''Common Ground'' is a 2000 Showtime

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by

Donna Deitch Donna Deitch (born June 8, 1945, San Francisco, California) is an American film and television director, producer, and writer best known for her 1985 film ''Desert Hearts''. The movie was the first feature film to depict a lesbian love story in ...

and written by

Paula Vogel Paula Vogel (born November 16, 1951) is an American playwright who received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play ''How I Learned to Drive.'' A longtime teacher, Vogel spent the bulk of her academic career – from 1984 to 2008 – at Bro ...

Terrence McNally Terrence McNally (November 3, 1938 – March 24, 2020) was an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. Described as "the bard of American theater" and "one of the greatest contemporary playwrights the theater world has yet produced," ...

and

Harvey Fierstein Harvey Forbes Fierstein ( ; born June 6, 1952) is an American actor, playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for his theater work in '' Torch Song Trilogy'' and '' Hairspray'' and movie roles in '' Mrs. Doubtfire'', ''Independence Day'', an ...

Plot

"A Friend of Dorothy's"

In the 1950s, Dorothy Nelson (

Brittany Murphy Brittany Anne Murphy-Monjack (; November 10, 1977 – December 20, 2009) was an American actress and singer. Born in Atlanta, Murphy moved to Los Angeles as a teenager and pursued a career in acting. Her breakthrough role was as Tai Fras ...

) joins the United States Navy where she meets the Friends of Dorothy, a code name for a group of gay and lesbian sailors. Nelson meets Billy (

Jason Priestley Jason Bradford Priestley (born August 28, 1969) is a Canadian actor and television director. He is best known as the virtuous Brandon Walsh on the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1990–1998, 2000), as Richard "Fitz" Fitzpatrick in t ...

), who takes her to an interracial nightclub that tolerates gay people. However, the NIS raids the nightclub, and Nelson is among those servicemembers who receive a

blue discharge A blue discharge (also known as a "blue ticket") was a form of administrative military discharge formerly issued by the United States beginning in 1916. It was neither honorable nor dishonorable. The blue ticket became the discharge of choice for ...

for "

sexual perversion Paraphilia (previously known as sexual perversion and sexual deviation) is the experience of intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. It has also been defined as sexual interest in anything o ...

." Returning to Homer, she tries to restart her life as a public school teacher, but her unfavorable discharge prevents her from getting a job. When her homosexuality becomes public knowledge, her mother expels her from the house, forcing her to seek shelter at a family friend's grocery store. However, the townspeople disapprove of this arrangement, and Nelson becomes homeless. An independent-minded woman named Janet (

Helen Shaver Helen Shaver (born February 24, 1951) is a Canadian actress and film and television director. She has received Emmy and Saturn Award nominations, among other honours. Early life Shaver was born and raised, with five sisters, in St. Thomas, Ont ...

) at the local diner defends her against the verbal harassment and advises Nelson to go to the bohemian

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

, a place where she might be free to be herself.

"Mr. Roberts"

The second story flashes forward to the town of Homer in the 1970s, towards the end of the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

. There a closeted gay high school French language teacher, Mr. Roberts ( Steven Weber), has a student named Tobias Anderson, nicknamed Toby, (

Jonathan Taylor Thomas Jonathan Taylor Thomas (born Jonathan Taylor Weiss; September 8, 1981) is an American actor and director. He is known for portraying Randy Taylor on ''Home Improvement'' and voicing young Simba in Disney's 1994 film ''The Lion King'' and Pinocch ...

) who is on the verge of coming out of the closet, and who he suspects wishes to confide in him. Roberts must keep his homosexuality a secret for the fear of losing his job, but his live-in boyfriend Gus (

Scott McCord William Scott McCord is a Canadian actor. He is known for his versatility and character work in film, television, animation and on stage. He is a Lifetime Member of ''The Actors Studio''. On television he has appeared in series regular, recurri ...

) pressures him to set a good example for the students by illustrating the importance of tolerance and justice. Toby visits a prostitute on the advice of his swimming coach, with the idea that she can help him "become a man", but rather instead gives him some good advice about being himself. After Toby is sexually assaulted by bullies and is discovered by Roberts, Roberts then himself comes out to his students and lectures them on the evils of bias-motivated hatred. Toby graduates from high school and leaves Homer to attend college in the big city.

"Andy and Amos"

The final short story takes place in the present day (2000), when a father and the townspeople have to come to terms with the fact that two men will be getting married during a commitment ceremony to be held in the town. Ira (

Ed Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' a ...

), the father, is planning to lead a protest march against the wedding, while his son, Amos (

James LeGros James Le Gros () (born April 27, 1962) is an American actor. He was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male for his performance in '' Living in Oblivion''. Career James Le Gros appeared as Rick in Gus Van Sant's 1989 ...

), is nervous about getting married and going against the cultural stereotype of gay men. The film ends on a positive note, with father and son reconciling and the wedding taking place as scheduled.

Cast

Edward Asner Eddie Asner (; November 15, 1929 – August 29, 2021) was an American actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild. He is best remembered for portraying Lou Grant during the 1970s and early 1980s, on both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' a ...

as Ira * Beau Bridges as Father Leon *

as Don *

Brian Kerwin Brian Kerwin (born October 25, 1949) is an American actor who has starred in feature films, on Broadway, and television series and movies. Life Kerwin was born in Chicago and raised in Flossmoor, Illinois. He has three siblings: Anne, Dennis, a ...

as Chuck Dawson *

Margot Kidder Margaret Ruth Kidder (October 17, 1948 – May 13, 2018), known professionally as Margot Kidder, was a Canadian-American actress whose career spanned five decades. Her accolades include three Canadian Screen Awards and one Daytime Emmy A ...

as Mrs. Nelson *

Erik Knudsen Erik Knudsen (born March 25, 1988) is a Canadian actor. He is known for portraying Daniel Matthews in '' Saw II'', Alec Sadler in '' Continuum'' and Dale Turner in the CBS series ''Jericho''. Life and career Knudsen was born on March 25, 1988 ...

as Young Johnny Burroughs *

as Amos *

as Dorothy Nelson *

as Billy *

Mimi Rogers Miriam Rogers (née Spickler; born January 27, 1956) is an American actress. Her notable film roles are '' Gung Ho'' (1986), '' Someone to Watch Over Me'' (1987), ''Desperate Hours'' (1990), and '' Full Body Massage'' (1995). She garnered the gre ...

as McPherson *

as Janet * Eric Stoltz as Johnny Burroughs *

as Tobias "Toby" Anderson * Steven Weber as Gil Roberts *

as Gus * Caterina Scorsone as Peggy

Production

''A Friend of Dorothy's'' was written by Paula Vogel; ''Mr. Roberts'' was written by Terrence McNally; and ''Andy & Amos'' was written by Harvey Fierstein.Zahed, Ramin
"Review: ‘Common Ground’"
''Variety'', January 27, 2000 The plays star

, Steven Weber,

and

. The film contains three short stories about gay Americans during different time periods in the fictional town of Homer,

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

, and their efforts to find "common ground" or respect from the heterosexual majority.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Common Ground (Film) 2000 films American LGBT-related television films Lesbian-related television shows Films set in Connecticut Films with screenplays by Terrence McNally Showtime (TV network) films 2000 LGBT-related films LGBT-related drama films 2000s English-language films Films directed by Donna Deitch 2000s American films