Common Ground Information

Common Ground is a 2000 Showtime television movie directed by Donna Deitch and written by Paula Vogel, Terrence McNally and Harvey Fierstein. It stars Brittany Murphy, Jason Priestley, Steven Weber, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Edward Asner and James LeGros. The film contains three short stories about gay Americans during different time periods in the fictional town of Homer, Connecticut, and their efforts to find "common ground" or respect from the heterosexual majority.

Plot

"A Friend of Dorothy's"

In the 1950s Dorothy Nelson (Brittany Murphy) 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), who takes her to an interracial nightclub that tolerates gay people. However, the NCIS raids the nightclub, and Nelson is among those servicemembers who receive a Section 8 discharge for "sexual perversion." Returning to Homer, she tries to restart her life as a public school teacher, but her Section 8 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) at the local diner defends her against the verbal harassment and advises Nelson to go to the bohemian Greenwich Village, the only 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. There a closeted gay high school French language teacher, Mr. Roberts (Steven Weber), has a student named Tobias, nicknamed Toby, (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) 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 pressures him to set a good example for the students by illustrating the importance of tolerance and justice. Tobias 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 Tobias 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. Tobias graduates from high school and leaves Homer to attend college in the big city.

"Amos and Andy"

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. The father is planning to lead a protest march against the wedding, while his son, Amos (James LeGros), 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 as Ira
• Beau Bridges as Father Leon
• Harvey Fierstein as Don
• Erik Knudsen as Young Johnny Burroughs
• James LeGros as Amos
• Brittany Murphy as Dorothy Nelson
• Jason Priestley as Billy
• Helen Shaver as Janet
• Eric Stoltz as Johnny Burroughs
• Jonathan Taylor Thomas as Tobias
• Steven Weber as Gil Roberts