DIRECTOR: Paul Aaron
Directed by Paul Aaron from an original screenplay by Henry Olek, A Different Story is an intriguing but ultimately misguided attempt to explore sexual identity and unconventional relationships at a time when openly gay characters were still relatively uncommon in mainstream American cinema.
The film begins promisingly, with appealing performances from Perry King and Meg Foster and a refreshing reversal of traditional gender roles: Stella earns the money while Albert cooks and keeps house. Their growing affection is believable, and the early scenes possess considerable warmth and humor.
Unfortunately, the screenplay gradually abandons its more interesting observations in favor of conventional romantic melodrama. What begins as an exploration of gay friendship becomes a story in which heterosexual marriage, parenthood, and domesticity appear to offer the ultimate fulfillment. The implication that homosexuality can simply disappear through finding the right opposite-sex partner is particularly troubling.
The film is not without charm, and its depiction of gay life in late-1970s Los Angeles has historical interest. Nevertheless, its initially provocative premise is undermined by an ending that retreats into precisely the conventions it seemed determined to challenge.
With Peter Donat and Valerie Curtin in the thankless roles of Foster’s and King’s former same-sex partners, respectively. Interestingly, no photos of Foster with Curtain or King with Donat appear in the stills library.
A Different Story is an interesting example of how Hollywood’s increasing willingness to depict homosexuality in the 1970s did not necessarily translate into an acceptance of gay identity.
Circles-within-circles: Foster, of the amazing irises, played Cagney, opposite Tyne Daly’s Lacey, in the first season (six episodes) of Cagney & Lacey (1982). She was replaced by Sharon Gless for the remainder of the series because the powers that be considered her too dykey.
