Common Ground (2000 film)

Common Ground is a 2000 Showtime television movie directed by Donna Deitch and written by Paula Vogel, Terrence McNally and Harvey Fierstein. It stars Brittany Murphy, Jason Priestley, Steven Weber, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Edward Asner and James LeGros. The film contains three short stories about gay Americans during different time periods in the fictional town of Homer, Connecticut, and their efforts to find common ground or respect from the heterosexual majority.

The second story flashes forward to the town of Homer in the 1970s, towards the end of the Vietnam War. There a closeted gay high school French language teacher, Mr. Roberts Steven Weber, has a student named Tobias Anderson, nicknamed Toby, Jonathan Taylor Thomas who is on the verge of coming out of the closet, and who he suspects wishes to confide in him. Roberts must keep his homosexuality a secret for the fear of losing his job, but his livein boyfriend Gus Scott McCord pressures him to set a good example for the students by illustrating the importance of tolerance and justice. Tobias visits a prostitute on the advice of his swimming coach, with the idea that she can help him become a man, but rather instead gives him some good advice about being himself.After Tobias is sexually assaulted by bullies and is discovered by Roberts, Roberts then himself comes out to his students and lectures them on the evils of biasmotivated hatred. Tobias graduates from high school and leaves Homer to attend college in the big city. ........

Source: Wikipedia