Lip Service; Tidy Endings

Originally made for "HBO Showcase", these two play adaptations are rare examples of the promise of cable TV fulfilled. In Howard Korder's Lip Service, Paul Dooley is Gil, a middle-aged conservative morning news host, who has to contend with very '80s newcomer Leonard (Griffin Dunne). Leonard, who thinks Gil is the cat's meow, gradually supplants the older man with his "new" ideas (such as getting people at the mall to imitate their favorite animals), and before too long Gil loses his commentary, then his desk (replaced by a couch), and finally his job. This is eyes-open satire, disturbing in its all-too-familiar depiction of a media-run society in which hard news takes a backseat to entertainment. Tidy Endings, based on Harvey Fierstein's act "On Tidy Endings" from his suite of plays Safe Sex, is about two people coming to terms with the death of an AIDS victim. Fierstein is impressive as Arthur, who nursed his gay lover Colin through two long painful years. Now, he must sign some final papers with Colin's ex-wife Marion (Stockard Channing) who wants to sell the apartment that he and Colin lived in. Marion's lawyer calls it "tidying up the loose ends"--but death is usually anything but tidy, and the addition of a potent mix of grief, love, and jealousy, virtually guarantees that Arthur and Marion's "routine" paperwork will be anything but. It's a powerful piece of work from the writer of the Tony-award winning Torch Song Trilogy (and star of the film adaptation). Both titles are highly recommended. (R. Pitman)