Destroying Angel

Further evidence that a coincidence is not reason enough to press the "record" button on the camcorder: Wayne Salazar, a gay man with AIDS, visiting friends Phil and Marion, discovers that Marion and he were born on the same day. Marion, who later succumbs to cancer, was abused by her father and believed that toxic memories could cause disease--an interesting and worthwhile topic for exploration. Wayne, on the other hand, well...here the analogy begins to break down considerably. Was Wayne's AIDS infection caused by bad memories of his abusive father? I don't think so. In fact, especially given the often rocky nature of father-son relationships, it's awfully hard to take Wayne's whining about his "physical and emotional abuse" at the hands of his dad very seriously. While he vaguely alludes to getting it with "the belt," the central offense in Wayne's mind seems to be that his father took the family dog (which was always running away) to the pound. A terrible thing to happen to a kid? Undoubtedly. Abusive? Only in the recovered-memory 1990s. Later, at Wayne's wedding to his male partner Micky, Wayne tearfully--and, in my opinion, rather tactlessly--addresses a table full of people about his difficult parents. The camera then turns to one well-spoken, seemingly earnest, liberal man at the table, Wayne's evil dad, who to all intents and purposes seems to be truly trying to bridge the gap between himself and his "abused" son. Ultimately, Wayne's tale tells us nothing new about growing up gay, having AIDS, or carrying emotional baggage from childhood. I was left wondering if the really interesting story here was the one which provided the central thread but was never told: Marion's. Not recommended. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)