ANY DAY NOW
***
Director: Travis Fine
Screenwriters: Travis Fine and George Arthur Bloom
Principal cast:
Alan Cumming
Garrett Dillahunt
Isaac Leyva
Country: USA
Classification: M
Runtime: 98 mins.
Australian release date: 3 March 2014
Thirty-five years ago homophobia was in full swing and today, although there has been improvement, bigotry and prejudice still exist. Still, things were much worse in the past and this was particularly true when it came to attitudes relating to the adoption of children by same sex couples. Any Day Now covers this issue in an original script (based on a true story) developed in the late ‘70s by George Arthur Bloom and now re-written with the film’s director, Travis Fine, and it’s a little gem which tugs at the heart strings. Admittedly, at times it is a wee bit corny, but that’s only because it’s so damned honest and the characters spill their guts without holding back an inch.
Rudy Donatello (Allan Cumming) is a drag queen who lip-syncs for his bread and butter in a West Hollywood bar - the type of establishment that provided a safe haven for gays in an environment that embraced disco and dating. One night a spunky, closeted assistant district attorney, Paul Fliger (Garret Dillahunt), eyes him off and Rudy ends up giving him ‘a happy ending’ on a date that takes place in Paul’s car. We quickly learn that Rudy is comfortably ‘out and proud,’ whereas Paul is still closeted.
When Rudy’s neighbour from hell, Marianna Deison (Jamie Anne Allman), who plays her music constantly at full throttle, is carted off to the Big House after being charged with possession of drugs, she leaves behind her Down syndrome 14 year-old son, Marco (Isaac Leyva, in his debut performance), whom Rudy takes under his wing. As Rudy’s and Paul’s relationship grows, so does their affection for Marco and their concern about his welfare, as no-one else seems to give a damn about what’s best for him, including the state authorities. The couple moves in together, taking Marco with them and gaining temporary custody by getting his incarcerated mother to sign short-term guardianship papers.
Marco is happy and making big advances at the school the pair enrols him in until questions start to be asked about his parentage. When Family Services intervene and he is sent off to a foster home, Rudy and Paul take the case to court as they champion their strong beliefs for their right to be acknowledged as caring and decent human beings who are more than capable of providing a safe and happy environment for their disadvantaged ward. In court, the only person to come to their defense is Marco’s teacher Miss Flemming (Kelli Williams), who delivers an impassioned speech extolling the couple’s capability to provide the loving home that Marco had been denied all his life. It is without doubt that he is better off being looked after by Rudy and Paul, rather than being sent off into foster care or returned to his drug-addled mother, and yet the system is stacked against them purely because theirs is a same-sex union.
The performances, perfectly pitched by a stable of mainly TV actors, are all terrific. Isaac Leyva is a delight to watch; he is a natural on screen and the camera embraces his every expression. Dillahunt and Cumming are both excellent, playing their roles with great depth and subtlety, the former’s character being so quiet and subdued while the latter’s is flamboyant and swaggering. Together they make a textbook odd couple, yet one that can easily be believed, such is their naturalness together.
Any Day Now is a great little drama that should not be missed by anyone concerned by the homophobic injustice that still exists within some sections of society. But even more than that, it should be seen by anyone touched by the pain of separation. As Fine has said. “Rudy’s pain was not unique. It was not a gay pain or a straight pain. It was not a white pain or a black pain. It was not a rich pain or a poor pain. It was the universal pain felt by anyone who has ever had a child they love taken from them against their will.”
Screenwriters: Travis Fine and George Arthur Bloom
Principal cast:
Alan Cumming
Garrett Dillahunt
Isaac Leyva
Country: USA
Classification: M
Runtime: 98 mins.
Australian release date: 3 March 2014
Thirty-five years ago homophobia was in full swing and today, although there has been improvement, bigotry and prejudice still exist. Still, things were much worse in the past and this was particularly true when it came to attitudes relating to the adoption of children by same sex couples. Any Day Now covers this issue in an original script (based on a true story) developed in the late ‘70s by George Arthur Bloom and now re-written with the film’s director, Travis Fine, and it’s a little gem which tugs at the heart strings. Admittedly, at times it is a wee bit corny, but that’s only because it’s so damned honest and the characters spill their guts without holding back an inch.
Rudy Donatello (Allan Cumming) is a drag queen who lip-syncs for his bread and butter in a West Hollywood bar - the type of establishment that provided a safe haven for gays in an environment that embraced disco and dating. One night a spunky, closeted assistant district attorney, Paul Fliger (Garret Dillahunt), eyes him off and Rudy ends up giving him ‘a happy ending’ on a date that takes place in Paul’s car. We quickly learn that Rudy is comfortably ‘out and proud,’ whereas Paul is still closeted.
When Rudy’s neighbour from hell, Marianna Deison (Jamie Anne Allman), who plays her music constantly at full throttle, is carted off to the Big House after being charged with possession of drugs, she leaves behind her Down syndrome 14 year-old son, Marco (Isaac Leyva, in his debut performance), whom Rudy takes under his wing. As Rudy’s and Paul’s relationship grows, so does their affection for Marco and their concern about his welfare, as no-one else seems to give a damn about what’s best for him, including the state authorities. The couple moves in together, taking Marco with them and gaining temporary custody by getting his incarcerated mother to sign short-term guardianship papers.
Marco is happy and making big advances at the school the pair enrols him in until questions start to be asked about his parentage. When Family Services intervene and he is sent off to a foster home, Rudy and Paul take the case to court as they champion their strong beliefs for their right to be acknowledged as caring and decent human beings who are more than capable of providing a safe and happy environment for their disadvantaged ward. In court, the only person to come to their defense is Marco’s teacher Miss Flemming (Kelli Williams), who delivers an impassioned speech extolling the couple’s capability to provide the loving home that Marco had been denied all his life. It is without doubt that he is better off being looked after by Rudy and Paul, rather than being sent off into foster care or returned to his drug-addled mother, and yet the system is stacked against them purely because theirs is a same-sex union.
The performances, perfectly pitched by a stable of mainly TV actors, are all terrific. Isaac Leyva is a delight to watch; he is a natural on screen and the camera embraces his every expression. Dillahunt and Cumming are both excellent, playing their roles with great depth and subtlety, the former’s character being so quiet and subdued while the latter’s is flamboyant and swaggering. Together they make a textbook odd couple, yet one that can easily be believed, such is their naturalness together.
Any Day Now is a great little drama that should not be missed by anyone concerned by the homophobic injustice that still exists within some sections of society. But even more than that, it should be seen by anyone touched by the pain of separation. As Fine has said. “Rudy’s pain was not unique. It was not a gay pain or a straight pain. It was not a white pain or a black pain. It was not a rich pain or a poor pain. It was the universal pain felt by anyone who has ever had a child they love taken from them against their will.”