Customer Reviews

The Sum of Us [VHS]

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

At first "The Sum of Us" seems like a familiar variation on the bossy parent-rebellious child theme, albeit a fairly entertaining one. The twist here is that the child (Russell Crowe) is a strapping gay man and the parent (Jack Thompson) is a widowed father entirely sympathetic to his son's lifestyle and need for romance. The early, farcical going has plenty of low-voltage laughs, as the well-meaning Thompson inadvertently breaks up a planned hot evening between Crowe and a new potential lover, and Thompson utilizes a dating service to meet an attractive divorcee. The two principals address the camera in knowing asides a la "Shirley Valentine." Halfway through, though, the story takes unexpected, darker turns and "The Sum of Us" attains a new level of profundity, becoming a moving meditation on the enduring strength of love, both familial and romantic, in the face of adversity. Crowe, caught here before the calcification of Hollywood superstardom, is loose, just buff enough, and charming; Thompson's turn as the father, by turns overbearing, loving and finally dependent on his son, is superb. Their fully-formed, utterly convincing relationship is what carries the picture. Highly recommended.

I saw this movie again around Father's Day this year. What a great movie to celebrate the love between fathers and sons. Would that more fathers had Harry's attitude towards their gay children and that children, gay or straight, were as caring as Jeff is for his father. It would please me no end to know that the father is this fine movie is based on someone the playwright David Stevens knew in his own life.

Jeff, played by Russell Crowe, lives with his widower father Harry Mitchell played by Jack Thompson. Much of the movie is about Harry's concerns that Jeff doesn't have a boyfriend. The repartee between father and son will make you laugh; the scenes of Harry's mother and her Lesbian lover shot in black and white will make you cry.

There is no much to like about this movie. Russell Crowe does a terrific job of acting in the intimate scenes between him and a man he brings home from a bar. The fine acting here should convince anyone-- should they need convincing-- of just how awful Will Smith's similar scenes were in "Six Degrees of Separation." No man as macho as Smith would dare to kiss another male on screen.

I read recently that Crowe years ago played Frankenfurter in an Australian stage version of "The Rocky Horrow Show." Now wouldn't that have been something to see!

This movie is very hard to find in the United States, and I cannot understand why it has not been re-released. I would think that someone would want to cash in on Russell Crowe's post-Gladiator success by making this film available again. I mean, they re-released his atrocious "No Way Back", for crying out loud. But alas, it appears that no one has caught on to this little gem (or that a re-release is being deliberately suppressed--that's the conspiracy theorist in me coming out).

In any case, I was lucky enough to rent this video a couple of years ago, before it was stolen from my local video store and never replaced. What a delightful surprise it turned out to be. "Sum of Us" is, at it's heart, the story of a boy and his dad. Jeff (Crowe) is looking for love in Sydney's gay bar scene. He desperately wants someone with whom he can share his life, have a beer with, cuddle up to... "Is that too much to ask?" His father, Harry (Jack Thompson), doesn't think so. He desperately wants his son to be happy, and to find true love.

Much of the film is hilarious, due in large part to Harry's keen interest in his son's sex/love life, and his openness to discussing it in front of other people. Harry is too supportive, you see, to the point of embarrassing Jeff beyond all hope. The young man whom Jeff fancies is not accustomed to such candor. In fact, he is keeping his own homosexuality a secret from his judgemental father. In the meantime, Harry is looking for love himself, now that he's nearing retirement, which causes its own comedy and drama.

In "Sum of Us", Crowe and Thompson break the fourth wall, and speak directly to the audience. This actually works for this film--it does not distract the viewer or take them out of the story. In fact, I felt the same little thrill one does when hearing a good piece of gossip. These little asides to the audience also contribute greatly to the humor. But it's not all fun and games. Jeff is a very sensitive young man, who's been deeply hurt by lovers in the past. Jeff wears his heart on his sleeve, and all of his insecurity, excitement, disappointment, longing, and adoration play across Crowe's face in a heartbreaking, uninhibited performance.

Thompson plays off Crowe perfectly, and vice versa. Their relationship is completely believable--you would think that they really were father and son. Getting on each other's nerves, pushing each other's buttons, knowing each other's weaknesses. This is a relationship rarely seen on screen--a close, loving, warm relationship between a parent and child. Dysfunctional family relationships are more volatile, dynamic, and therefore more dramatic in the minds of most screenwriters--normal people are boring. Jeff and Harry are anything but boring, and they take the viewer right along with them. You'll find yourself caring deeply about both Harry and Jeff, hoping, hoping, hoping that everything will work out for each of them in the end. This is a very engaging story, due in large part to the performances of Crowe and Thompson, and the chemistry between the two.

Don't miss it. I just purchased a used copy from, and it was worth it. This is a movie that I'm sure I'll watch over and over again, the kind of movie you dust off once a year and discover something new about it each time.

This romantic comedy has more than one twist in store for the viewer! Harry (a widower) and his son Jeff are both looking for romantic love but the film explores love relationships far beyond this realm; managing to touch on love between father and son, and via Harry's mother, brought to life in flash back scenes. Russell Crowe plays Jeff, who just happens to be a young gay plumber looking for a partner. The film gains credibility from the fact that 'Jeff' is not the stereotypical gay character and 'Harry', his father, is far from the stereotypical dad. Jeff does not want his life defined by one thing--just being gay. He wants far more out of life and a life partner. Both Russell Crowe and Jack Thompson deliver powerfull performances as father and son and will have you laughing and cheering both of them on in their pursuit of love; but perhaps shedding some tears as well, as their own love for each other is put to the test! Don't miss this fantastic Australian film!

This was the first movie I had seen Russell Crowe in, and I have been in complete awe of him ever since. This movie is a touching story of a father and son both trying to find love, and the difficulties they both have. The father, Harry (Jack Thompson), is a fifty-something widower who, after being single for many years, turns to a computerized dating service to find a special someone. Jeff (Russell Crowe) is a young gay man trying to find his match among the gay community.

Harry finds Joyce, a divorcee about his age, and spends most of the movie romancing her. Jeff, however, finds and looses Greg, a young man who has chosen to hide his homosexuality from a judgemental father. Greg finds the openness between Harry and Jeff to be too much for him, and he avoids Jeff, depsite the obvious attraction they share. Tragedy strikes, and changes everything, but the movies still ends with a smile.

The movie never looses it's lighthearted feel; even the serious scenes are relatively short and are quickly followed by a quip or two to make you smile again. This sends across a strong message that we shouldn't take life too seriously, even the rough spots, because it's just too short.

This movie would definitely be a shock to most of the recent Crowe converts, since all of his most popular American releases have involved him as a man's man, rough and just sensitive enough to win the girl. Seeing this movie in a rare appearance on cable TV, my brother (who supports homosexuality if he doesn't have to see any PDAs) turned to me and said it was such a good movie he didn't even care about seeing two men kissing. He and I both found it amazing that this often-publicized womanizer could play a gay man as convincingly as he did.

If you are a Russell Crowe fan, this movie is a must see. His performance, as well as that of the other actors, is astounding. While I don't mind having to buy it secondhand, I would think that re-releasing this movie would be a huge business move on any studio's part, and it would help Crowe's newest converts to appreciate him that much more.

Years before Russell Crowe won the Oscar for Best Actor for the 2000 film "Gladiator" and received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for the 2001 film "A Beautiful Mind", he starred in the lesser-known, 1994 Australian film "The Sum of Us". Adapted by David Stevens from his own off-Broadway play of the same name, "The Sum of Us" is the story of a widowed father, Harry Mitchell (Harry Thompson, who played in the 1980 film "Breaker Morant" and the 2002 film "Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones"), and his rugby-playing, 24-year-old gay son, Jeff Mitchell (Russell Crowe). The two maintain a strong father-son bond, but each is searching to find companionship and happiness while continuing to contend with the death of Jeff's mother. Harry, who is a ferryboat captain, does much of the cooking and housework for himself and Jeff, and is completely accepting of his son's sexual orientation. Jeff, who works as a plumber, assists his father around the house that they share while struggling to find descent men to date.

One night, Jeff meets someone, Greg (John Polson), and brings him home on a date. Harry's enthusiasm for Jeff actually having a date encourages him to benevolently intrude on their time together. After Harry finally leaves, Jeff and Greg begin to share some intimacy, but a final interruption from the well-meaning Harry ends their date prematurely. Greg, who cannot be open about his sexuality with his own parents, becomes uncomfortable in the unaccustomed, but accepting environment of the Mitchell's home. Harry, who also makes efforts to find love, meets the divorcée Joyce Johnson (Deborah Kennedy). A strong romance develops between them, but when Joyce inadvertently discovers that Jeff is gay, she leaves Harry. Shortly thereafter, Harry suffers a severe stroke that leaves him mostly paralyzed and unable to speak, but Jeff takes care of him. Jeff hasn't forgotten about Greg, whose life has also changed.

Sadly, "The Sum of Us" received little attention in the U.S. following its release and no Oscar recognition, but it did win the Australian Film Institute (AFI) award for Best Adapted Screenplay. It was also nominated by the AFI for Best Film, Best Editing and Best Sound, and John Polson was nominated for Best Supporting Actor, as was Deborah Kennedy for Best Supporting Actress. Overall, I rate "The Sum of Us" with 5 out of 5 stars. I applaud writer David Stevens and co-directors Geoff Burton and Kevin Dowling for their portrayal of an affirmative relationship between a father and his gay son in a bittersweet comedic drama. The film sends a positive message to the audience regarding tolerance and acceptance, while simultaneously showing the pain endured when intolerance and misunderstanding are allowed to destroy.

"The Sum of Us" offers comedy and heartfelt drama in spades, and features a young, charming Russell Crowe in an early role as a gay son living with his straight father, played beautifully by Jack Thompson. Aside from being a character study that blends intimate family moments with universal truths ANY audience will relate to, the film dares to stretch further than most literate "gay themed" movies, and succeeds on all levels.

It also features several heartwrenching scenes that deserve a place in cinema history for being truly affecting, irrespective of issues or morals surrounding human sexuality. Specifically, a relationship between two elderly women - Crowe's grandmother, and her longtime companion Mary - is etched in a powerful, human way that defies categorization. The women grow old together until each of their families decide they can no longer care for each other and separate them against their will. There are moments between the two actresses that will literally take your breath away - that is anyone who has a pulse will find themselves ripped apart by a sequence where Thompson describes what it must have been like for the two women to spend a final night together, holding on for dear life, knowing they only have a few moments left on the planet as a couple. It's a brutal eloquent moment, rarely captured in film, and far surpassing the crocodile nature of tearjerkers like "Terms of Endearment." If you've ever loved someone with all your heart, you will quickly put yourself in the women's shoes, contemplating what life would be like without your significant other at your side. Unlike death, the separation of these two soul mates ranks among the most startling, affecting moments of pure sadness any filmmaker has ever fully realized.

This is a vivid look at relationships and families that deserves a wide worldwide audience. The DVD is available only in Canada, but the video version is worth the price - not only for Crowe and Thompson, who shine in what could've been run-of-the-mill roles, but for the eloquence with which it captures true, undying love. A very special movie.

For starters: This was a play before it was a film. Both came out of Austrailia where both are set. The play is brilliant (I directed a community theatre version several years back) and the movie remains very true to the play.

If I had to make a comparison, it would be to Steel Magnolias - and that's not really fair to either play/film. My comparison is not so much on the content as it is to the theme and the way it plays out during the course of each. The first act (and yes, films can have acts) sets up the characters for the audience. It allows us to get to know these people. This is an effective mechanism if the characters have any substance and bear getting to know. It is also the act where the humor is rapid fire (think the dialogue in Truvy's hair salon). In The Sum of Us, the first act is filled with heartwarming knowledge and second hand stories that will have you laughing yourself sick.

The second act (most plays today only have two) is tragedy lightly peppered with humor (the graveyard scene after Shelby's death - and here the grocery store after the father's stroke).

There is not a single bad performance by any actor in this film. In fact, it's full of top notch Austrailian actors of both stage and screen. It was this film that introduced me to Russell Crowe (who would go on to win an Oscar for Gladiator and deliver wowing performances in L.A. Confidential and others).

Russell Crowe as the gay son who has no luck in the romance department has a very cool father who, while he would prefer his son were straight, knows that what he really wants is his son to be happy. His father, in fact, constantly tries to push his son into a relationship with one or another of his dates. This has varying hilarious results. (In a second hand story we are told that the father interrupted the son and a date while they were "coupling". The response to the son from the father upon seeing this: "Mind the sheets.").

I've already given too much away, although this isn't a film to be watched for surprise, but rather an elegant and eloquent character study that shows us that love and patience can truly conquer all.

THE SUM OF US is the kind of film that as soon as it ends you already miss it. I've been fortunate enough to have seen it five times and each time I wish it was 30 minutes longer.

Set in beautiful Sydney Australia THE SUM OF US is the heartwarming (and at one point heartbreaking) story of a widower who loves his grown-up son despite the fact that he's gay...how shocking! The son, Jeffery, has a serious crush on a sexy bloke down at the local pub. The sexy bloke likes Jeffery, but when he meets Jeffery's dad he is so shocked by the dad's acceptance that he feels ashamed and sad because his father is a verbally abusive, short-minded donkeyhole.

There is also some charming stuff about the dad falling in love with a woman he met through a dating service, but the strongest aspect of the story is the father/son relationship.

A very beautiful and intelligent film that I love more and more with each viewing, highly recommended.

"The Sum of Us" is a beautiful story about the unconditional love between a widowed father, Harry (Jack Thompson), and his openly gay son, Jeff (Russell Crowe). The movie shows a rare glimpse of a father's acceptance and willingness to try and understand his son's sexuality. When Jeff has a date, Harry is there to make sure his son practices safe sex, and when Harry has a stroke, Jeff is there to assume sole responsibility for his care, preparing his meals, helping him get around, and taking care of all his needs. They may drive each other crazy at times, but their unselfish acts of love for each other are heartwarming without being sickeningly sweet. I love this movie because it is honest, funny, wonderfully acted, hopeful, and real. Russell Crowe gives a brilliant performance early in his career. He is so believable you forget you are watching a movie. Jack Thompson is perfectly cast as his father. He is warm and funny. I recommend this movie to anyone that has ever loved or has ever been in love. It is a feel good movie. If you have trouble with the thick Australian accent, you can always use the subtitles.