Thomas takes a look at Gods and Monsters

Gods and Monsters

by Patrick Connors

Who are the Gods, and who are the Monsters? Ian McKellan will at least be nominated for an Academy Award. If you are as big an Oscar whore as I am, that alone is a good reason to see Gods and Monsters. Every film that has any queer sensibility is held to a separate set of standards in my segmented mind. There are "mainstream" films and there are "gay" films. I want this to stop. When is Steven Spielberg going to tackle this subject? He seems to get off on WWII. There were homosexuals in those concentration camps, too, Stevie. He owns his own studio. I'm sure Tom Hanks would accept ANOTHER gay role (HEY, we all bought it once and no one is worried about what he does with his penis off the set, so I'm willing to bet the American public would allow it again. Consider it a pre-quel. It could be the first life of the same character Hanks portrayed in Philadelphia. First he dies in a concentration camp, then he dies of AIDS. In ten years, someone can do a major motion picture of HomoHanks being beaten to death - the victim of a hate crime. It could be a trifecta!)

Gods and Monsters, Gods and Monsters, Gods and Monsters…go see it but expect to leave the theater depressed. A fictionalized true story does not equate to a convincing drama to me. The acting is what makes this film remarkable. Lynn Redgrave steals the show as a German maid ("This is living!"). Brendan Fraser, once again, is dumb. Boy, is he good at being dumb. Can he please keep his shirt on in his next movie? Ian McKellan is a suicidal, ailing, elderly man. It is too bad Dr. Kevorkian was not available to model for sketching. The sexuality of the lead character is a sub-plot, not the main theme, which is fine. This movie gets a lot of attention for its homosexual content, though. It is more about compassion than homosexuality.

Patrick Connors

Reproduction of material from posthoc is prohibited without written permission.

Copyright 1998 posthoc

posthoc@posthoc.com