Parting Glances

Parting Glances is a bit of life forever immortalized on film. It is truly endearing and real. It's mid eighties NYC, gay young America and early AIDS all rolled into a witty, intelligent film about real characters with umph. Parting Glances is special little film that sticks with you forever. Richard Ganoung, who has rarely been seen since is a gem, as is a young Steve Buscemi, John Bolger (ex Philip Guiding Light) and the great Kathy Kinney. This is what it is like to be gay! Most gay themed films can't even come close to this genuine, low budget feature. When I watch this it takes me back to a wonderful time of exploration and soul searching. It makes a feeling I had once, come alive again!

"Parting Glances" owes much of its charm to Director Bill Sherwood's skill and pacing and organizing his unknown cast in pleasant, diverting vignettes. There's not much to the basic situation--a 24 hour period focusing on a young professional New York man when his significant other is planning to leave the country for an extended period. A surprise party is thrown for the couple, some new friends are made, a mutual friend with a disease is involved in the proceedings, and various snapshots of Village life are presented in a lively collage. Some of the scenes come off better than others (a few dream and fantasy segments are less than successful) but generally interest is maintained by an attractive, talented young cast, which works in a lively manner. For a low budget, independent effort, Sherwood's film is quite pleasant.

I watched Parting Glances last night after seeing it 30 years ago. I had forgotten how much this movie played a part in determining the course of my life. The power it had over me then came back in a rush last night. I was living in Germany in 1986 and after watching the film I knew I had to break up with my boyfriend at the time return to NYC and get my MBA. After another stint working in Germany post-MBA I met the man who has been my life partner for 22 years now. He grew up on the UWS and I thought he was the most handsome man I had ever met. I returned again to NYC. I hate to say something so cheesy but I felt we were like Michael and Robert in the film - although my love for Curtis hasn't changed in all the time we've been together. The characters and the situation in the movie capture the mood in NYC of the mid-80's - both the good and the bad. NYC has changed so much since then and in many ways I long for what seems to me to have been a freer time and place, despite the tragedy of AIDS that was taking place.

It's about a couple living in NYC--Michael (Richard Ganoung) and Robert (John Bolger). Robert is moving to Africa for 2 years for job related issues. The movie follows the last 24 hours of their life before he goes. There's no real plot but this caught (I heard) just what it was like to be a gay man in NYC in the mid-1980s. They're dealing with AIDS and various other issues but this is not an AIDS drama. Only one character has it (beautifully played by Steve Buscemi) and he deals with it in a humorous way. The movie deals with relationships (gay and straight) and how to deal with the various complications that arise within them. It's beautifully filmed in NYC with a wonderful script and sharp performances. There's also classical music in the background which helps the easy-going mood and feeling. It all leads to a happy (and believable) ending. Definitely a gay classic of the 1980s. This barely got released back in 1986 (it was made on a VERY low budget) and went nowhere but it became acknowledged over the years and is now held in high acclaim. One sad note--writer/director Bill Sherwood died of AIDS in 1990 so we'll never know what he might have accomplished. Well worth catching.

I really don't have that much to actually say about this movie. Except I thought it was great and handle the issues of AIDS - not by jamming it into our faces, but laughing it up and enjoying life. I really don't have that much to say. See it for yourself, you'll be smiling in the end.

I originally watched with movie too see Steve Buscemi, but it turned out to be a lot better then I was expecting. The story between Micheal and Robert is very sweet, but at the same time bittersweet knowing Micheal is still in love Nick, who is also dying of AIDS. This wasn't a 'feel-back-for-Nick-because-he's-dying' thing with Nick though. It was as though he excepted his illness, but wasn't going to let it control his entire life (like going on tour. He's a musician). At the same time, there were parts where you could see that Nick was still scared about his situation. One thing about this movie that caught my attention, was the music. Afer I bought this film, there was information on the movie and it said that Bill Sherwood was a music major. So while he was filming, he could hear the music playing in his head. Overall, this is a good film. I'm glad I found out about it.

Parting Glances was made in 1984 and had a somewhat limited release in 1986 and is without a doubt a powerful and important film in the genre that is gay cinema. It was one of the very first American films to feature the then relatively new disease of HIV/AIDS at a time when much was still unknown about the disease and prejudice against it was at its highest. Bill Sherwood, the writer and director passed away from an AIDS related complication in 1990, Parting Glances was his first and last film. The main aspect of the story focuses on a New York gay couple, Robert and Michael, in their twenties. Robert is heading off on an incredibly long assignment for the World Health Organisation to deepest darkest and most isolated Africa, Michael, his partner, is staying behind. The film is set out over the two days prior to Robert's departure, with some scenes taking place at an amusing farewell party hosted by the couple's friend, Joan. Some other scenes take place at a dinner party thrown by Richard's unconventional boss and there is a whole bulk with Nick, an old friend and ex-lover of Michael's who happens to be living with AIDS. The script is fun, witty, exciting and interesting, some of the lines given to the character of Nick are so sharp they cut the dialogue like acid through skin, they really are that potent. There are many different character types populating the movie, especially at the party scenes, which show off New York's society rather well and make you hanker for a live in Manhattan in the early eighties. Parting Glances was one of the first movies to deal with the subject of AIDS in such a frank, direct and honest way, which for the time was a real revelation. It did not gloss over, nor shy away from the implications or the savagery associated with the disease, at a time when everything like it was still new. There are some deeply searching moments, not least when Nick talks of the decadent and hedonistic days back in the freedom of the seventies creeping into the early eighties. This low budget but important film was made on a budget of a couple of dollars over $40,000, which in movie terms is not even the shell on a peanut. The shooting was completed in a whirlwind seven days, which is remarkable to say the least, you'd certainly not think it was made that quickly when you watch it. I am fond of this movie, it may seem a little dated at first, but then we are going back almost thirty years since it was made, so it is bound to show some signs of age. Yet, through an exceptionally shrewd script and some talented acting the complexities and nuances of the human relationships shine on the screen, yes even now, after all this time, they still have the power to move. I would suggest a couple of viewings are required to get the full impact of this film to the innocent virginal viewer, otherwise you might not catch some of the intriguingly witty throw away lines peppering the dialogue. Read more and find out where this film made it in the Top 50 Most Influential Gay Movies of All Time book, search on Amazon for Top 50 Most Influential Gay Movies of All Time, or visit - http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007FU7HPO

This is my absolute favorite movie of all time. Concerning the last 24 hours of a couple's relationship before one leaves for a job in Africa, Parting Glances offers a simple slice of life look at New Yorkers in the mid 80's. What makes it truly remarkable is its use of realism to convey the complexities of various relationships. Steve Buscemi claims this early work in his career is his best performance ever and I don't disagree. Kathy Kinney as the most realistic fag hag ever put on film (besides Mary Louise Parker in Longtime Companion) adds layers of meaning. The stairwell scene Buscemi and another actor ranks as my favorite individual scene in any movie as well when it shows the differences of age and experience between young and older gay men. The film seems simple upon first viewing but watch it again top fully catch all the nuances of character and situations. A classic!

This movie was about the 24 hour period of the end of one relationship, the other guy, and the kid who wants to be the new guy. I loved Kathy Kinney's character and how she had stories behind her paintings. She seemed like the average joe, trying to make a living while having a little fun. The ending was not expected and made Steve Buscemi's character look like a guy with a lot of class. Casting was great and the acting was like I was watching a normal group of people dealing with AIDS. And guess what, none of the main characters die in the movie. I felt like I could just be watching in on a real life as opposed to some scripted reality show. I'll probably like this more after I've seen it a couple of times.

Not often do films come across as truly real. Not scripted, or acted but as if a day in the life. In no way could it be described as Over the Top. Steve Buscemi was the reason I bought this. I am a big fan of all of his work and had missed this one. He was good here again. I love how it is so eighties. I was 23 when this movie was made and I could get right into it as if in a time warp. Dated also by the scene where Michael said he needed to get a word processor and the man told him it was around $4,000 dollars and he should wait until the prices fell. Another scene I liked was two deaf men signing at a gay bar. Cleverly flamboyant. I can't add anything that hasn't already been said and said better than me.