Philadelphia

Philadelphia

(1993)
Drama
Running Time:
1 hr. 59 min.
Cast and Credits
Starring:
Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Antonio Banderas
Roberta Maxwell, Buzz Kilman, Karen Finley (II)

Directed by:
Alex Cox, Jonathan Demme, Kristi Zea

Produced by:
Gary Goetzman, Kenneth Utt, Ron Bozman

Review.........

Andrew Beckett is a young up-and-coming lawyer who has just been fired by his prestigious law firm.

His former colleagues claim he's just not good enough; Andrew says he's been fired because he has AIDS. Determined to defend his professional reputation; Andrew hires fierce personal-injury attorney Joe Miller to represent him as he sues his former firm for wrongful termination. Separated from Andrew by a deep social and cultural chasm, Joe is initially reluctant to take the case. For Andrew the battle is clear cut--he's fighting for his reputation, his life and for justice. Joe, however, faces a different kind of struggle as he confronts his own fears and prejudices about homosexuals.



Philadelphia is a truly amazing movie and a touching story. Tom Hanks plays a lawyer who has been stricken with a horrible disease. He plays a convincing role as Andrew Beckett, a man who knows the meaning of justice and knows what exactly his rights are.













What Mr. Hanks also accomplishes with this role is he breaks free from the stereotypes society has dictated on the average gay man. Andrew Beckett is not feminine in any way, he does not have a flair for shoe shopping or hold his arms limp-wristed or talk with a lisp.


For these reasons, it has been said that Tom Hanks was not believable as a gay man. I strongly disagree. Andrew Beckett is a normal man who enjoys smoking cigars and takes joy in the law. Who would think he was gay? This is precisely the point the movie is trying to make.

A gay man may be walking among you, every day you may see him at school, may play raquetball with him at the gym, may work late hours with him at the office... but yet you'd never suspect he is gay because he does not wear loafers decorated with tassels and he has a low-pitched voice.





Men are men, whether gay or not, and should be treated as such -- gays do not deserve special treatment but they deserve equal treatment. Because in most areas, gay men are just like straight men. I commend Tom Hanks for showing the world that gay men can be just as manly as any other. His Oscar was well-deserved and the movie was amazingly ground-breaking.