The best thing in this movie is the guy who plays the 'hustler' boyfriend - Randy Becker. He deserves success.The rest of the performances are contrived, unbelievable, stereotypical, overplayed, shallow, emotionally erratic, painful (not in a good way) ... and Jason Alexander is positively frightening! ... and then come the twins !! Yowza ! The only allowance is I can make for this is the year it was made, 1997 - the world was much different then. And, attitudes toward 'gay' and 'AIDS' were much more fearful.However, these people just don't make sense,... but the setting is nice!I can't recommend this movie to anyone. If you have any awareness of the real world, it will offend sensibility. If you are looking for role models to come out as, don't watch this ... it's complete misinformation and should not be taken seriously.

Terrance McNally's LOVE! VALOUR! COMPASSION! was a Tony-winning powerhouse on the New York stage--but the same cannot be said of the play's screen adaptation, which plays like a yuppie version of BOYS IN THE BAND that has unexpectedly collided with ON GOLDEN POND... but without much benefit to either.The story itself concerns a group of eight gay men who meet at an isolated but lavish country house for summer weekends and who thrash out their various hopes, desires, and relationships in the process. In this sort of ensemble piece, where the story is more about people than plot, the cast is key--and in truth the cast is quite fine, with John Glover a particular standout in the dual role of John and James Jeckyll.Trouble is, the gifts of the cast are repeatedly undercut by some of the most uninspired direction and cinematography going, and after a while it all begins to acquire a strangely superficial quality. I laughed now and then, I felt moved now and then, and I was occasionally impressed with some of the dramatic ideas involved. But when the final credits rolled I felt the film as a whole lacked any significant impact. The cast, however, makes it worth the effort.Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

I recently saw this movie again since it hit DVD. I'd seen it once at the theater and was less than impressed. It seems to have aged well. It was better than I remembered. Most of the cast is excellent, given that they should know these roles pretty well after playing them night after night on Broadway. One of the main problems is the absence of Nathan Lane. The play was written for him specifically. The role of Buzz is the center of the play. While Jason Alexander is a capable actor, he is no Nathan Lane. As it stands, this is a pretty good movie with most of the cast intact, but there is a substantial piece missing from the whole and it shows.

Often it is very tricky to adapt a play, especially one of a rather long length, to the screen and keep the story and characters intact. Though I have not had the pleasure of seeing a theatrical production of this film, I do own the play and have read it numerous times. Although the film did suffer a tiny bit from some things being edited out, characters speaking directly to the audience, further character insight etc., it is still a wonderful film, full of superb acting and characters that you fall in love with.The characters are brought to life with superb accuracy, due to the fact that all the actors, except Nathan Lane, reprise their roles that they held on the stage for about all of two years. And it shows that they have bonded as artists with both each other and their characters.As with almost all films there were performances that personally stood out to me. John Glover shows the audience why he won the Tony Award for his performance. Playing twin brothers, 'John the Foul and James the Fair' showing the defination of range. The other actor that really stood out was the always brilliant Justin Kirk, playing the young, blind Bobby Brahms, showing why he won the OBIE Award for his spectacular performance. The cast also includes Stephen Spinella, two time Tony award winner for Tony Kushner's masterpiece "Angels in America", Jason Alexander, and many other actors that deserve much more recognition and fame than they currently have.This is a beautiful film with precious characters that you will love.