"I'm Harvey Milk and I'm hear to recruit you."

The story is simple; Harvey Milk, played by Sean Penn, is a closeted man losing his soul in a dead end job. A chance encounter in a new York Subway staircase leads him to meet a younger man, Scott Smith, played by James Franco, who will become his lover, confidant and ardent supporter. In an attempt to live their lives openly and unashamed, they move to San Francisco where Milk is inspired to run for public office in hopes of being the first openly Gay elected official, while at the same time Anita Bryant is beginning in Miami what would become a nationwide crusade of intolerance that ultimately leads to Milk's murder.

You already know how this ends, so you should go not because of some expected, but unpredictable twist at the end, but because right now it's time to get motivated and fight for your rights. If this won't do it, nothing will.

The story of Harvey Milk is inspiring all by itself. Gus Van Sant's film about his life is amazing. This is quite possibly, and I kid you not, the best Gay film ever. In the tradition of Philadelphia, Milk makes a statement to our community that is both timeless and timely and does it without a minute that is not entertaining.

Van Sant weaves footage of actual events into the film in a seamless way. One minute you're watching real footage of Anita Bryant explaining why Gay people shouldn't have a right to basic housing or freedom from workplace discrimination and the next, you're at a rally with Milk. You have to remember, this is a time when it was okay to be openly anti-gay. The camera angles, the look of the film and sets, every detail is woven together in a way that makes the story feel accurate, intimate and tells it like it is.

With that serious stuff out of the way there are a few more reasons that this film is great entertainment. First of all, you get to watch James Franco and Sean Penn kiss. Franco is known for his recurring role in Spiderman and Penn is the first Mr. Madonna, among his acting career's many roles. HaHa, we said it first. Franco reports in OUT magazine that Penn texted Madonna after their first lingering kiss (we hear it was 3 minutes) that he had just "broke his cherry kissing a guy." She wrote back, "Congratulations".

There are serious challenges to Milk's success, including a surprising lack of support from more established and well heeled members of the Gay community. In one scene you get to see James Franco's booty when he's swimming in the pool of The Advocate's owner, who Milk is trying to persuade to financially support his campaign. Everyone but Franco is over-dressed. With regard to this scene, Franco said "I felt like the girl in those teen movies that pops out of the hot tub topless." (also in OUT)

The movie is made up of an all star cast that along with Franco and Penn includes, Josh Brolin as Milk's nemesis Dan White, Emile Hirsch as activist Cleve Jones, Diego Luna as Milk's second lover Jack Lira, Alison Pill as campaign manager Anne Kronenbera and Lucas Krabeel as Danny Nicoletta. You'll also recognize Victor Garber who plays Mayor George Moscone.

After the tragic ending that you spend too much time dreading and wishing wasn't going to happen, the director reveals how Cleve, Anne, Lucas and Danny have gone on to serve our community and improve the lives of the millions of gay people in America. From everyday jobs as social workers, to Cleve's founding of the AIDs Quilt, this group continues to work for all of us. It's amazing what a handful of inspired people can do.

We can only imagine what the world would be like if Harvey Milk was still in it.