Partners

I think "Partners" is an absolutely sweet movie, well balanced with a great John Hurt and the ending is really, really touching *tissues* ^_~ (and for the record, no I'm not a gay man, I'm a het gurl ^^)

John Hurt and Ryan O'Neill as a very odd couple. Kerwin (Hurt) and Benson (O 'Neill) both cops are determined to solve a case together. So far nothing unusual... The problem is the victim is a homosexual living in a gay community and Benson and Kerwin have to investigate undercover. So all they have to do is pretend to be a happy gay couple. For Kerwin not too bad. He is gay. But for Benson... He is as straight as straight gets...

Actual the story of the movie is not the deepest. What made the movie funny for me was the problems Benson had pretending to be a gay man and the development of their "relationship" And really it has some nice gags.

I would like to point out to all the people who felt it necessary to take offence at this movie: It was pretty groundbreaking for the time it was released. Speaking as a lone gay teenager in the Bible Belt, it was very informative to see people such as the "caftan clad landlord" and realize that there were places in the world where men could live together as couples. The landlords story of his relationship was very touching.This movie holds a special place in my heart because it was the FIRST movie that let me know I was not alone in the world. If you are not gay, you don't understand what I am pointing out.If you are gay, and you are that offended at the gay stereotyping in the movie, then you were born in California, New York or somewhere else progressive and should consider yourself fortunate you didn't have to rely on movies such as this one for acceptance.This movie was presented from the point of view of Ryan's character which is to be expected since he was the bigger star at the time.

Here's a gay-themed action-comedy that even the gay community has thankfully forgotten, an appalling, tangled mess involving two male Los Angeles police detectives (one straight, one gay) posing as lovers in order to track down a killer of homosexuals. You have to commend Ryan O'Neal, he gives this one-joke affair his best shot; but poor John Hurt (the most sullen gay character ever!) sluggishly performs as if against his will. The plot is promising--it might've been a sharp satire of "Cruising" had the handling been a bit more nimble. But "Partners" has the patched-together feel of too many different hands, and the laziness of the writing and directing sinks the idea almost completely. Sniggering jokes, embarrassing and half-hearted sentiment, and a plea for the understanding of the gay minority turns this tale into one swishy stew. *1/2 from ****

Done with a much lighter touch than Cruising, Partners operates on the same plot premise with the police looking for a serial killer of gay men. Only it's two undercovers that are sent in by the chief played by Kenneth McMillan. One is Detective Sergeant Ryan O'Neal from LAPD homicide. The other is an officer down in records played by John Hurt.

I recently wrote an article about a man I knew back in the 80s who had been a McCarthyite victim because he was gay and fit all the stereotypes. Hurt's character is the same, he operates quietly and unobtrusively no doubt seething inside over the stupid homophobic comments made in front of him. When McMillan picks him for the assignment he feigns surprise.

So the two go undercover in a gay area as a couple and start to mix and mingle. It's actually O'Neal who discovers there's a serial killer that the regular homicide cops missed. That's because he is a cop first and foremost as hard as he is trying to overcome his preconceived notions about gays.

O'Neal and Hurt are fine in the leads. O'Neal looks every bit the hunk he plays. Hurt has the more difficult role and carries it off beautifully.

I was very moved by the other reviewer who identified himself as coming from Bible Belt America and how he saw Partners much differently than LGBT people from the coasts. Sometimes the stereotypes might have been over the top in this and other films, but they validated his existence. I can truly relate to that because in the 60s when I was growing up I had even fewer entertainment role models than he probably had.

Some of the gags misfire and some of the stereotypes are over the top. But Partners is a film with some real relevancy.