Themes: Fathers and Sons, Social Injustice, Fighting the System
Main Cast: Steven Cozza, Scott Cozza, Jeanette Cozza, David Rice, Tim Curran
Release Year: 2001
Country: US
Run Time: 57 minutes
Plot
In the late '90s, a heterosexual California teen named Steven Cozza and his father, Scott Cozza, a San Francisco social worker, began a petition to allow gays to participate openly in the Boy Scouts of America. Their work formed the basis of the national movement Scouting for All and provided the central narrative for this documentary about the BSA's ban on gays and the numerous grassroots and court challenges to that policy. Scout's Honor presents Steven as a 13-year-old collecting petition signatures at a grocery store in his hometown of Petaluma, CA, and again as a 15-year-old attaining the rank of Eagle Scout even after his father and his troop leader, Dave Rice, have watched their own political convictions put an end to their scouting careers. Director Tom Shepard intersperses the story of Rice and the Cozzas with historical footage of scouting propaganda and interviews with Tim Curran and James Dale, the former scouts who waged legal battles against the Boy Scouts' gay ban a decade apart. The BSA declined to participate in Scout's Honor, but interviews with parents from Cozza's troop and archival footage of Curran's debates with well-known politicians present the opposing perspective. Scout's Honor screened at numerous festivals and appeared as an episode of PBS's P.O.V. series in 2001. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Review
Director Tom Shepard turns in a moving and highly effective piece of political advocacy in this hour-long documentary about a heterosexual boy who stands up for the rights of homosexuals to participate in the Boy Scouts of America. A well-crafted film with a unique take on a hot-button issue, Scout's Honor is unapologetic about eschewing journalistic objectivity and presenting its story from a distinctly liberal point of view. Although the Boy Scouts of America refused to participate, the film would have benefited from even one credible interview with a parent or a scout who believes the BSA's ban on gay participants is justified. Still, for all its dearth of opposing voices, Scout's Honor presents its material sensitively and displays a healthy respect for the institution of scouting, just like the gay former scouts and their straight advocates who are interviewed. From young activist Steven Cozza to veteran agitator Tim Curran, the media-savvy interview subjects know how to give good quote. Shepard and his team, meanwhile, know how to make their point with pictures and anecdotes as well as facts and rhetoric. The emotional story of Dave Rice, who was kicked out of scouting for taking a stand after more than five decades in the organization, practically dares the audience to keep its eyes dry; moving footage of Steven Cozza's friendship with a gay church counselor, meanwhile, provides insight into the genesis of Scouting for All. The ascension of this issue onto the national stage began before Cozza was even born; Shepard therefore measures the progress of gay rights in scouting by contrasting the cases of Curran and James Dale, two clean-cut gay scouts who took to the courts after being expelled from the BSA in, respectively, 1980 and 1990. Dale's case made it to the U.S. Supreme Court before he lost, providing a hopeful coda to a documentary full of injustice and heartbreak. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Cast
Steven Cozza
Scott Cozza
Jeanette Cozza
David Rice
Tim Curran
James Dale
Credit
Tom Shepard - Director, Jim Klein - Editor, D. Stuart Harrison - Executive Producer, Miriam Cutler - Composer (Music Score), Andrew Black - Cinematographer, Tina DiFeliciantonio - Cinematographer, Hrabba Gunnarsdottir - Cinematographer, Philippe Roques - Cinematographer, Howard Shack - Cinematographer, Frank Green - Cinematographer, Tom Shepard - Producer, Marin Meeker - Research, Chad Grochowski - Sound Recordist, Meg Moritz - Screenwriter
