The Boys in the Band (1970)

Director: William Friedkin

Writer: Mart Crowley

Starring: Kenneth Nelson, Frederick Combs, Cliff Gorman, Laurence Luckinbill, Keith Prentice, Peter White, Reuben Greene, Robert La Tourneaux, Leonard Frey

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Today is Harold's birthday. This is his present.

Plot: Tempers fray and true selves are revealed when a heterosexual is accidentally invited to a homosexual party.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

OMFG.  Did you see the trailer at the end?  "...is now a movie.  It's not a musical!".  Wow!  I can't speak for how groundbreaking this film was or might've been but I can't recall seeing a film of this time or before that dealt so seriously with homosexuality.  That's only part of what this film is about.  It's also about facing fears, secrets and coming to grips with one's self.  The trailer makes this sound like a comedy but it is far from it.  It starts out light and with a few laughs here and there but a third into it shit starts to get real and it's downright brutal by the end.  It's kind of like how the tone gradually shifts in WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966) (man, I'm so ready to see that one again).  The cast does an outstanding job and it's great that they were all given the roles they had in the play.  That rarely happens.  Don't let the trailer fool you, this is hard drama after the first half hour or so but it's also very good.