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Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street 2019 ★★★★
For the second time in little more than a week, I've ventured into the universe surrounding ANOES. Only this time in a completely different way.
Because... while part of it, if not a large part, is about the series and Freddy Krueger, it's certainly not the main focal point. That would be the life and journey of Mark Patton, the man portraying Jesse Walsh, aka the first male scream queen. We follow him thoughout his life and times, with (more than) a few aspects making it unbelievable.
From how comfortable he was with his sexuality early on (not an easy feat in less supportive times) to him finding his way to the stage as an actor. Culminating in a beautiful Cher-story.
The movie that made him, also broke him. But not as much as the scriptwriters did and the impact of the AIDS epidemic was even worse. As someone who was a child during the Reagan-era and who hit puberty around the time that condoms became a common thing, I was (kind of) aware of the epidemic, but at the end of the day, it was far away. Something to be careful for, end of story, no more than that. And you kind of knew that a lot of people died and certainly a lot of gay people, you just did not give it that much thought, since you were too busy with your own life, discovering girls, music, movies and what not. In a way, this movie was an eyeopener, a lot more than a movie like Philadelphia was. Philadelphia raised awareness about gays, this raises awareness about AIDS. Mark telling about Tom, his disease and his passing really hits home how big the stigma and the self loathing must have been to have certain thoughts. Not to mention how small things could have had an immense impact.
We see the hell that Mark went through as a person (chances are the line about not seeing a person for a year will make your eyes misty), and you immediately had an image of all the nameless gay actors who fell between the cracks in the system of that era. He tells about his personal life, how he pulled himself off the grid and how he built a new life. Only to find out about the impact he had and then start a new life, touring the convention circuit and being a champ at it. and you immediately see why he says that. It was touching to see how many people drew courage from his portrayal of Jesse and how it inspired them to lead their lives and and all of them help shift the needle of aceeptance. I loved the analogy with the Crispin Glover dance and you know what? The universe is richer with both of them doing their own thing than with one copying the other.
One of the two highlights of the documentary is the reunion with the original cast. You can still mistake Kim Myers for Meryl Streep and over the years, Robert Rusler has only become more handsome. And while he does not say much in this movie, you can tell that Robert Englund is a kind, warm soul, supportive and accepting. The reunion is warm and you can see that these people respect each other. With a telling conversation between Rusler and director Jack Sholder.
The other is the confrontation with writer David Chaskin. With Mark Patton wanting him to admit that he knew what he was doing more than he let on or wanted to admit at the time and see the impact of that an of some of the stuff he said. Knowing his experience and how he still feels the consequences (“You wrote it, btu I'm the one getting called f****t a hundred times a day”), you can perfectly imagine Mark being bitter and vinctive about that. And while, yes, some of that is there, I was also struck by the perspective he still had and his willingness to reconcile. Making this kind of story more likely to awaken pepople than some of the more extreme woke people on Elon's thingamajig (x or whatever the fuck he calls it a month from now).
A touching and moving story to go out your way for in order to see it. And part of me hopes that it also somehow gave Wes a bit of happiness and pride in the many ways his creation has meant so much to so many people.
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