Jan 19, 2018
Today’s movie is ”The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin” (2017), Jennifer M. Kroot’s documentary about Armistead Maupin’s life and works. I can remember my first experience with Maupin’s serial “Tales of the City”, traveling for work and coming across the original series on Showtime. I only caught a single episode, but I was hooked, immediately falling in love with the setting and the characters, not knowing a thing about Armistead Maupin or the controversy surrounding that series.
Kroot’s documentary is an overview of Maupin’s life, covering his conservative roots, his path of self-discovery as a gay man, his initial work on the “Tales of the City” serial along with his later works, and a few controversies along the way. The film bounces between his history and his works, showing the personal connections between Maupin and his characters, his life and their lives. It is mostly chronological, although meanders from time to time depending on the topic.
It is hard to quantify Armistead Maupin’s importance to the LGBTQ community, although this documentary hits the major highlights. Maupin’s boldness in his life and about his right to live it placed him in the vanguard of a rising tide of LGBTQ activism. “Tales of the City” opened the door for people to discover more about LGBTQ people, not as salacious or maligned stereotypes, but as real characters with real problems.
Kroot hits all the highlights, using great background music and fun transitions, all with a clear love and respect for Maupin. Maupin feels so genuine, possessing an honest understanding of his life and its effects, both good and bad. Kroot also brings in a nice entourage of interviews, including Neil Gaiman, Laura Linney, Ian McKellan, Amy Tan, Margaret Cho, and a bunch of others, all expounding on the ways that Maupin touched their lives.
Hardcore fans of Armistead Maupin won’t likely find much new in the documentary, but anyone with a passing interest in Maupin’s life or his works will find the documentary both insightful and enjoyable. I came away from the documentary wanting to re-read his works and pick up those I never read. I’m also looking forward to the rumored Netflix revival, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Rotten Tomatoes: 90%
Metacritic: NR
One Movie Punch: 7.2/10
“The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin” (2017) is not rated and is currently streaming on Netflix.