A young gay man, Michael Pierson (played by Aidan Quinn), has AIDS in the prime of his life. This means he has to go back to his parents and tell them not only that he has AIDS but also that he is gay.

His mother, Katherine Pierson (played by Gena Rowlands), is a warm and compassionate person but his father, Nick Pierson (played by Ben Gazzara), is a conservative businessman with a very closed mind towards homosexuality. But they have to face the fact that Michael is getting sicker and will inevitability die from AIDS.

The strain of telling his parents is also affecting the relationship between Michael and Peter Hilton (played by D.W. Moffett). The busy life of Michael, being a succesful lawyer, and Peter, an antique dealer, was already beginning to have an affect on both of them.

There are two sides to this movie. First of all it is a coming-out story of a young man and his family. He lives in the big city with his lover and comes back home to his parents only during the holidays. They don't know about his real life and he has to tell them about it.

Second, it is an AIDS movie. In the mid eighties this tv-movie gave a lot of people a first look at an AIDS victim as a human being instead of a statistic.

The first time I saw this movie it had a deep impact on me. Every time I see it again, it still gives me goosebumps.

Don't let the fact that it was made "just for tv" fool you. An early frost is a very good movie.

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