Happy Birthday, Gemini
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''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.
and starring
Madeline Kahn Madeline Gail Kahn (''née'' Wolfson; September 29, 1942 – December 3, 1999) was an American actress, comedian, and singer. She was known for her comedic roles in films directed by Peter Bogdanovich and Mel Brooks, including '' What's Up, Doc ...
,
Rita Moreno Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. With a career spanning eight decades she is known for her roles on stage and screen, and is one of the last remaining stars from t ...
, Robert Viharo,
Alan Rosenberg Alan Rosenberg (born October 4, 1950) is an American actor who portrayed the character Eli Levinson in both ''Civil Wars'' and ''L.A. Law''. From 2005 to 2009, Rosenberg was president of the Screen Actors Guild, the principal motion picture indus ...
,
Sarah Holcomb Sarah Holcomb is an American former actress. Her first role was in '' National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978) as Clorette DePasto, the daughter of Mayor Carmine DePasto (portrayed by Cesare Danova). Following ''Animal House'', she appeared ...
,
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 most often refers to: * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Gemini (astrology), an astrological sign Gemini may also refer to: Science and technology Space * Gemini in Chinese astronomy, the Gemini constellat ...
''.


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 ...
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

*
Madeline Kahn Madeline Gail Kahn (''née'' Wolfson; September 29, 1942 – December 3, 1999) was an American actress, comedian, and singer. She was known for her comedic roles in films directed by Peter Bogdanovich and Mel Brooks, including '' What's Up, Doc ...
as Bunny Weinberger *
Rita Moreno Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is an American actress, dancer, and singer. With a career spanning eight decades she is known for her roles on stage and screen, and is one of the last remaining stars from t ...
as Lucille Pompi * Robert Viharo as Nick Geminiani *
Alan Rosenberg Alan Rosenberg (born October 4, 1950) is an American actor who portrayed the character Eli Levinson in both ''Civil Wars'' and ''L.A. Law''. From 2005 to 2009, Rosenberg was president of the Screen Actors Guild, the principal motion picture indus ...
as Francis Geminiani *
Sarah Holcomb Sarah Holcomb is an American former actress. Her first role was in '' National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978) as Clorette DePasto, the daughter of Mayor Carmine DePasto (portrayed by Cesare Danova). Following ''Animal House'', she appeared ...
as Judith Hastings *
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 ...
as Randy Hastings *Timothy Jenkins as Herschel Weinberger


Reception

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic, film historian, and author. He is known for his book of film capsule reviews, '' Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'', published from 1969 to 2014. Maltin was the film criti ...
awarded the film two stars.page 588


References


External links

* * {{rotten-tomatoes, happy_birthday_gemini 1980 films 1980 comedy-drama films 1980 LGBTQ-related films American comedy-drama films American films based on plays American LGBTQ-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 English-language comedy-drama films