MovieChat Forums > Angels in America (2003) Discussion > I Found First 30 Min Nearly Unberable

I Found First 30 Min Nearly Unberable

posted 12 years ago by watchgirl92
11 replies | jump to latest

I read the interview of Tony Kushner in the Paris Review and found him very thoughtful and enjoyed his perspective on playwriting, so I decided to watch this series. However, I found the cloying musical score, stilted, unrealistic dialogue (the type playwrights for some reason think they are entitled to), and horrifically predictable "everybody is gay!" premise so obnoxious I had to turn it off. Not to mention the ridiculous concept that people discuss politics with such frequency. I am currently a campaign intern for a US senator, and I encounter less conversation about politics than these characters are constantly stumbling into.

Does it get better? Is it worth the hours of my life to watch it? Does it just start really, really badly but improve as it goes?

ps- I did enjoy MLP's performance so far, though.

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] TrentinaNE 12 years ago

I don't know if you ever returned to AiA, but I had the same reaction to the entire thing that you did to the first 30 minutes. I could not relate to any of the characters and found it generally pretentious and tedious. Surprised you enjoyed Mary Louise Parker. I thought her character was one of the worst elements.

[–] MammothPicturesReturns 11 years ago

The gay aspect is there because THE PLAY IS ABOUT GAY MEN! Duh! And in my circle, we talk politics all the time. Apparently senators don't talk politics much, which isn't surprising, since they don't do anything much. And MLP's performance is not the best in the play. Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, Justin Kirk, Ben Shenkman, and Jeffery Wright give the best performances.

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

[–] KatrinaW 10 years ago

I'm a straight, married woman, and it really resonated with me. I think it still retains a bit of its play-like dialogue, which works for me. Plus, the performances are amazing. All the characters had such chemistry with each other.

I tend to love gay-themed movies, anyway.

[–] vicky_lc2001-1 10 years ago

What about yaoi and OZ?

[–] KatrinaW 10 years ago

Never tried either of them, but I'm always looking for something new.

[–] Zuider_Zee 11 years ago

One hour in and it is putting me to sleep.

[–] Zuider_Zee 11 years ago

Three hours in and it is shaping up to be leftist hand-wringing bull *beep* Rosenberg has been elevated! Reagan is demonized! What a crapfest!

[–] megArnold 10 years ago

leftist hand-wringing

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--
No, Schmuck! You are only entitled to your INFORMED opinion!!
-- Harlan Ellison

[–] stingingtail 11 years ago

One hour in and it is putting me to sleep.

Why?

[–] Shui_Ta 10 years ago

Is it worth the hours of my life to watch it?

From your obnoxious attitude, it doesn't seem as if the hours of your life are worth very much.

"the type playwrights for some reason think they are entitled to"

A playwright is entitled to whatever words he chooses. It is his play. If it doesn't resonate with you, move on and stop whining. We weren't all put on this earth to please you, which is what you attitude exudes.

horrifically predictable "everybody is gay!" premise

Do you whine that everybody in "Fiddler on the Roof" is Jewish or that everybody in "A Raisin in the Sun" is black? (They're not, and not everyone in "Angels in America" is gay, either.) Are we all supposed to be watching movies about you?

the ridiculous concept that people discuss politics with such frequency

Your exposure to theater and movies must be very limited if you expect dramatic dialogue to resemble everyday speech. It varies from writer to writer, but most of it doesn't, and this particular writer's dialogue is very removed from real conversation (and let's thank him for that).

Gut zu sein und doch zu leben / Zerriß mich wie ein Blitz in zwei Hälften