Love! Valour! Compassion!

Forget the title. Adapted by Terrence McNally from his own play, this is the stinging tale of eight gay friends and their trysts and tangles over three holiday weekends. Technically, rookie director Mantello is desperate to play straight. And, at times, the savoured tastefulness of the setting (a New York country house), not to mention the clothes, makes you want to rush out and hug something ugly. Seinfeld's Alexander shines as Buzz, a stage show fan as flamboyant as Liza Minnelli and twice as depressed. This is a man who's played phoney so long he doesn't feel real even to himself. Glover is also marvellous as John, the cynical Brit. He looks perfect, and even when he goes through the standard cathartic revelation, he manages to remain stiff with mistrust. Strangely, Glover's atrocious in a second part, as John's twin James. Certainly it's an uneven ride, with many of the emotional climaxes drifting into bathos. What saves the film is that its theme - that most sexual relationships don't last a lifetime - is a bomb which explodes with absolute quiet. When the kiss-off finally comes, it leaves the neck hairs standing.