Little Tony DeFranco
12-06-2004, 06:54 AM
Review: Kinsey
http://www.browntownjohnny.com/index.php
Before Lenny Bruce and Howard Stern, way back when the media was nothing but radio and newspapers to find out anything about American society; a doctor of Zoology and Biology named Alfred Kinsey started a funded sex survey called "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male". After being appalled by reading text books full of lies and misinformation, Kinsey began teaching a course about marriage and sex. This was the start of the sexual revolution in America and his work was a best seller as a clinical and thorough overview of sex.
Director/writer Bill Condon (openly gay filmmaker) examines the life story of "Kinsey" as a positive moment in American history. As a film, "Kinsey" is a first rate independent production and casting Irish actor Liam Neeson in the lead, with Laura Linney as his wife Clara. Condon's last film called "Gods and Monsters" was one of my favorite Hollywood bios about 'Frankentein' director James Whale's final years. "Kinsey" is a standard 'rise and fall' bio about a determined teacher that is obsessed with making his life works become the final text about sex. The story is fascinating.
The film has a fine supporting cast including John Lithgow as Kinsey's minister father, Alfred Sr. (a hateful and pompous asshole), and Peter Sarsgaard as a bi-sexual assistant (beware of full frontal gay love). There are some great smaller roles with Timothy Hutton, Oliver Platt, Tim Curry (as a rival prof) and Chris O'Donnell. The best scenes are given to William Sadler (Die Hard 2 villain) as a pervert sex fiend (he jerks in front of Kinsey in a record 10 sec time) and 'Gods and Monsters' co-star Lynn Redgrave as a lesbian who praised Kinsey for helping her find true love. Neeson commands the film but Linney is the heart and soul of the love story. Love is not a science is the message of this detailed and bold bio, and Condon achieves his goal. While Lenny Bruce and Howard Stern did their work through comedy, Kinsey did his through science. They all ran into the same wall of puritan and political suppression. Classy movie is not all that new but Condon is talented.
Heartbeat is a Love Beat
http://www.browntownjohnny.com/index.php
Before Lenny Bruce and Howard Stern, way back when the media was nothing but radio and newspapers to find out anything about American society; a doctor of Zoology and Biology named Alfred Kinsey started a funded sex survey called "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male". After being appalled by reading text books full of lies and misinformation, Kinsey began teaching a course about marriage and sex. This was the start of the sexual revolution in America and his work was a best seller as a clinical and thorough overview of sex.
Director/writer Bill Condon (openly gay filmmaker) examines the life story of "Kinsey" as a positive moment in American history. As a film, "Kinsey" is a first rate independent production and casting Irish actor Liam Neeson in the lead, with Laura Linney as his wife Clara. Condon's last film called "Gods and Monsters" was one of my favorite Hollywood bios about 'Frankentein' director James Whale's final years. "Kinsey" is a standard 'rise and fall' bio about a determined teacher that is obsessed with making his life works become the final text about sex. The story is fascinating.
The film has a fine supporting cast including John Lithgow as Kinsey's minister father, Alfred Sr. (a hateful and pompous asshole), and Peter Sarsgaard as a bi-sexual assistant (beware of full frontal gay love). There are some great smaller roles with Timothy Hutton, Oliver Platt, Tim Curry (as a rival prof) and Chris O'Donnell. The best scenes are given to William Sadler (Die Hard 2 villain) as a pervert sex fiend (he jerks in front of Kinsey in a record 10 sec time) and 'Gods and Monsters' co-star Lynn Redgrave as a lesbian who praised Kinsey for helping her find true love. Neeson commands the film but Linney is the heart and soul of the love story. Love is not a science is the message of this detailed and bold bio, and Condon achieves his goal. While Lenny Bruce and Howard Stern did their work through comedy, Kinsey did his through science. They all ran into the same wall of puritan and political suppression. Classy movie is not all that new but Condon is talented.
Heartbeat is a Love Beat