Dustin Lance Black’s 2009 Academy Award acceptance speech for Best Original Screenplay has been featured twice in HBO’s new documentary, Mom’s Boy, about Black and his mother Anne. It’s no wonder the author, who won an Oscar for his 2008 biopic Milk, about LGBTQ rights activist Harvey Milk, is now on the podium in Hollywood. Even as Black’s voice wavers on stage and during interviews for this film, his belief in storytelling as a tool of empathy and activism flows from every word. That unshakable belief has its strengths and weaknesses.
Based on Black’s memoirs, the film follows a mother’s journey from her childhood in small town Louisiana, to her unwillingness to succumb to polio, to her gradual acceptance of her son’s gay identity. Follow life in chronological order. Black’s childhood memories and how his life was irrevocably shaped by both his mother’s conservatism and her resilience seem to be the backbone of Laurent Bouzereau’s film. And so on, anecdotes about their close bond give texture to the film’s thesis.
But “Mama’s Boy” is somewhat naive in the current climate of LGBTQ rights. It’s a commendable value that the screenwriter’s mother has been transformed by her empathy for people who are different from her. But the film takes a somewhat short-sighted approach to Black’s activist philosophy across the aisles, focusing primarily on his work towards marriage equality. It doesn’t take into account that political polarization can make it harder to implement strategies to share space with others, as his mother did.
mama’s boy
Unrated. Running time: 1 hour 42 minutes. Watch on HBO Max.