Gods and Monsters
(Universal)
This is Bill Condon's screen bio
of James Whale, the elegant (and flamboyantly homosexual) filmmaker of the
original Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein. His career
fizzled in the '40s, probably because of his homosexuality; in 1957, he was
discovered dead in his California swimming pool. Gods and Monsters tries
to fill in those last days, as Whale (a white-haired, dandyish Ian McKellen)
becomes enamored of his new yard man (George of the Jungle's
Brendan Fraser), who assures the horny old man he's straight. So instead, they
talk. And talk. And talk. And the James Whale of this movie proves to be a
dotty bore. But don't miss the re-creation of the Universal Pictures 1935
shooting of The Bride of Frankenstein, where an adult female is
created for the Monster and where, coming to consciousness, she shrieks with
abhorrence when she actually sees her would-be husband. Filmdom's all-time most
potent Castrating Glance!
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