Six Degrees of Separation (1993 movie)

Such a good movie. I like movies about switching identities (like Working Girl). And the two sided Kandinsky.

"I went fishing with Diana Ross and her new Norwegian husband!" - Sir Ian McClellan's character.

Paul WHO?

I don't think it was any sort of big deal. He was trying to wash the Fresh Prince stink away and maybe went a little overboard??

Saw this years ago because I'm a big Stockard Channing fan and was very impressed with Will Smith then lost track of him.

Wasn't this the film that Will Smith refused to kiss another man on screen? Seems like it happened twice in the film.

The rare good movie adaptation of a good play.

I'd go a step further than that, R6 -- I think that it's that even rarer creature, a movie that improves on the play. I love the play, but for once "opening it up" helps, in several ways.

Back to the OP's question . . . the only big(ish) deal I remember about Will Smith's playing gay is his statement that Denzel Washington told him something like "Don't you go kissing a man."

I doubt that the movie made much money, but it did lead to Stockard Channing's sole Oscar nomination. (Props to John Guare for insisting on her in the film, when Meryl Streep [who'd already worked with Fred Schepisi, giving 1 of her finest performances in A CRY IN THE DARK] was lobbying hard for it. And I bet that Streep would have been good -- but not as good as Channing.)

Will Smith's appeal as a rapper and sitcom star arguably catered more to a young white audience than a black audience, and so while I think there was some element of risk in playing a gay character, I don't think it was the same sort of career risk that a non-goofy rapper would have confronted.

It was a good gamble. He came from innocuous NBC family sitcoms and got a lot of attention for playing a gay character in a serious film. He capitalized on that buzz with Bad Boys, Independence Day, Men in Black. It was a stepping stone he used to skip from sitcom anchor to bankable action star.

I think the movie is pretty good, but drags things out and literalizes everything in a way that the play doesn’t need to do. It extends a 90 minute play by over 20 minutes without adding anything but slow pokey direction. Will Smith couldn’t handle the language, even if he had kissed Anthony Michael Hall.

It’s a shame Streep never played Ouisa, since the role seems more fitted to her than Channing.

"If rich people do something nice for you, you give them a pot of jam."

"You hated CATS! You said it was an all-time low in a lifetime of theater-going!"

On the whole, this movie was pretentious as fuck. It played well for well-to-do Boomers and their parents who wanted a cute story about the interconnectedness of rich weirdos and Black hustlers. But it didn't really have a point in its own right.

R9, I don't find anything about the direction the least bit "slow pokey." Showing the connective narration happening in various high-society venues -- culminating in a dinner party at Kitty Carlisle's -- to me strengthens the play. When Ouisa breaks down at the end, and Flan is appalled, for example, it lands better because of the setting. (I also don't see how Streep was *more* suited to Ouisa than Channing, but that's a matter of taste. As you probably know, Blythe Danner originally had the role onstage but was fired very early in rehearsals. I've always wondered why -- she seems like a great fit.)

R10 needs to watch the movie again and listen more carefully, to pick up what it has to say about how we seek connection but have a Hell of a time finding it, even (especially) with our closest relatives . . . and how we package our life experiences (Ouisa's big speech at the end about anecdotes is powerful in that regard). I think that it's a profound film of a profound play.

I absolutely love this moment. Stockard Channing is transcendent in this scene.

Ortrud-Maxwell, I can see your point, but for me, added literalism and social context only weighed things down. This probably led to the best outcome for a film, but I prefer the directness of the play. The film added almost 30% to the running time without additional script. That just wasn’t with it to me to see more detail about New York society, which was only part of Guare’s focus.

What Streep would have brought is an inherent rebelliousness against East Coast elite norms. I just see it more in her than in Channing, and certainly more than in Danner. Streep seems to have been born into her milieu by chance, while the others seem to have it in their DNA. To me, Ouisa’s journey is all about realizing her uptight clothes and role just don’t fit.

So he wouldn't kiss a guy but would do multiple simulated sex scenes? OK.

Put that way, R14, it sounds off . . . but think how many hookers (of any sex/orientation) will do anything but kiss. Kissing is in a different category of intimacy for a lot of people.

R5 - the way the scene was shot, he didn't have to kiss him.

IIRC, Smith was filmed kissing (I think it was Anthony Michael Hall) from behind. So you hear the sound of the kiss, but you don't actually see it because his back is to the camera.

And FWIW, it sounded like a fake kiss and not a kiss on the lips.

There was a second kiss, filmed in a similarly evasive manner, for the moment after Will Smith has just fucked Eric Thal. (He then jumped out of the Central Park carriage.)

Very disappointed....

It did wonders for my brand!

I thought Blythe Danner actually quit the production after the first rehearsal, citing "family issues." I don't think she was fired.

R20, I've heard various reports. What seems clear is that it wasn't a good fit. Channing apparently was their original first choice, but she was busy out of town with Neil Simon's JAKE'S WOMEN. When that opened to less than great reviews -- meaning no immediate Broadway transfer -- she suddenly became available and stepped in for Danner.

This muddled film ultimately seems to be much ado about nothing. There's something incredulous about the way will Smith's character has access to this Upper East Side apartment. How did he leave the apartment and return during the night with trick in tow? In reality the doorman wouldn't let these 2 in the building without being announced. And where did Smith's character obtain such dazzling culinary skills? Talky and inane.

He probably knew one dish.

(^.^) yeah. Cheerios with milk! Actually, it's his finesse in the kitchen that is questionable. He makes Martha Stewart look like a slouch.

I find Stockard's performance in this very moving. That scene at the end that r12 linked to knocks me out every time.

Eric Thal was so hot

but why would his character commit suicide R25? Coincidentally flinging himself from his apartment above the Roxy just as some of the film's characters are arriving at the Roxy!

One of my favorite movies of all time. I knew the guy the Will Smith is based on. Much scarier in real life - really psychotic personality.

I think Blythe Danner left the NYC production because she got a film job. Possibly Mr. & Mrs. Bridge?

The story is based on a true life black guy who posed as Sidney Poitier's son. He tried to sue John Guare for stealing his story, but lost in court.

Details would be most welcome r27

Signed,

Curiosity Piqued

Kelly Bishop was also excellent in the stage production.

I love the scene where her husband is reading the newspaper and says "Last night, a man froze to death in Central Park" and she responds, "Was it that cold?" That moment was so well done and showed the divide between the rich and secure and the poor and on the edge.

One of my all time favorites. I never saw the play, but Stockard is just fabulous. Does Meryl have to play every part?

Not dangerous per se but the ease with which he lied was scary. Like I’m just gonna back away.

Meryl is wrong for this role. Try as hard as she can, she just doesn't fit into the Kitty Carlisle social circle. Stockard Channing knew that world because she grew up in it.

simply my very favorite movie.

i watch it every year

Is it available on any of the streaming services?

Something else to remember, Six Degrees started off at Lincoln Center in the Mitzi Newhouse, which is considered an off-Broadway theater. So Blythe of course would have dumped an off-Broadway show for a film role. She didn't realize that it would move up to the Beaumont and then be fast tracked to a movie.

Did anyone see the revival with Alison Janney? I can't imagine her in the role because she doesn't read upper class.

r35, it's on HBO Max.

I saw the play before the movie was made, and the scene with the hustler is the comedic Neil Simon-y part of the play. The two male actors are completely nude running around the apartment chasing after the rich couple who are screaming and aghast at the nude bodies.

From what I remember, the nudity and the simulated ass-fucking (which was done in silhouette for the stage play) was the thing that Will's team wouldn't allow.

Stockard Channing was the love of my life!!!!!

Of course, this play can no longer be done because a movie version of Cats has been done.

but Channing doesn't sound or look like someone to the manner born R33. She may have known it, but she couldn't convincingly portray it.

What do you mean r41? That's all that Stockard Channing can play is the "society, ladies who lunch" roles. She was terrible in Grease because she wasn't tough enough. I think that's why they added a schmaltzy muzak quality to "Worse Things I Could Do" because she just wasn't going to be believed as anything other than a "lady".

Chaos -- control -- chaos -- control!

Stockard Channing was much more "affordable" than Meryl.

I guess, R42, that that's why Stockard Channing was so good in JOE EGG and THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES (among many other roles she's played that are far from the model you indicate).

R36 neither in my opinion did Stockyard Channing. In the film I just assumed she married into money.

Stockard thinks she's too good for "Grease"

R42 did you ever see Stockyard in The Big Bus, The Girl Most Likely to . . .Without a Trace, The Cheap Detective?

The film wasn’t a box office hit or anything but Stockard was nominated for an Oscar.

For House of Blue Leaves, Christine Baranski came along and made everyone forget Channing, who was dreadfully miscast.

Why would Denzel have issues with Will Smith kissing a guy? Was he jealous?

R50, does "everyone" include the Tony voters that nominated Channing for that performance?

I remember Stockard back when she was playing a carhop on "Happy Days"

I wish Stockard hadn’t fucked up her face.

Channing also has that light kooky factor that played so well in this role. Streep would have brought an imbalance of drama when she should have been sort of at wits end zany.

[quote]does "everyone" include the Tony voters that nominated Channing for that performance?

In a year when the only other competition was Lost in Yonkers. Who did she lose to? Mercedes Ruehl playing a retarded girl in Neil Simon shtick.

[quote]Channing also has that light kooky factor that played so well in this role. Streep would have brought an imbalance of drama when she should have been sort of at wits end zany.

This is true. Can you see Streep getting excited about playing a role in Cats?

Loved Stockard as Ouisa, but Sigourney Weaver might have been wonderful too.

Goldie Hawn would've been a good Ouisa. She can be a dingbat, but she can also come off as intelligent. (Private Benjamin meets Death Becomes Her.)

Yeah and Mercedes Ruehl went full retard too.

She said, “Mer, if you’re gonna do this, ya gotta go full re-tahd.”

When those two characters (Ouisa and the Hustler) bond over a chair... it's so ridiculous, but it's the heartbeat of the play. It's hard to imagine another actress who could pull that off.

In the revival, I wish they had let Marcia Gay Harden have a go at it.

Meryl Streep would’ve been terrible in this, playing a real person. She would’ve done all her actorly mannerisms and tricks, worse than August Osage County but without Julia Roberts to tell her to eat the fish.

Marcia Gay would’ve been lovely. Janney got terrible reviews and the revival flopped hard.

The L.A. production had Marlo Thomas as Ouisa and she was cast perfectly. She played the role as a more daffy Ouisa, which I thought worked for an L.A. audience. All the old "Hollywood wives" could relate more.

Watching two men have gay sex on stage while sitting next to your elderly mother was traumatizing!

William Daniels and Bonnie Bartlett should have been offered the roles!

[quote]It’s a shame Streep never played Ouisa, since the role seems more fitted to her than Channing.

R9. I vehemently disagree. Stockard Channing was brilliant in Six Degrees of Separation. I saw her in the show at the Beaumont in Lincoln Center. It remains one of the most outstanding and a favorite show of mine, and I see quite a lot of theatre. Stockard was once again brilliant in the movie version of Six Degrees...and she was robbed of the Oscar that year. She was by far the best; however, Stockard lost to Holly Hunter in The Piano, a horrible movie. Stockard should have also won the Tony for Six Degrees , but she lost to to Mercedes Ruehl in Lost in Yonkers, good but not as deserving as Stockard.

Six Degrees was Stockard's role and the role of a lifetime. Not for Streep.

I wonder if Liza was considered?

"Shix degreesh of sheparation between ush and everyone elshe on thish planet!...and the world goesh round!"

Kevin Bacon should next play Ouisa!!!

[quote] does "everyone" include the Tony voters that nominated Channing for that performance?

[quote]In a year when the only other competition was Lost in Yonkers. Who did she lose to? Mercedes Ruehl playing a retarded girl in Neil Simon shtick.

Sorry, my mistake. In The House of Blue Leaves year, Stockard lost to her colleague Swoosie Kurtz. But it was still not a very competitive year. Although Kurtz was brilliant in her role.

[quote]I knew the guy the Will Smith is based on. Much scarier in real life - really psychotic personality.

I used to see him at The Works bar on Columbus. His real name was David Hampton, he was a mixed race guy with very light skin and what I think are more Caribbean features.

Later, after the play had opened at Lincoln Center I waited on him at Ernie's where I was a waiter. He was eating lunch with a young gay guy and after the meal he made a phone call on the payphone, sat down for a bit then left. The other guy just sat there for the longest time. Finally, I went over and gently asked how long he had known his lunch date and he said they had met the night before, then spent the night together. I told him that the fellow was a known con artist and that he was likely not coming back, even if he had given an elaborate story about the alleged emergency of why he had to leave so suddenly .

The poor young guy refused to believe he'd been duped, he even had a phone number of his new friend. I told him in all likelihood it wasn't a real working number. He tried calling it and it was fake. I got the manager to cut the bill in half, so the poor guy wouldn't be out so much money, which "Paul" had promised to pay. During all this David Hampton called the front desk with a dramatic message to give to his date of why he was taking so long to return and a bunch of nonsense. It was only then the poor kid believed me. He paid his half and left. It was weird and sad.

I still think Mr. Hampton's case against John Guare was sound and that he should have been awarded damages for Guare and others co-opting his life and making it into a for-profit play and film. Being a non-white felon probably lost him the case I've always believed.

David Hampton died of AIDS at age thirty-nine in 2003.

When the film came out, I remember David Hampton trying to monetize his story on 20/20 or Dateline or something. At the end of the piece, he claimed he was a "classically trained" ballet dancer, or some foolish shit. They ended the piece with him showing off his "classically trained" dancing and it was hilariously cringey!!!

Once a con-artist, ALWAYS a con-artist!

[quote] I remember Stockard back when she was playing a carhop on "Happy Days"

That wasn't Stockard. It was an actress named Beatrice Colen.

Stockard first got noticed in The Fortune.

r74 And Beatrice Colin was the granddaughter of playwright George S. Kaufman!

Didn't they edit out all of Marcia the waitress's scenes when Happy Days went into syndication?

“We’re not star fuckers.”

David Hampton

really interesting about the real guy. Guare did a great thing ripping off his life, but possibly should have given credit. . . maybe

[quote]Being a non-white felon probably lost him the case I've always believed.

I agree with this as well. Some of the members of A Chorus Line were able to sue and get a tiny portion of royalties for their stories being told in the show.

Did David Hampton have anyone to corroborate his story that he actually did what was portrayed in Six Degrees? He must have had a terrible lawyer, if he had one at all.

Major differences between ACL and Six Degrees. The dancers participated voluntarily in a workshop to share private personal stories to make a musical. They used pressure and public shaking to receive compensation.

Guare’s friends were taken in by Hampton. He took *their* story and used public details and his artistic skill to create his own work. Hampton threatened and harassed Guare.

I suspect Stockard is bitter over being known for her role as Rizzo in "Grease" rather than her more "mature" roles.

Stockard did get a bit of notice when she was on The West Wing.

And an Emmy!

Her character in "six Degrees" was spot on. I remember dining with a bunch of pretentious queens at some house dinner party and the token female guest was just like Ouisa. This practically-out-of-high-school twit with her wine glass and haughty laughter during after dinner discussion acting like she's "soooooo grown up."

Stockard should get down on her knees and thank Allan Carr and Randall Kleiser every day that they cast her in Grease. Her career was on its last legs before Grease. She'd had several flops starting with The Fortune, right up through The Cheap Detective. Grease made her a temporary superstar, and she couldn't sustain that momentum even for a year with her lousy sitcom. But she was a name that could be exploited in theater, and that's where she flourished. But she would never have gotten the theater opportunities she did in the 1980s without that name recognition from Grease. If Grease hadn't happened, she'd likely have the career of Lisa Emery, only less successful because Lisa is someone you can plug into a variety of roles. Stockard is not.

All that being said, Stockard was iconic in Six Degrees, and the fact that she did not win the Tony is one of the biggest, most egregious upsets in the award's history. It was a performance for the ages. I honestly cannot figure out how Ruehl beat her, or how Lost in Yonkers beat Six Degrees for Best Play. Lost in Yonkers is a terrible play and Ruehl is a terrible actress who has given exactly one good performance in her entire career. And it wasn't in Lost in Yonkers. I will never understand how it was so successful at the Tonys.

It certainly couldn't have been that they thought it would tour better than Six Degrees. Neil Simon was still an enormous draw on the road back then, no awards necessary. With a Tony for Best Play, Six Degrees would have toured even more successfully and you would have had two hit play tours. Ruehl hadn't hit in The Fisher King yet, so it couldn't have been momentum that carried her to the win. (In fact, I would say her win in Yonkers helped carry her to that bullshit Oscar.)

The original company of Six Degrees was one of the most transcendent theater experiences I've ever had. Plays like that do not come along very often, nor do performances like Channing's. Whereas any Love Boat reject could have played Simon's cliche'd garbage.

R81 who would believe Hampton's claims? He's a con!

Brilliant post, r87! I agree with all you say.

And I love me some Lisa Emery.

Yes, Lisa is a terrific actress and is able to disappear into her roles so that she brings no baggage to anything she does.

WillSmith would rather real bitch slap a man than fake kiss him.

[quote]Stockard should get down on her knees and thank Allan Carr and Randall Kleiser every day that they cast her in Grease.

Stockard should get down on her knees and thank Lucie Arnaz. Lucie was who Carr and Kleiser wanted for Rizzo, but they took so long getting the movie together that Lucie took another job. Had Lucie decided to go with Grease, Miss Stockard would have been doing stock in the provinces.

And Grease did nothing for her Broadway career. After Grease, she came back to Broadway for two months to replace Lucie Arnaz in "They're Playing our Song" and then a couple of years later, came in as a last second replacement when Liza left "The Rink" and the show closed two weeks after Stockard joined. So she didn't have much Broadway clout after Grease.

Rizzo showed bush.

Ouisa showed faith

You can't blame Stockard for not keeping The Rink running. It was a flop show with horrible reviews that even the Liza couldn't sell enough tickets to. And she was only in TPOS for a short time in between gigs. And she clearly didn't close the show since it ran for a while longer after she left.

Bella showed heart.

[quote] I honestly cannot figure out how Ruehl beat her,

Stockard lost to Swoosie Kurtz who was playing a character with mental illness and lost to Mercedes Ruehl who was playing a character who was retarded. Stockard should have taken a hint. If she wanted a Tony Award, she should have mounted a production based on Frances Farmer.

Maybe Stockard was such a good fit for the part because she grew up around women just like Ouisa - Upper East Side, understated old money, finishing school, etc.

Meryl, Swoosie, and Mercedes all grew up in middle-class, suburban situations. They are all talented actresses, but they would've had to reach harder to play this role, whereas Stockard could bring it out of her own memory.

R98 Stockyard always looks disheveled to me. She looks like someone who would serve you beer at a bowling alley

I've met her briefly, she's got HUGE eyes.

She looks really tiny in the clip at R47

[quote]That wasn't Stockard. It was an actress named Beatrice Colen.

She was also Etta Candy on Wonder Woman's first season (WWII).

[quote]I've met her briefly, she's got HUGE eyes.

Did you meet her before or after the plastic surgery?

"Don't be kissing no man!"

What r8 said.

OP Smith is actually the best thing about this movie. Perhaps because he plays the only interesting character

David Hampton once checked into the Royalton while I was working there back in the 90's. Rules about needing photo ID to check into a hotel along with a credit card were much more lax at the time, and he had checked in using a forged credit card. (One with a real credit card number but a different person's name on it than the actual card holder) Amex only found out because at the same time he was checking in here in NYC, the card holder was also using the Amex out in California. Amex called the police because Hampton had apparently been using the card all over NYC by that point. My friend who was the Front Desk manager that shift, went up with the police to his room when they went to arrest him, as a representative of the hotel. Hampton was acting as if the whole thing was a big mistake, he did have authorization to use the card, etc. He was attempting to be charming and was doing everything in his power to try and get out of the situation. They were all in the elevator going to the lobby when Hampton realized that he was not going to be able to weasel his way out of the situation this time. My friend described the change in Hampton's demeanor and face as being a scary shift from charmer to a nasty caged animal. It was as if a switch was instantaneously flipped and the man's true character was suddenly revealed. To my friend who was there, the whole experience was quite frightening, and I've never forgotten that story.

BTW, I was not the one who checked David Hampton in at the Royalton!

The real guy scammed Melanie Griffith and Calvin Klein. I'd love to hear their stories. And got into Studio 54- which is pretty impressive.

R87 is right on the money. Stockard should have won the Tony (and the Oscar, I might add) for Six Degrees of Separation. The play, the role, the entire experience of that brilliant show was transcendent and one for the ages. So glad I saw it at Beaumont/Lincoln Center. It blew me away. I still remember it form 1991. Stockard was robbed of the Tony and the Oscar (in 1994).

Thank Jesus, Stockard has her 1985 Best Actress Tony for "A Day in the Life of Joe Egg."

Great detail r107 That's why they’re called con artists. Lack of fear/shame + plus artistry in lying.