The new HBO documentary All Aboard! is all about gay cruising. But you can forget those R.S.V.P. photos of buff boys in Speedos. The cruise in question is the first cruise organized for gay families by Rosie O'Donnell and her spouse, Kelli. Directed by Shari Cookson, All Aboard! delivers the appropriate and expected content and images. There are lots of shots of happy lesbian moms and their offspring, and gay dads with their adopted sons and daughters. For most Bay Area Reporter readers, the documentary will seem tame, yet also moving. For heterosexual viewers in America's less tolerant hinterlands, it may come across as a paradigm of agitprop activism. But even the most dedicated bigot will be unable to deny the love and affection on display throughout All Aboard!
Realizing there has never been such an event, the O'Donnells (who have four children) rent a Norwegian ocean liner for an all-gay family cruise of the Caribbean. Although the maiden voyage does not sell out, 500 families and over 1,600 passengers set sail. The passenger list includes gay former NFL lineman Esera Tuaolo, his partner, and their adopted twins. Onboard seminars include subjects like gay adoption, and lounge acts feature gay and lesbian performers. Children are everywhere, a female minister from the Metropolitan Community Church conducts wedding ceremonies, and when the ship disembarks in Key West, passengers are greeted with a parade and well-wishers. Then comes Nassau.
In the Bahamas, the ship is met by members of two Christian churches who carry insulting signs and shout at passengers through bullhorns. Black Bahamian fundamentalists act and sound exactly like their Caucasian American counterparts. Rosie, fearing an inability to control her temper, wisely stays onboard. But other parents disembark with their children and pass through the gauntlet to help their offspring learn a lesson in life.
Although it is never mentioned specifically in All Aboard!, one of the most admirable aspects of gay parenthood is its intentional nature. Lesbian moms and gay dads don't buy a six-pack, have a party, and accidentally end up with a child nine months later. Homosexual parents must plan, contemplate, prepare, pay, and sometimes wait years before an adopted, sperm-bank, in vitrio, or surrogate-birthed child finally arrives in their home. Parenthood is not simple or easy for gay families. But the love and dedication it takes for gay parents to create a family seems to have its parallel in highly evolved parenting skills. Two gay men in All Aboard!, who adopted five mixed-race children, seem like the most loving and evolved parents you could find anywhere. In fact, all the parents in All Aboard! are extraordinary in their love and dedication to their children.
At the screening I attended, Kelli O'Donnell made a personal appearance. The pretty and petite O'Donnell took questions at the end of the screening, accompanied by the co-founder of her gay travel company, Gregg Kaminsky. Kelli immediately informed everyone that Rosie asked her to share something with the audience. "Ro wanted me to pass one thing on to you: her hair looks better now, and she's thinner." Yes, throughout All Aboard!, the hefty Rosie O'Donnell looks like a dyke pirate of the Caribbean. But hey, we all have bad hair days.
All Aboard! debuts tonight at 8 p.m. on HBO, with repeat screenings to follow. Those interested in gay family travel may find more information about Kelli O'Donnell and Gregg Kaminsky's travel company at www.Rfamilyvacations.com.