A successful young L.A. doctor and his equally successful television-producer wife find their happily-ever-after life torn assunder when he suddenly confronts his long-repressed attraction for other men. Zach and Claire live a comfortable life secure in their love for one another when Bart, a swinging L.A. novelist, walks into Zach's office and awakens unfamiliar feelings in him. In a move which leaves him wracked with guilt, Zach cancels dinner with his wife in order to go out with Bart. He is inexplicably drawn to this man who seems intent on keeping him at arms distance. Why can't Bart allow their relationship to grow? he wonders. Exasperated, he asks Bart, "Do you snore? Does anybody ever get a chance to find out?" As Zach's absences become more and more frequent, Claire's concern manifests itself in the suspicion that he is having an affair with another woman. Jilted by Bart and feeling alone for the first time in his married life, Zach resolves to tell Claire the truth about ... Written by

Plot Synopsis:
-------------------

Zack Elliot (Michael Ontkean) is a successful young doctor in the Los Angeles area married to Claire (Kate Jackson), an equally successful television network producer. They have been married for eight years and are generally happy in their relationship, sharing in common a love for Gilbert and Sullivan and the poetry of Rupert Brooke, to whom they were introduced by their elderly former neighbor, Winnie Bates (Wendy Hiller). Intending to start a family, the couple buy a big house together.

Unknown to Claire, Zack has been struggling with feelings of attraction to other men. He picks up men in his car and starts frequenting gay bars in West Hollywood on his lunch hour, although he does not follow through sexually. This changes when he meets Bart McGuire (Harry Hamlin), a gay novelist who comes to see him for a medical check-up. Bart leads a fairly hedonistic single lifestyle, picking up multiple sexual partners, frequenting gay bars and clubs, occasionally taking recreational drugs. Zack and Bart are mutually but unspokenly attracted to each other and go out for lunch.

A few days later, Zack calls Bart and asks him on a dinner date. He lies to Claire, saying he has to work late. At Bart's house, Zack and Bart talk and it becomes clear that Zack is not yet able to identify as gay, instead labeling himself "curious". That night Zack and Bart go to bed together, which is the first time Zack has ever had sex with another man. Afterwards, Zack wants to stay the night, but Bart, following his usual pattern, brushes him off. Angered, Zack leaves but returns the next day to confront Bart further about Bart's fear of intimacy. Bart makes plans for them to get together during the weekend.

Claire, concerned about the growing distance in her marriage, goes to her boss seeking a year-long leave of absence. Instead, he promotes her and sends her to New York City on a weekend business trip. Zack takes advantage of the opportunity to spend more time with Bart, but they end up arguing. Zack calls the outline for Bart's new novel less than honest, and Bart confronts Zack about his own lack of honesty about his sexuality. That night in bed, Zack tells Bart that he loves him. The next morning, fearful of his own growing feelings for Zack, Bart pushes him away again.

(Throughout the film, Bart and Claire deliver several mini-monologues, speaking directly to the camera about aspects of their lives and their feelings about the scenes that had just played out on-screen.)

Eventually, Bart realizes that he does have feelings for Zack but that he is not ready for the level of commitment that Zack needs. He is last seen in the film back out in the bars, cruising.

With Claire home from her trip, Zack tells Claire of his feelings for other men. Although she said she could handle anything he could tell her, she reacts very badly and Zack leaves the house. A few days later, an emotional Claire trashes some of Zack's clothes and finds a matchbook with a man's name and number written in it. She locates someone Zack had picked up, and they talk. She learns from him that gay people can live normal and happy lives. Claire attempts to get Zack to remain in the marriage, even claiming that she would be okay with him having affairs with other men, but Zack advises her that she must let go. Zack then tells Claire that he has a job prospect in New York City, working with cancer patients. In the end, the two agree to a divorce.

The film jumps forward a few years later, with the death of Winnie Bates, Zack and Claire's former neighbor. Zack is living in New York and in a committed relationship with another man by this time, but he returns to Los Angeles for the funeral. Claire has since gotten re-married to an architect and has a young son named Rupert. After the funeral, Zack and Claire discuss their lives and express their own happiness and their gratitude that the other is happy.

----------------------------------------
bradley-matchett from Ottawa, CANADA
----------------------------------------

I remember hearing about this film long before it came out. Living in a small eastern Ontario town in Canada in 1982 (a town with an army base no less) I thought that as much as I wanted to, my chances of seeing this film were pretty slim unless I could somehow make it to a big city. Finally, I lucked out and the film did come to our town as part of a double-bill along with Neil Simon's "I Ought To Be In Pictures". I remember watching as this movie (the second feature) started, and silence descended upon the entire theatre. You could have heard a pin drop. As the movie progressed and we got to the scene where Zack and Bart lovingly kiss for the first time there was pandemonium in the theatre. It seemed like half the audience got up. People were yelling abusive epithets at the screen and storming out of the theatre in droves. As a young man on the brink of committing suicide because of feelings I didn't understand and had no relation to -- this movie saved my life. For the first time in my life, after watching this film, I could identify with someone else, and I knew there were other people like me in this world. I thought then, and I think now, twenty-two years later, that all the people involved with this film took tremendous chances and showed great courage in seeing to it this movie was made.

Say what you will about the soap opera type plot, and making the movie more palatable for mainstream tastes, the fact remains that this was in its time a ground-breaking film. I know many other people who have been profoundly touched by this film. Several years ago I ran a group for gay men in various stages of coming out. One night I showed them my own personal copy of this film. Nearly all who were viewing it for the first time were still totally mesmerized and awed by the courage shown by all involved with this film, particularly Harry Hamlin and Michael Ontkean. Both of these actors were already popular established actors at the time this film was made, and both of them took tremendous risks with their careers by taking these parts. For a movie to actually show two men in a loving relationship, and to actually show two men kiss each other on the lips was amazingly brave. As was pointed out elsewhere on this board Tom Hanks and Antonio Banderas would not even kiss in the 'critically acclaimed' "Philadelphia", and that was many years later. Kate Jackson was fresh off "Charlie's Angels" when she took the part of Claire. Kate did a wonderful job in this film, and held her own against two powerful actors. Her powerful speech to her husband after he comes out to her gave many women the words to say to their husbands.

All of these years later I don't think there is a finer 'coming out' film than "Making Love"!

----------------------------------------
preppy-3 from United States
----------------------------------------

A happily married doctor (Michael Ontkean) realizes he has sexual feelings about men. One day he meets openly gay Bart (Harry Hamlin) and falls in love. Meanwhile his wife Claire (Kate Jackson) can't understand why her husband is suddenly so cold and distant.

I saw this twice in a theatre back in 1982. I was a 20 year old closeted gay man seriously considering suicide. Basically this film saved my life. It portrayed gay men as sympathetic people--not victims or psychopaths or comic relief as other films did before this.

This was a groundbreaker for Hollywood and, at first, did very well at the box office. And, unlike other posters, I never had any audience walk-outs when I saw it. I saw it at a theatre in Boston and there was dead silence throughout--and applause at the end. Then business fell off when word got out that this was boring. In some way it is--they go out of their way to please everybody--gays and straights. The film lacks an edge that could have made it stronger BUT (in 1982) Hollywood was very timid about this subject--this probably went as far as studio executives would allow it.

Credit goes to Hamlin and Ontkean for playing gay characters (very rare in those days) and sharing a long passionate kiss together. Also they both gave good performances--especially Hamlin. The real surprise was Kate Jackson--she was INCREDIBLE in her role. When her husband comes out to her, her reaction is utterly believable and actually had me crying (the first time I saw it).

It's kind of sad that people still think this is gay propaganda (as one poster here does). It's just a compelling drama about a man coming to grips with his sexual orientation.

Seen today the movie may seem dated and WAY too timid, but this was the first major Hollywood film to deal realistically with gay men. That makes it a gay classic. I give it a 10.

----------------------------------------
ML368 (starboy368@aol.com) from Long Island, NY
----------------------------------------

This is a beautiful story that was years ahead of its time. It deals with a young doctor who realizes that he is gay and the consequences it has on his marriage and his life. As the lead character begins to explore his new sexual identity, he gets involved with a commitment phobic writer and the movie explores issues of commitment, love, infidelity, rejection. But most importantly the movie shows the importance of being true to oneself. It is an extremely gay positive film and the filmmakers are not afraid to explore the depths of the characters struggle. All characters are portrayed honestly and realistically and the viewer is never given the feeling that the filmmakers are trying so hard to get the approval of the straight audience as in "Philadelphia". It is simply an honest and accurate portrayal of one man coming to terms with being gay. All performances are top notch and the ending so bittersweet that one cannot help but shed tears. A wonderful coming out story that i know had a profound impact on many gay men.

----------------------------------------
Scott Amundsen (scottsteaux@hotmail.com)
----------------------------------------

MAKING LOVE was dismissed as a rather routine melodrama despite its "controversial" subject. This is a pity, for this film is years ahead of its time in the frank and non-judgmental approach it takes to same-sex love. The on-screen kiss between Michael Ontkean and Harry Hamlin was in some ways the "shot heard round the world;" although not sexually explicit, this movie has clear and frank lovemaking scenes between the two men. This has yet to be duplicated in a mainstream Hollywood film; eleven years after MAKING LOVE, Hollywood gave us PHILADELPHIA, a "groundbreaking" film in which the lovers don't even kiss! This is progress?

Unappreciated in its time, MAKING LOVE has held up surprisingly well. Yes, it is a rather routine romance; except for the gender-switch, there isn't much here that is new or unusual. Yet, oddly, this is exactly what makes this film so appealing. Homosexuality is not seen as a problem except where it coincidentally creates one; the love triangle is handled in almost exactly the same way it would be if the husband had an affair with a woman. The stars are attractive and sympathetic and all give extremely appealing and deeply felt performances. If you saw it in 1982, it's worth a second (even third) look. If you've never seen it, it's a treat.

----------------------------------------
gzaglin from San Rafael, CA
----------------------------------------

Saw this movie in 1982, and remember the gasps of the audience before half the theater left.

Saw it again 4/24/2001 on Fox Movie, and was amazed at how relevent this movie still is, and how it anticpated the sensitivity which we now take for granted in the portrayal of homoerotic themes.

My hats off to Barry Sandler and Arthur Hill for doing this way before it's time, and to Michael Otkean and Harry Hamlin for a willingness to take on the roles of two gay men way before the American public was ready to see it.

----------------------------------------
ohcurt1968 from California
----------------------------------------

I love how people so eagerly show their prejudice by calling movies like this "gay propaganda." If anything, these folks do us a favor by exposing themselves so that those of us with brains in our heads can steer clear of them.

If the purpose of this movie was to send a message, then that message was obviously this: Trust what's in your heart, and be true to yourself and the ones you love.

Would love to see this little gem released onto DVD, maybe with some commentary. Playing a gay role in a motion picture required much more bravery from an actor in 1982 than it does today. It would be interesting to hear Michael Ontkean and Harry Hamlin give their perspective on this.

----------------------------------------
twanurit from United States
----------------------------------------

The picture frequently gets a bad rap for being soap-opera-ish, timid, too white, too pat, etc. It remains a groundbreaker, for up to that time (1982), gays were either comedic relief, self-pitying ("Boys In the Band" - 1970), psycho-killers, or victims (includes "Philadelphia" - 1993). Released by a major studio (Fox), the film features characters who have some inner turmoil (the married doctor yearns for male affection in a carefree writer), but are NOT any of the above, which is refreshing and unheard of in 1982. Director Arthur Hiller (the supporting cast includes Arthur HILL and Wendy HILLER), elicits superb performances from Michael Ontkean, Kate Jackson, and Harry Hamlin, backed by Leonard Rosenman's pretty score, including the title track, this is a captivating, touching drama with no violent, tragic, degrading ending. How many times has one see that depicted in a gay-themed motion picture?

----------------------------------------
RoseAndTheDoctor
----------------------------------------

I don't understand the number of reviews that refer to this movie as being "ahead of its time." The time was clearly right for this movie. By 1980 the gay and lesbian community had finally become fed up with movies portrayal of homosexuals as either the predatory lesbian or the flamboyant faggot who best case ended up alone and bitter at the end of the movie or worst case ended up dead. When scripts for "Cruising" and "Windows" were leaked to the gay and lesbian community (with their depiction of gay men and lesbians as the underbelly of society, stalkers, and murders) there were attempts to disrupt location shoots and when the movies opened there were protests and boycotts (with posters saying "Stop Cruising" and "Close Windows"). I have to believe that this sent some sort of message to the studios, because two years later, 1982, "Making Love" was released (along with "Personal Best").

Though I don't believe this movie was ahead of its time, I do believe it to be groundbreaking. Prior to 1982 positive depictions of gay men and lesbians in film were either rare, covert, or nonexistent. 1980's "Happy Birthday, Gemini" was a positive (though not really well done) coming out comedy, but completely devoid of any even remotely sexual physical contact. What made "Making Love" (and "Personal Best") unique was not just that that they dealt with gay/lesbian subject matter in a more positive way, but that the characters actually had sex. After decades of heterosexual sex being portrayed as everything from curtains blowing in the wind to anal sex with butter in "Last Tango in Paris," this was the first time homosexuality in mainstream film was anything more than theoretical (though sex between Ontkean and Hamlin was portrayed more as a rolling around wrestling match than as the title "making love").

This film is flawed, it is soap opera like and melodramatic, and the documentary style talking to the camera scenes don't really work. But, there is no denying that it is a big step forward from the films of just two years before. It is a step that got us to the point where there now are characters in film who just happen to be gay and lesbian, because in society there are people who happen to be gay and lesbian. Even though it might not be a great film, it is an important film.

A few final comments about the actors. First, I never understood the common wisdom that "playing gay" would kill a career. If "Clash of the Titans" didn't kill Harry Hamlin's career nothing could. Second, I've always been disappointed in Kate Jackson's career. She became a TV star in an era where the crossover from TV to movies was difficult. Then she was unable to do "Kramer" because of "Charlie's Angles" obligations. Then she did this movie and her performance was ignored because it's not the sort of film that the Academy is going to recognize (and ironically she would have been up against Streep had she been nominated). I wish her better things than another "Satan's School for Girls" sequel.

----------------------------------------
wtcouncil from Atlanta, GA
----------------------------------------

I believe that given this film was made in 1982, in the early stages of the AIDS epidemic, it IS groundbreaking.

For me, it was the film that helped a struggling 10 grader come to terms with his sexuality. Therefore, I recommend this film to anyone who wants to know what it is like to admit to yourself that you are in denial and being self-deceiving. It follows a man's journey through self-discovery and the unfortunate damage that this type of discovery can bring to a family, friends, and other loved ones, when the reality is finally admitted. Anyone who cannot see this for what it is may need to do some self-discovery work of his or her own to ascertain what is living just below the surface that is presented to the public.

Although the plot and story are a bit simplistic by today's standards, in its day it was revolutionary: a former TV star (Kate Jackson), up-and-coming hunkies star (Harry Hamlin), and the gorgeous guy next door type (Michael Ontkean). Even the sex scene between the men was too much for many in that time.

Al in all, I would say that it is not as bad as many have commented and it is not a tour-de-force of acting either. Just good, old-fashioned melodrama, American-style.

----------------------------------------
harry-76 from Cleveland, Ohio USA
----------------------------------------

"Making Love" is an engrossing and well acted romantic drama on a mature subject. Its characters and situations are easily understood, and one feels for their marital problems and their steps toward solutions. An unusually good looking cast has been assembled, and all play their parts convincingly. The musical score and photography give the film a somewhat slick and glossy look, but the production is a very good one, thanks to a quite mature script and subject matter. For all its slickness, "Making Love" is a film one tends to remember.

glbt issues|extramarital affair|gay bar|gay husband|gay lead character|first gay sexual experience|gay interest|dinner|doctor|love|groundbreaking|business meeting|watching tv|grand piano|man removes woman's shoes|bedroom|suntan pantyhose|female stockinged feet|female stockinged legs|pantyhose|infidelity|funeral|popcorn|selling cookies|bookstore|watching movie|matchbook|swimming|dropping plate|author|husband wife relationship|gay|gay doctor|unfaithful husband|gilbert and sullivan|gay kiss|coming out|marriage|male kissing female stockinged foot|homosexuality|homosexual|homosexual love|

AKAs Titles:


Certifications:
Argentina:18 / Australia:M / Finland:K-16 / UK:18 / UK:15 (re-rating) (2016) / USA:R