Movie Review - Any Day Now

Any Day Now (2012)

Starring Alan Cumming, Garret Dillahunt, and Isaac Leyva

Directed by Travis Fine
***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

A Fox News watcher's version of hell, Any Day Now is "inspired by a true story" of a 1979 gay couple who fight for the right to adopt a fourteen year-old boy with Down's Syndrome after his drug-addicted mother becomes incarcerated.  Those who know me know I'm a Fox News watcher myself, but my fiscal conservative nature doesn't necessarily toe the line when it comes to the Republican stance on certain social issues so the very concept of the film didn't have any bearing on my actual opinion.

With that in mind, I'm flabbergasted that Any Day Now has a 77% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.  That isn't to say that director and co-writer Travis Fine's film is bad, but it certainly is steeped in stereotypes that I'm shocked weren't roasted by a few more folks.  I realize that the 1970s were likely not filled with kindness and understanding towards homosexuals, but this is one of those films where there's no middle ground -- people are either good or they're bad and that simply isn't a fascinating way to characterize people in films.

However, Any Day Now is buoyed by some decent performances from Alan Cumming and Garret Dillahunt as the newly formed couple and Isaac Leyva who, in real life, deals with Down's Syndrome on a daily basis.  It's during scenes where these three actors share the screen that the film works best with all three entirely capable of displaying the love and kindness that these characters feel for one another.

The RyMickey Rating:  C