Two of Us (1987)

Set in an era when homosexuality was still considered deviant, the story evolves around two young school boys from Brighton Beach, Matthew (Jason Rush) and Philip (Lee Whitlock). Matthew is an extremely handsome boy, a swimmer who dropped out of school and hangs around the swimming pool of the school Phil attends. They are both in love with each other. Phil starts questioning his sexuality after an initial lesson by a teacher at the beginning of the movie. He has no problem with his bisexuality and considers himself twice blessed. Phil, roughly 17, has a banal, mean-spirited girlfriend, Sharon (Jenny Jay) who realizes that something is going on between Phil and Matthew. As their relationship grows more intense, Sharon and his classmates become vindictive and aggressive.

The two friends find themselves ostracized by both friends and family. Matthew is already known as gay and Phil comes out and splits up with Sharon. Then Matthew gets attacked by unknown assailants, and his father confronts him with some gay magazines. Phil and Matthew decide to leave town by hitch hiking toward the south seaport. They call it their honeymoon. But they are still subjected to a prejudiced world. On the beach they get caught sleeping together in a small tent, then they befriend a homeless girl who finally gets caught by the law. The movie ends with Sharon coming to see them, and Phil plans to return with her. But love triumphs, Phil returns to Matthew at the beach, and they run together into the ocean.

Originally meant to be part of a series known as "Scene" intended for British students, this benchmark BBC production was seriously edited (so much so the ending turned from pro to anti gay) and was only allowed to be shown at nights on TV. Now on DVD you can see this sweet tale of a youthful homosexual romance in its original, unedited form. The British accents can be a little hard to follow at times for Americans. There is no nudity. Both boys wear underwear and swim suits in the shower and locker rooms. There is some hugging and kissing. This was made for TV (the original was edited and cut because of the times) explaining the conservatism in the movie. David Chilton and Nicholas Russell-Pavier composed the original music, Leslie Stewart wrote the script, and Roger Tonge directed.

Happy Birthday, Gemini (1980)

Francis Geminiani (Alan Rosenberg) has a romantic affair in college with Judith Hastings (Sarah Holcomb) until he drops her after a few nights of intimacy. Filled with guilt and misgivings, Francis is eventually forced to admit that he is really in love with her brother Randy (David Marshall Grant), who does not live up to his name. Randy is a wealthy, conservative Harvard student and Francis is a poor and liberal Harvard student. When Judith visits Francis during the vacation, she finds he thinks he is gay. Pressures from Judith and his macho father causes him to experience a crisis of sexual identity that destroys his 21st birthday party. This comedy-drama about coming out of the closet features Bunny Weinberger (Madeleine Kahn) as a salty, warm-hearted, and very promiscuous neighbor, and Nick Geminiani (Robert Viharo) as the outgoing father.

This film is funny and touching at times, with some good performances. The actors capture the essence of the ethnic characters they are portraying and the social condition they are living in very well. It shows the difficulty that many people face when opening up and talking about personal emotions out of fear the other person will feel differently about them. Beneath the shallow appearance of everyday life, deeper themes are at work. In a way, this film helped start the trend that picked up pace through the 1990s and one can look at it as one of the precursor "coming out" films that undoubtedly inspired some people in a positive way. Cathy Chamberlain and Rich Look composed the original music. Richard Benner wrote the screenplay based on Albert Innaurato's play "Gemini", the off-Broadway smash of the 1970's, and it loses some of its magic on the big screen. Richard Benner directed.