she finds herself pregnant. The "gay" couple have a baby, buy a Mercedes, move into a big house, and squabble just as other couples do. They try to be a family, love grows, and she puts her career on hold as his fashion designer career takes off. Supposedly the gay man and his lesbian wife live happily ever after in this absurd scenario.
The Gay Activists' Alliance has circulated a letter expressing alarm about "A Different Story". The movie's use of their homosexuality is exploitative, insensitive, and offensive in many ways. Futhermore, it is unconvincing. Albert's mincing homosexuality is nothing but a gimmick. Reversing sex roles has comic potential, but this film uses homosexual stereotypes in a very twisted and perverse way. It's not a very good movie, partly because scenes end at uninteresting moments, making the film's chronology completely obscure. Original music was composed by David Michael Frank. Henry Olek wrote the script, and Paul Aaron directed.
