#28 - Dog Day Afternoon

I was caught completely off guard with this movie, and I'll tell you why. You see, I occasionally watch Spike TV, and if you don't already know, it advertises as the network for men. Therefore, there is a lot of programming along the lines of Ultimate Fighting reality shows and a weekly Van Damme movie. On top of that, they occasionally show unedited and uncut movies, the most frequent being The Godfather. Dog Day Afternoon is on this list of movies. Now, I was expecting a bank robbery movie with a lot of guy oriented, actiony, shoot em uppy type stuff. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Now brace yourself, because this caught me completely off guard. Al Pacino robs the bank because he needs money so that he can get a sex change operation for the man he is having an affair with. Uhm, excuse me? Are you telling me that a movie with a main character that is gay has run unedited on a cable network that shows James Bond Marathons almost every time there is a two day weekend. Seriously, this network shows chicks in jail movies from the late 70's. The though of this subject matter being on that Spike TV never crossed my mind.

All that aside, the movie is great. Pacino bumbles through the early parts of the robbery as every thing that could go wrong, does go wrong. It actually quite funny to watch him try to stay in control while still being the nice guy that he really is. You instantly have sympathy for his character because you know that deep down his motives are pure, you just don't know what they are yet. This movie has moments that are funny, sad, tense, and uplifting, and mixed in throughout is a social commentary about the nature of the press, the police, and the perceptions of what it is these two entities really do.

An aspect of the film that was interesting to me was that after the revelation that Pacino's character was gay, crowds of homosexuals came and rallied in his defense. It made me wonder about people rallying behind a cause regardless of the situation. These people knew nothing about him other than he was gay and robbing a bank, but they disregarded the criminal activity and made him a hero because of his sexual orientation. Its an interesting dynamic to this movie that is filled with situations that make you think. This is a good movie that is honest, raw, and one that everyone should watch. When you do, pay attention to Pacino's eyes, especially in the scene when he is talking to Christopher Sarandon on the phone. His eyes are unbelievably expressive and more than anything else, tell the story of the movie, which is based on true events.