Das Kuckucksei (1988)

Das Kuckucksei: Directed by Paul Bogart. With Anne Bancroft, Matthew Broderick, Harvey Fierstein, Brian Kerwin. Tony Award-winning actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein re-creates his role as the unsinkable Arnold Beckoff in this film adaptation of the smash Broadway play TORCH SONG TRILOGY. A very personal story that is both funny and poignant, TORCH SONG TRILOGY chronicles a New Yorker’s search for love, respect and tradition in a world that seems not especially made for him. From Arnold’s hilarious steps toward domestic bliss with a reluctant school teacher, to his first truly promising love affair with a young fashion model, Arnold’s greatest challenge remains his complicated relationship with his mother. But armed with a keenly developed sense of humor and oftentimes piercing wit, Arnold continues to test the commonly accepted terms of endearment–and endurance–in a universally affecting story that confirms that happiness is well worth carrying a torch for.

“Award winning writer actor Harvey Fierstein portrays a shy and loveless cabaret artist who comes to terms with his bisexual lover, with the man of his dreams, and finally (in a heartbreaking confrontation sure to leave a lump in even the most stoic of throats) with his homophobic, harpy mother. The strengths of the film are those of any adapted stage play, but this isnu0026#39;t just another theater piece arbitrarily transferred to the screen. The original three acts have been married into one sustained narrative, with the cosmetic benefits of skillful editing and camera-work to help smooth the rougher transitions. Of course itu0026#39;s Fierstein himself who holds the film together, showing a wonderful, subtle blend of confidence and insecurity, with eloquent body language and expressive facial tics reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin, and with a voice best described as unique.”