Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City Movie Review 1993

Carefree '70s San Francisco is the setting for the interconnected stories of the inhabitants of 28 Barbary Lane. There's mysterious landlady Mrs. Madrigal (Dukakis); free-spirit Mona Ramsey (Webb); her gay roomie, Michael "Mouse" Tolliver (D'Amico); hetero lawyer-turned-waiter Brian (Gross); nerdy, secretive Norman (DeSantis); and the naively sweet Mary Ann Singleton (Linney). Definite time-warp factor in this pre-AIDS depiction of sex and drugs, but also the timeless search for love and happiness. Maupin first wrote the stories as an ongoing serial for the San Francisco Chronicle and they were later turned into six novels. Made for British TV.

Distribution

USA Home Entertainment, 1 W. Forest, Englewood, NJ 07631-4004, Phone: (201)871-1000, URL: http://www.polygram-us.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 360 minutes.
Originally from British.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Comedy Drama, San Francisco, Gays, Period Piece: 1970s, Sex & Sexuality, Drug Use & Abuse, Not-So-True Identity

Screenplay

Richard Kramer

Cast

Olympia Dukakis, Donald Moffat, Chloe Webb, Laura Linney, Marcus D'Amico, Billy Campbell, Thomas Gibson, Paul Gross, Barbara Garrick, Nina Foch, Edie Adams, Meagen Fay, Lou Liberatore, Country Joe McDonald, Mary Kay Place, Parker Posey, Kevin Sessums, McLean Stevenson, Stanley DeSantis, Cynda Williams, Karen Black, Michael Jeter, Paul Bartel, Lance Loud, Ian McKellen, Bob Mackie, Marissa Ribisi, Mother Love, Don Novello, Rod Steiger, Janeane Garofalo, Armistead Maupin

Director

Alastair Reid

Music

John Keane

Producer

Alan Poul, Antony Root, Working Title Productions, England Channel 4 London, Propaganda Films