★ 8 / 10
Clean-cut All-American Boy Roy Scherer Jr. probably never
Brent Marchant
Clean-cut All-American Boy Roy Scherer Jr. probably never envisioned the life he would eventually lead when he was growing up in Winnetka, IL. But, once he…
Clean-cut All-American Boy Roy Scherer Jr. probably never envisioned the life he would eventually lead when he was growing up in Winnetka, IL. But, once he transformed into rugged, handsome matinee idol Rock Hudson, it all came together, even if it was not how and what he imagined. As one of Hollywood’s most sought-after actors in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, Hudson emerged as one of Tinsel Town’s biggest stars in the movies and on television. He was also someone who throngs of women lusted after as a romantic interest, an image that his handlers carefully crafted. There was just one snag in this plan: Hudson was a closeted gay man whose private life had to be discreetly managed to preserve his reputation and the future viability of his career. It was as if he were leading two lives – a public life as an allegedly straight regular guy and a private, judiciously guarded one in which he could be himself as a gay man. And, even though almost everyone in Hollywood’s inner circle knew the truth about him, Hudson’s public persona was successfully preserved, despite occasional (and widely discredited) tabloid rumors. However, when the idol was diagnosed with AIDS in 1984, the secret could no longer be contained, despite official denials to the contrary. Yet, with this revelation, Hudson became the face of this frightening new illness, a condition no one wanted to talk about. It was thus ironic how this once-heavily sequestered gay man would become an unwitting activist for patients suffering with this debilitating disease, helping to generate attention and funding at a time when the homophobic Reagan Administration refused to do anything meaningful about it. Director Stephen Kijak’s new HBO documentary presents a comprehensive look at Hudson’s professional and personal life, with ample contemporary and archive clips and interviews with those who worked with him, such as actresses Elizabeth Taylor, Linda Evans, Piper Laurie and Carole Cook, and with those who knew him privately, such as author Armistead Maupin, actor Peter Kevoian and biographer Mark Griffin. While much is known about Hudson’s entertainment career, little has been publicly circulated about his personal life, a development that marks a significant change with the release of this new film. Interestingly, there’s a fair degree of irony in the choice of movie and TV clips included here in that many of them are quietly telling about the actor’s personal life when viewed in this new light, almost as if they represented muted, inside revelations at the time these works were made. Some of the content (particularly in the interviews about Hudson’s private life) could be seen as sexually explicit, so sensitive viewers should take heed. In all though, this insightful, respectful look at the actor’s life as both a gifted entertainer and an unlikely hero delivers a well-rounded biography of a man who toiled to strike a balance in his two worlds, both for his fans and for those who shared his secret, an effort that yielded a lot of good in both areas.
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★ 6 / 10
A Doc Unworthy of Rock Hudson
catarinaloss
An icon as beloved as Rock Hudson deserves a thorough, thoughtful, and multifaceted documentary. So why is it that he got one that focuses so heavily on his…
An icon as beloved as Rock Hudson deserves a thorough, thoughtful, and multifaceted documentary. So why is it that he got one that focuses so heavily on his sexuality and conquests, and not nearly enough on the man himself? No person is defined simply by their sexual orientation and nor should they be. This is especially true of one of the biggest movie stars of the '50s and '60s. Going from the Midwest to Hollywood, experiencing the ups and downs of stardom, and being closeted all the while all must affect someone in various ways. But we don't really learn how in this doc. Instead, it consists mostly of interviews with men he had flings with. There is some good insight here and there, but it mostly gets lost amongst talk of his romantic relationships.Perhaps he was just too private for any truly meaningful content to be put together about him. If that's the case, it probably wasn't worth making this. I also seriously question the director's abilities because, as another review said, the movie clip usage grew tiresome and was uncomfortable at times. There were also a couple of highly unnecessary crude comments about Rock that were inexplicably not edited out.I personally don't think Rock would appreciate his sexuality being the biggest talking point because I don't think anyone would. He was so much more than that. This is a skip.
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★ 10 / 10
Indeed it does!
DavidsGuy
To those reviewers who feel this doc about Rock Hudson "offered nothing new," I disagree. What exactly did you expect it to reveal, which way he hung? I won't…
To those reviewers who feel this doc about Rock Hudson "offered nothing new," I disagree. What exactly did you expect it to reveal, which way he hung? I won't list them here, but it does indeed offer some new insights and info even to those of us who thought we knew almost everything about Rock Hudson. It not only delves into his personal and professional life from beginning to end, but it focuses on the kind of person he was. I found the doc very well done, thorough, and informative and I especially enjoyed the comments of those who were his lovers. It reveals more about his personal life than anything I've previously seen. Unfortunately, some find fault with everything no matter what the subject is and there's just no pleasing them. They're certainly entitled to their opinion, but I highly recommend this doc. You'll be glad you watched.
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TOMATOMETER
· 48 reviews
75%
AUDIENCE
7.3/10
1.9K
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I know you are just children most of you, but do a little work before making stupid comments. The title refers to one of his most popular movies, All that Heaven Allows.