Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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Profile in Courage TV by DEAN ROBBINS Vito Russo isn't a household name, but he still deserves a spot on the Mount Rushmore of pioneering gay heroes. The documentary Vito (Monday, 9 p.m., HBO) tells the story of a boy who grew up with outrageous prejudice in the '50s and '60s, then became an indomitable activist in the '70s and '80s. Russo was a key figure in organizing a gay-rights movement following the 1969 Stonewall Riots, aided by tremendous charisma and eloquence. "In the middle of the river, he went and he changed the current," a colleague says. "You know how hard it is to do that?" The cast members work beautifully together, with everyone taking turns deflat- ing Boyce. I might wish for a higher percentage of funny punchlines, but I trust the Lord will provide. Sullivan and Son Thursday, 10 pm (TBS) Russo insisted on gay equality and gay pride at a time when, as Mike Wallace puts it in an archival TV clip, "Surveys show that most Americans are repelled by the very notion of homosexuality." He spearheaded protests and wrote the seminal study of Hollywood homophobia, The Celluloid Closet. Russo didn't slow down even after contracting AIDS in the 1980s. He founded GLAAD and ACT UP and, in heartbreaking footage, demanded that the negligent U.S. government take AIDS seriously while dying from the disease. A documentary pays tribute to gay-rights pioneer Vito Russo Russo's cousin says of this final period, "I never saw such courage in my life." That makes two of us. The Soul Man Wednesday, 10 pm (TV Land) Cedric the Entertainer proves true to his name in this new sitcom about Boyce Ballentine, a star soul singer turned preacher. Boyce asks God if he made the right decision in changing careers, and it's certainly a relevant question. He's now a man of the cloth, but he's also still the man who sang the raunchy "I Wanna Have Sex With You." His struggles with the new gig have all sorts of comic possibilities, especially given that Boyce's wife (Niecy Nash) is way too flashy for church. Cape Fear Eye Associates, PA Beatrice Y. Brewington, MD General Ophthalmology Dr. Chad Tisdale Contact Lens Specialist Hard and Soft Contact Lenses for: • Near and Far-sightedness • Astigmatism • Bifocal and Multifocal • Colored Lenses • Sports Lenses Professional Interests: •General Ophthalmology •Glaucoma Treatment •Macular Degeneration •Diabetic Eye Diseases • Cosmetic Lenses (cover scarred corneas) • Ocular Diseases/Disorders (Keratoconus, Dry Eye, Allergies) Specialized Contact Lens Fitting For All Ages! Now Accepting New Patients •Disability Exams •Treatment of Eye Disease and Injury •Cataracts •Refractive Error (hyperopia, myopia, astigmatism) TOUCH OF ITALY RIGHT HERE IN THE HEART OF FAYETTEVILLE Where we eat and speak Italian! COME JOIN US FOR A TRUE Wh d kI li ! • Casual Atmosphere • Impressive Wine List • Parties & Catering 1.800.829.2284 • 910.484.2284 Experience You Can Trust %!(Pr9 Ahrrvyyr I8 910.484.2284 8hrArh@r p 20 UCW JULY 18-24, 2012 910.867.8700 1400 Walter Reed Rd., Suite 130 (All American Freeway & Owen Drive) M-S 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. • Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. All Major Credit Cards Accepted HOURS WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM • Carry Home Service res pizzeria estau anturrant izzeria & plains the significance of the sleuthing techniques involved in each investigation — for example, ballistic evidence in this week's episode. In other words, the series is for all of you viewers who like your sleazy true-crime stories packaged with high- minded narration. I happen to fit that profile myself, so bring on the fake beards. where his dad runs a cozy working-class bar. Over his power girlfriend's objec- tions, he decides to leave his high-flying job at an investment bank to take over the bar himself. We're supposed to applaud Steve's choice, in this new sitcom's crude calculus. New York City + Power Girlfriend + $$$ = Bad. Pittsburgh + Salt-of-the-Earth Barflies + Eking Out a Living = Good. I might have bought in were not those salt-of-the-earth bar- flies so off-putting. They're drunkards, bigots and morons — and not lovably so, as the filmmakers seem to think. After a half-hour, I'd begun to relate to the barflies in spite of myself. It'll take a few stiff drinks to get through another episode of Sullivan and Son. Forensic Firsts Sunday, 9 pm (Smithsonian Channel) This series is a strange hybrid. It re-creates gruesome his- torical crimes, with actors in vintage clothes and fake beards. That's standard for cable-TV trash, but Forensic Firsts also mixes in a PBS-style educational element. A voiceover ex- Corporate lawyer Steve (Steve Byrne) returns from New York City to Pittsburgh,