Gay love stories on film: ''Philadelphia''

Andrew and Miguel, 'Philadelphia' (1993)

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Photo: Philadelphia: Everett Collection

Gay love stories on film: ”Philadelphia”

THE STORY Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks, left), an attorney who loses his job when his employers discover he has AIDS, decides to sue for damages, with his loyal lover Miguel (Antonio Banderas, right) offering tender support.

WHY IT’S MEMORABLE True, Andrew and Miguel’s relationship is glossed over in favor of the movie’s Big Message, but taken in the context of the film’s early-’90s release — at a time when the HIV crisis seemed nearly invisible in big studio movies — it’s hard not to offer them at least a small ”Huzzah!” (Oscar voters cheered even louder; they gave Hanks his first Best Actor statue for his work in this film.)

WHAT EW SAID ”Banderas barely gets any scenes, just enough to let us know that these two are as happy and committed as any heterosexual couple?But Andrew, as written, is less a character than a file-card hodgepodge of gay characteristics.” B- (Read the review)

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