''Happy Birthday, Gemini'' is a 1980 comedy-drama film written and directed by

Richard Benner Richard Benner (1943 – December 2, 1990) was an American film director and screenwriter who worked predominantly in Canada.

Madeline Kahn Madeline Gail Kahn (''née'' Wolfson; September 29, 1942 – December 3, 1999) was an American actress, comedian and singer, known for comedic roles in films directed by Peter Bogdanovich and Mel Brooks, including '' What's Up, Doc?'' (1972), '' ...

Rita Moreno Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is a Puerto Rican actress, dancer, and singer. Noted for her work across different areas of the entertainment industry, she has appeared in numerous film, television, and thea ...

Robert Viharo Robert Viharo (born August 14, 1942) is an American actor. He made an early appearance in 1966 as Harry in ''Dark Shadows''. He is known for his role in '' Valley of the Dolls'' (1967) in the part of a Broadway director. He had the starring role ...

Alan Rosenberg Alan Rosenberg (born October 4, 1950) is an American actor. Rosenberg is perhaps best known for his character Eli Levinson which appeared in both the series '' Civil Wars'' and the popular '' L.A. Law''. From 2005 to 2009, he was president of the ...

Sarah Holcomb Sarah Holcomb is an American former actress. Her first role was in ''Animal House, National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978) as Clorette DePasto, the 13-year-old daughter of shady Mayor Carmine DePasto; Holcomb was 19 years old when filming bega ...

David Marshall Grant David Marshall Grant (born June 21, 1955) is an American actor, singer and writer. Life and career Grant was born in Westport, Connecticut, to physician parents. Immediately after graduating from Connecticut College with an M.F.A. and receivin ...

and Timothy Jenkins. It is based on

Albert Innaurato Albert Francis Innaurato Jr. (June 2, 1947 – September 24, 2017) was an American playwright, theatre director, and writer. Early career Innaurato was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1947. After graduating from the prestigious Central Hi ...

's play ''

Gemini Gemini may refer to: Space * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac ** Gemini in Chinese astronomy * Project Gemini, the second U.S. crewed spaceflight program * Gemini Observatory, consisting of telescopes in the Northern ...

''.

Plot

Set in the backyard of a blue-collar neighborhood early in South Philadelphia in the summer of 1973, the comedy-drama focuses on the 21st birthday celebration of Harvard student Francis Geminiani. In attendance are his divorced father Fran and Fran's widowed girlfriend Lucille, next-door neighbor Bunny Weinberger and her overweight son Herschel, and Francis' classmates, the wealthy

WASP A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

Hastings siblings; Judith (who seeks romance with Francis) and Randy (the object of Francis' unexpressed affection), who have arrived unexpectedly, much to their friend's dismay. All are dysfunctional to varying degrees, and the interactions among them provide the play with its comic and dramatic moments.

Cast

as Bunny Weinberger *

as Lucille Pompi *

as Nick Geminiani *

as Francis Geminiani *

as Judith Hastings *

as Randy Hastings *Timothy Jenkins as Herschel Weinberger

Reception

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...

awarded the film two stars.page 588

References

External links

* * {{rotten-tomatoes, happy_birthday_gemini 1980 films 1980 comedy-drama films 1980 LGBT-related films American comedy-drama films American films based on plays American LGBT-related films Films directed by Richard Benner Films set in Philadelphia Films shot in Philadelphia United Artists films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films