Staircase

Actors, no matter how talented they are, can only stretch so far. In this adaptation of a fairly successful stage play, Burton and Harrison have been cast as two aging homosexuals; and despite the talents of both men, they are unconvincing. Harrison and Burton have been lovers for three decades. They live above the barber shop where they work, and they use the "staircase" in the title to walk from their flat to their place of business. Burton is losing his hair and is so vain about it that he keeps his head swathed in a turban. Harrison, the more flamboyant of the two, is on edge because he has been cited by the police for appearing in public in full drag. When the...