Speech & Debate
- Director: Dan Harris
- Writer: Stephen Karam
- Producer: Tom Rice
CGiii Comment
Journalism relies on morals, ethics and honesty...so says a teacher who refuses to endorse a Gay/Straight Alliance on the grounds that it is more of a social event than a legitimate school-club!
This a might little film that seems to have slipped [shamefully] under the gay media's radar! Undeservedly [and, negligently] so!
A light-hearted approach to some seriously BIG issues...censorship, puritanism...and, the transference of errant [adult] opinion onto and into younger [dangerously impressionable] minds!
A trio of misfits...the gay, the geek and the precocious...demand their young voices and opinions to be heard...their approach may be a little unconventional...but, it will certainly put a smile upon your old wizzened faces!
It's been 13 years since Dan Harris sat in the director's chair...and, alas, the rustiness is all too evident. There is a little staggering and a few mis-steps along the way...
Hallelujah for Sarah Steele, a powder-keg of talent and charisma...she captures that fine line between being likable and unlikable perfectly - her two sidekicks sidekick admirably. But, it really is her film...and in being so, her character needed much more depth.
Aaaah but there are the obvious constraints...time and money! With a little bit more time, Harris could have mulled over whether this film should have been a fully-committed musical [that it screamingly wanted to be] or, the film it became...with a few partly-performed songs thrown in to keep things going at a jaunty pace! Ooops!
That said...it's a refreshing, entertaining [even, uplifting] little film that deserves to be seen by an audience, young and old, opinionated and impressionable...and, by the censorious and puritanical!
Smile:)
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
Frustrated by the hypocrisy they see in their parents, teachers, and the entire school board, an unlikely trio set out to find a common truth and make their voices heard as they revive a defunct school club and take on the world.
Cast & Characters
Liam James as Solomon;
Sarah Steele as Diwata;
Austin P. McKenzie as Howie;
Roger Bart as Principal Bellingham;
Janeane Garofalo as Marie;
Wendi McLendon-Covey as Joan;
Kal Penn as James;
Kimberly Williams-Paisley as Susan;
Skylar Astin as Walter Healy;
Lin-Manuel Miranda as The Genie;
Sarah Baker as Miss Riggi;
Lucy DeVito as Lucy;
Ryan Lee as Mark;
Jeremy Rowley as Gary Crenshaw;
Logan Shroyer as Hot Debater