In Any Day Now, a drama about a gay couple fighting to adopt a teen-ager with Down syndrome, Alan Cumming plays Rudy, a drag queen whose humor and decency anchor what turns out to be a moving and thoughtful story.
Flamboyant Cumming and restrained Dillahunt
Although set in 1970s California, Any Day Now tackles an issue that feels timely, particularly now that the Supreme Court has agreed to take up two cases involving gay marriage. The movie’s key question: Should a loving gay couple be allowed to adopt and care for a child no one else wants?
Cumming portrays Rudy, a budding singer who performs in a drag club. There, he meets Paul (Garret Dillahunt), a buttoned-down attorney who works in the DA’s office. Before Rudy and Paul become a couple, the newly divorced Paul must come to grips with his gayness. He’s circumspect about his sexuality, particularly at work.
Initially, Paul is embarrassed when Rudy visits his office to find help for Marco (Isaac Levin), a kid who has Down syndrome and who’s being abused by his mother. Rudy knows that there’s little hope for 14-year-old Marco if he vanishes inside the Family Services network. Arrested for prostitution, Marco’s mother agrees to allow Rudy and Paul to take care of Marco. They establish a home together, but Marco’s stability is threatened when his mother is released from jail. For reasons that are less than honorable, she demands that the boy be returned to her.
The flamboyant Cumming works well with the more restrained Dillahunt, and they both convey genuine concern for a kid who clearly benefits from their involvement. Director Travis Fine’s movie easily could have toppled into hopeless melodrama, but for the most part, Fine brings troubling issues to the fore in human and affecting ways.