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Torch Song Trilogy (1988)

Torch Song Trilogy poster

Torch Song Trilogy (1988)

Overview

Arnold Beckoff is looking for love and acceptance, but as a gay man working as a female impersonator in 1970s New York City, neither come easily. After a series of heartaches, Arnold believes he has found the love of his life in Alan, and the couple make plans to adopt. But when tragedy strikes, Arnold's life is shaken to its very core, leading to a confrontation with his overbearing mother, who has never approved of her son's lifestyle.


Starring Cast


Where to watch

Fandango
Prime Video logoPrime Video
Powered byJustWatch

Rating & Dimensions

Bias Rating
Analyzing...
Progressive

Political: Strong Left
Diversity: High
LGBTQ: Positive
Judaism: Positive

Viewer Rating
7.6

Overview

Arnold Beckoff is looking for love and acceptance, but as a gay man working as a female impersonator in 1970s New York City, neither come easily. After a series of heartaches, Arnold believes he has found the love of his life in Alan, and the couple make plans to adopt. But when tragedy strikes, Arnold's life is shaken to its very core, leading to a confrontation with his overbearing mother, who has never approved of her son's lifestyle.


Starring Cast


Where to watch

Fandango
Prime Video logoPrime Video
Powered byJustWatch

Detailed Bias Analysis

Analyzing...
Progressive

Primary

The film's central thesis explicitly promotes the acceptance and rights of LGBTQ+ individuals, challenging societal homophobia and advocating for non-traditional family structures, which aligns with progressive ideology.

The film features a cast with visible diversity through its central gay characters. Its narrative explicitly addresses societal prejudices and the challenges faced by a gay man, exploring conflicts with traditional family expectations regarding sexual identity.

Secondary

Torch Song Trilogy offers an affirming portrayal of a gay man's life, depicting his journey with dignity, humor, and resilience. It explores themes of love, loss, and the formation of a chosen family, ultimately validating LGBTQ+ identity and relationships despite external challenges.

The film portrays a traditional Jewish mother whose rigid views on family and homosexuality cause significant conflict with her gay son, Arnold. However, the narrative clearly frames the mother's intolerance as problematic, positioning the audience to sympathize with Arnold's struggle for acceptance and dignity within his Jewish identity, ultimately affirming the individual's worth against bigotry.

Torch Song Trilogy focuses on the life of Arnold Beckoff, a gay Jewish drag queen, exploring themes of love, family, and identity within the gay community. The film does not feature any identifiable transsexual characters or themes, concentrating instead on gay male relationships and societal acceptance.

The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.

The film is an adaptation of a play, and all major characters retain the same gender as established in the original source material. No characters canonically established as one gender are portrayed as a different gender.

The 1988 film "Torch Song Trilogy" is an adaptation of Harvey Fierstein's play. The main characters, including Arnold Beckoff, Ed, Laurel, Ma, and David, are portrayed by actors whose race aligns with their established depiction in the original source material.


Viewer Rating Breakdown

7.6

Viewer Rating

Combines user and critic ratings from four sources

User Ratings

IMDB logo
7.8
The Movie Database logo
7.3

Critic Ratings

Rotten Tomatoes logo
7.6
Metacritic logo
N/A

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