My all time Favorite Movie. We all have that one movie we've seen a million times and still watch over and over. This one movie I discovered early on watching TV, probably HBO or something. As the title says it was Beautiful.
We got Jaime and Steve (Glen Berry & Scott Neal), two teenage boys that live next door to each other and also go to the same school. Jaime lives with his "Single" mother and her passing boyfriend of the week. Steve (Scott Neal) lives with his alcoholic father and abusive older brother. One night, Steve is locked out by his family from his apartment. Jamie's mother, Sandra (Linda Henry), decides to let him sleep-over. This keeps happening more often and the relationship between these two boys starts building up. Later we meet next door neighbor Leah (Tameka Empson). This girl is about the same age as Jaime and Steve. Leah is loud, opinionated, sassy but oh so very unique. We see her swooning over Trevor (Steve's older brother) even though he constantly and frankly tells her he is not interested. Leah becomes one of my favorite characters in this movie for the fact that she is not afraid to speak her mind, even if she is a bit dramatic at times. Leah is a school dropout and as Sandra calls her a bad Influence, but she has a big heart and is a caring person. The other reason I like Leah is simply because of "Mama Cass" Elliot.
This real life singer and actress, dead by the time and setting of the movie, is a character we hear and feel all over the story; specially since Leah is Obsessed with "Mama Cass" and her music. All around the movie "Mama Cass" will literally set the mood for almost every important scene with songs like my favorite: "Make Your Own Kind Of Music" and "Its Getting Better". Her songs will tell the message of the story.
Finally, Sandra the single mother working her butt off to raise her child alone and have a better future; while trying to get some loving too. A character that gives you perseverance, Sandra doesn't wanna be a waitress all her life, she knows she can do better, that she has what it takes and she is fighting for it.
This movie to me is about growth, something beyond the gay love (that initially seems to be the main theme), it's actually just about Love. A mother for her son, neighbors protecting each other and the love for yourself and your worth. As teen watching this movie was so uplifting, by the end of the film I couldn't help but feel happy about the whole story. And it's the reason I've kept watching it over the years. It still has the magick.
Beautiful Thing is a 1996, Channel 4Films (British) and later released under Sony Pictures Classics (United States) based on the 1993 play by Jonathan Harvey. In 2008, here in Puerto Rico “Jimmy & Steve” had an adaptation from The Play & was shown in the Francisco Arriví Theater. It's a timeless Love story told in many languages and countries. Beautiful Thing went worldwide with this movie-version by 2003. But it's theme of Love winning over Racism, Homophobia and Misogyny is an extremely Powerful and Important message to spread.
Here's the trailer:
Written by Saturn.Ed
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