The fact that POSE highlights the lives and society based around Latino and black gay queens and transgender folk in 1987, plus or minus a few years, and gets a devoted audience is something. "Paris is Burning," however, did a much better job without creating a soap opera where the writing and acting are sub par.
Perhaps this is because "Paris" was a documentary and the people interviewed were real. Paris had a heart without being sappy too. Pose is excessively sentimental.
However, some do good acting. The rest are as outrageous as their alter egos and as lax as the direction. This is tough subject matter. It's difficult not to go over the top. But it's not impossible in the right hands. Kudos for getting it seen. But more work should be done with casting and writing.
