Review of A Very Natural Thing (1974) by Ceph J — 22 Jul 2011

"Being Gay is a very natural thing" says the woman interviewed at a gay pride event in NY leading to the film's title. There's also some very good quotes duirng the semi-documentary filming. However, the movie is actually a coming-out drama of David (played cconvincingly by Robert Joel) as an ex monk finding love in NY. He and his lover Mark (Curt Gareth) have issues on space, monogamy, and intimacy. Typical but universal issues facing many gay men.

I liked the orginality of the story and I liked the gay affirmation of the story. The ending scenes of Joel and his new love Jason (lookalike Bo White) are beautiful. Filmed in 1974, I'm sure the movie must have been helpful to lots of gay men. Even now, 40 years later, it hasn't lost it's relevance as gays fight for marriage rights and to rescind the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.