While it shoots for winsome flamboyance, the late Nigel Finch's fictionalized account of the events leading up to the 1969 Stonewall Inn riot in Greenwich Village (when gays stood up to local police in a routine raid) is plagued by a series of two-dimensional stereotypes. The mostly flat central narrative follows country boy Matty Dean (Frederick Weller), who moves to New York and promptly falls in love with drag queen La Miranda (Guillermo Diaz) while also getting politically involved in the fight for gay civil rights. Good songs and a handful of fine scenes can't overcome the film's basic flaw. A better choice would be the 1985 documentary Before Stonewall. Not a necessary purchase. (R. Pitman)
Stonewall
(BMG, 94 min., R, avail. May 13) Vol. 12, Issue 3
Stonewall
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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