The Trip (2002/I)

Director:

Miles Swain

Writer:

Miles Swain (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The things we do for love and things we should have done, all come together on The Trip.

Plot:

When 19-year-old gay-rights activist Tommy and 24-year-old Alan first meet in 1973, they find themselves on the opposite sides of the political coin...

Plot Keywords:

Reference To Judy Garland | First Gay Sexual Experience | Closeted Homosexual | Mexico | Drugs

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Larry Sullivan	...	Alan Oakley
Steve Braun	...	Tommy Ballenger
Ray Baker	...	Peter Baxter
James Handy	...	Hal
Faith Salie	...	Ignored Woman
Dennis Bailey	...	Larry Jenkins
Alexis Arquette	...	Michael
Sirena Irwin	...	Beverly
Zoe 'Joshua Tree' Logan	...	1973 Jogger
Jill St. John	...	Mary Oakley
Art Hindle	...	Ted Oakley
Christina Hempstead	...	TV Reporter (as Christina Cameron Mitchell)
Julie Brown	...	OutLoud Receptionist
David Mixner	...	Himself
Alfred Dennis	...	George Baxter

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content, language and some drug use.

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:R | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Antelope Valley, California, USA

Company:

Falcon Lair Films

Trivia:

Falcon Lair Estate served as the setting for much of the film. This historic site once was home to Rudolph Valentino, Doris Duke, Gloria Swanson.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the "1984" section, the song "Oh Sheila", by Ready for the World, is played on the stereo; this song came out in late 1985.

Quotes:

Tommy Ballenger: So what made you want to become a writer?
Alan Oakley: It's always been my dream since a child. When did you first realize you were gay?
Tommy Ballenger: It's always been my dream since a child.

Movie Connections:

References "Kojak" (1973)

Soundtrack:

Shambala

See this film...

I attended a screening in SF, but found myself unable to speak while the director and two stars were standing before me. So now that I've found my voice again, here goes: While he falls short of achieving his goals, I believe it is because he has set the bar too high for himself. It seems he wanted to do so much in this film, that it was impossible for him to say everything that he wanted to. I am sure that making a film about gay men can be difficult. We want the love story of "Beautiful Thing", the comedy of "Trick", the hunky cast of "Broken Hearts Club", and the tear-jerker sadness of "It's My Party". Mr. Swain tries to do, be, create all of these things in one package. He came respectably close to doing it.

I enjoyed the film, it felt contrived in places, which may have had as much to do with the editing as it does with the fact that this is Mr. Swain's first film. Given time, his voice and vision will mature, and I can't wait to see what happens as it does.

See this film, we need more like it.