Customer Reviews

Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

...for this amazing artist piece of wonder, written and acted by the amazing star himself, David Drake.

I'd heard about this performance piece for years, but never had the pleasure of seeing it until it's recent release on DVD. Drake plays a multitude of gay characters through the show, from an innocent child, to lovestruck teenager, to a happy half of a couple in an long term relationship. The dexterity to which he switches roles at a moment's notice is startling and honest. He plays the range of characters, not only to make a statement, but to also include us in the piece as well. Drake is at his finest in this piece, and thankfully, forever captured on this DVD.

The piece itself builds from the development of a gay man around his birthdays, to the end, which paints a lovely, if not fantastical, vision of the future. Steeped in history, honoring those who have fallen before us in the great early-ignored plague of the 80's and 90's, introspective, we see roots, and we see the wings of probably one of the most important times in our history. Such things shall not be forgotten. If anything good will come out of the turmoils we suffered and continue to suffer, it's quite possibly the wonderful quality of art that it has inspired us to produce. This DVD testifies to that.

A must have for any DVD collector, I highly recommend this artsy, gutsy, wonderful piece of writing and acting for your collection. You'll watch it again and again.

As riviting on film as it was in the theatre. David Drake can, in the blink of an eye take you from a humorous moment deep into thought and retrospect. A great plus of this DVD are the two older endings that suscintly show how our lives have been changed since the beginning of this piece to the 1990's Off Broadway production and to this more current version.This piece was written as a message of hope and it certainly delivers. Thanks, David.

The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me is a tour de force for actor David Drake! David very successfully puts on a show to vividly bring to life many if not all aspects of gay life in this film which was recorded so that people who could not attend the off-Broadway show could still enjoy his superlative acting ability and genius. This film is also great for people who saw the show in the theater and want a copy of it for their own collections!

The overall plot consists of nine stories; and each story comes alive as Drake performs it--he is, at times, a very young child, a teenager just on the verge of discovering his real sexuality; a young man who eagerly goes with other men for the thrill of gay sex and romance; a man who is in a committed relationship with another man--and who is also one of the two fathers their children now have--and so much more including a poignant part of the show that deals with AIDS which stands in memory to the ones we have lost along the way.

I could tell you many more details about certain stories or even all of them, but then I'd be ruining it for you. Suffice it to say that David Drake really does a great job all the way through and I was very impressed by his energetic performance.

The DVD comes with a few extras including two alternate endings that were filmed before this presentation; I particularly liked these because they shed some light on the development of David's show.

The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me is a must-have for anyone in the gay community; and people who enjoy dramas with a touch of comedy thrown in for a good effect will also want this.

THE BAD: Just about everything. This show is an absolute mess. One-man stage shows are tough to pull off at the best of times and "The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me" is certainly not the best of times. David Drake is grating and painful to watch. His antics on stage are like a meth addict trapped in a small room. The dialogue is ridiculous chatter that's afraid of empty space and thus repeats the same word over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, over, and over again until the next pointless thought comes along (just imagine that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that being the structure of every third sentence!). The characters are just caricatures - insultingly 2-dimensional ones at that. There is no story, just a sequence of completely meaningless clips. Most tragically, there's just no heart to the performance. It's not about anything; therefore, there's nothing to care about. It's a very excruciating thing to have to sit in front of.

THE GOOD: Ummm... the ending is a tiny bit less painful than the beginning and the middle? Drake has a decent-sized package?

THE VERDICT: Stay away from this travesty. I completely hated it and I just can't imagine who could find enjoyment in it or how. 0 stars out of 5.

If you are a gay man, this film will not only inspire you, but will get you to THINK! David Drake has written and performed this masterpiece and it should be a staple to your video collection.

I like independant films. I like the unusual. This was a complete waste of time. There was absolutely nothing about the movie that I liked. Sorry for the harsh critisism, but I would not want anyone else to waste their time. But it is just my opinion.