Happy Birthday, Gemini

Happy Birthday, Gemini (1980)

The birthday cake is part nuts... the birthday party is completely nuts!

A poor Harvard student's romance with a girl hits a rough spot when he realizes, on his 21st birthday, that he's in love with her brother.

Date of release
1980-05-03
TMDB
3.9 / 10 (7)
Runtime
1h 47m
Genres
Comedy, Drama, Romance
Director
Richard Benner

Casting

Interesting facts

Happy Birthday, Gemini is a 1980 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Richard Benner. It is based on Albert Innaurato's long running play Gemini. The film stars Madeline Kahn, Rita Moreno, Robert Viharo, Alan Rosenberg, Sarah Holcomb, David Marshall Grant and Timothy Jenkins.

Background and production

Benner said he was convinced to go see the play by his agent, and it became clear to him after watching the play, that this was the nearest thing to a modern Chekhov that he had seen: "there are seven major characters but very little plot, essentially, you watch seven people evolve emotionally." Benner bought the screen rights from Innaurato for $85,000.

Benner wrote the screenplay without any input from Innaurato. Benner said there was no stipulation in the contract that he needed Innaurato's approval, but he felt like there was an "ethical one", and the two of them became "great friends." Benner further stated that he did not "think the play was well-served on stage." Innaurato said he saw the movie, but declined to make a comment about it.

The movie began shooting in Toronto on June 20, 1979, and was supposed to be finished by August 3. A week later they were still filming and so far over their initial budget for the film, that they had given up the pretense of calling it a "little over" or "slightly over." According to John Quill, the film's production manager, Jim Kelly, the original director of photography, was replaced by Richard C. Brooks in June, due to Kelly being sick.

Filming locations in Toronto included Kensington Market, several backyards on Beverley Street, and a trolley graveyard and a banquet hall on Dufferin Street. Before James Cameron established himself as a successful filmmaker, he served as a set dresser's assistant on the film.

The movie's gay theme was not mentioned in film posters or other promotional material. Benner added a scene in the film that was not in the original play, where Nick accepts Francis coming out. In the stage play the ending left the impression that Francis would go off with Judith. According to Benner, the additional scene was endorsed by Innaurato.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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