Torch Song Trilogy

               It’s getting harder and harder to find channels that do not have political commercials.  This is why, more and more, I am finding myself watching films I have never heard of on TCM.  I watch TCM anyways, but usually it’s for a film I already know or have heard about for quite some time.  Torch Song Trilogy was a film I knew absolutely nothing about.  I saw it in my TV listings, and as it starred Harvey Fierstein, I thought I would give it a try.  The film was on late so I figured I would watch it for a few minutes before I went to bed just to see what the film was all about.  I ended up watching the whole thing.      

                Arnold (Harvey Fierstein) is a female impersonator in the early 1970s.  Looking for love and acceptance, Arnold is thrilled when he meets Ed (Brian Kerwin), a teacher.  Arnold is very happy with Ed except for the fact that Ed is not fully comfortable with his sexuality.  He keeps his relationship with Arnold a secret, leading Arnold’s friends to question how serious about Arnold Ed truly is.  Arnold does his best to pass Ed’s secrecy off as something he simply needs to do, but the things his friends say start to sink in.  When Ed does not show up at Arnold’s apartment to celebrate Arnold’s birthday, Arnold goes to Ed’s apartment to find out what is going on.  He discovers that Ed is there preparing for a date with a woman.  Devastated at the betrayal, Arnold ends their relationship.

                With Ed out of the picture, Arnold does his best to move on with his life.  Performing one night in his show, Arnold is forced to deal with a group of hecklers.  Upset that this group of men is treating the performers with such disrespect, another attendee confronts the group.  He knocks out one of them, Alan (Matthew Broderick), so severely that Arnold is compelled to take Alan home until he recovers.  The next morning, Alan awakes and Arnold sends Alan on his way, never expecting to see him again.  Alan, however, has other ideas.  He comes to another of Arnold’s performances and waits for Arnold afterwards.  Carrying a gift to apologize for what happened and show his appreciation for Arnold’s kindness, Alan asks Arnold out to dinner.  Reluctantly, Arnold agrees and finds himself falling madly in love.

                After a few happy years together, Arnold and Alan suddenly find Ed returning to the picture.  Ed’s wife, Laurel (Karen Young), thinks it would be a good idea to invite Arnold and Alan up to their country home.  For the most part things go smoothly.  Then Arnold suggests Ed and Alan go to the barn alone together while he and Laurel clean up their picnic.  It is in the barn that both Ed and Alan are unfaithful.  None-the-wiser of Alan’s infidelity, Arnold happily goes home with Alan and remains that way until Laurel tells him what happened.  Devastated, Arnold confronts Alan.  He does not deny the occurrence.  While Arnold is still upset, he somehow finds a way to forgive Alan and they move on with their life.  They even plan on adopting a child together.  It is with the news that they will finally get the child they have been looking for that Arnold and Alan move into a bigger apartment.  On their first night, Alan goes out for some groceries and does not come back.  He is attacked by a homophobic gang.  Upon hearing the news of another gay man being beaten, Alan had the choice of going home to safety.  Instead, Alan ran to the scene to help.  Alan is killed trying to save another man’s life. 

                Despite Alan’s death, Arnold still becomes a foster parent to the boy he and Alan had been promised.  David (Eddie Castrodad) is a gay, teenage boy who has problems with getting in fights at school.  When the principal calls Arnold to come down to the school to talk to David, he shows up in bunny slippers, causing David even more problems.  That does not mean he dislikes or resents Arnold, however.  In fact, David loves Arnold greatly and does not doubt Arnold’s love for him.  The only true problem is that Arnold’s mother (Anne Bancroft) does not know about David.  Nor does she know that Ed is sleeping on Arnold’s couch after leaving his wife.  Never fully accepting of Arnold and his lifestyle, Arnold has decided that it is best to keep both situations from his mother.  It is during her visit that Arnold plans on telling her about David (Ed will remain a secret), but very quickly everything goes wrong.  After years of secrets and intentional avoidance of the truth, long bottled up emotions come out, changing Arnold’s relationship with everyone forever.

                This is a really good movie, but from the very start it is a sad one.  With the beginning being about how Arnold wanted someone to love him, I was thrilled when Arnold found this after Ed hurt him so badly.  Then, of course, Alan had to ruin it by cheating.  Why he did that, I don’t know.  It’s not as though Alan could doubt Arnold’s love for him.  Did he just want to see what Arnold’s reaction would be?  After Arnold forgave Alan and they found happiness again, it was devastating to have Alan killed, and in such a cruel way.  As Alan was loaded into the ambulance I so wished for him to return from the hospital okay.  Unfortunately, he didn’t, and instead of letting Arnold grieve, his mother told him all she thought was wrong with him.  How Arnold dealt with all this without turning bitter I don’t know, but those around him are lucky.  So many people would turn hard and cold after all that Arnold went through.  His loved ones are very fortunate he did not. 

                  Since this film was originally a play, I am really curious as to how the two are different. I don’t know of any stage productions in the near future, so I figure my best option is to read the script. Not that that is a problem for me. In some ways it might actually be better. As I read it, I’ll be able to picture the actors from the film and imagine how they would be different were they in the play. While I do that, I can keep a lookout for a stage production. Even though it most likely will not have Harvey Fierstein in it, now that I have seen the film, Torch Song Trilogy is a play I would really like to see.