i remember the controversy this generated here in the Philippines. as expected, the Roman Catholic Church leaders wanted the movie to be banned from being shown in local cinemas. (a friend of mine joked that "JCS" didn't want his life story to be made public.) BUT, the president at that time (who was a Protestant) gave the go signal... and the movie was screened, though only in "exclusive" (read: pricier) theatres.
watching the film was quite a challenge considering you had to deal with hoots and shrieks from the homophobes and/or ignorami who, strangely enough, came to see the movie despite knowing beforehand WHY their beloved church held such a strong stance against the film being shown. (had i lost control, i would have bashed the heads of the 4 people [2 heterosexual couples] seated in front of me!)
anyway, i loved the movie. the performances were heartfelt and felt genuine. made me think, too, about society's hypocrisy, so quick to condemn others' "transgressions" while being blind to their own. <sigh>
(query: was the storyline loosely based on Patricia Nell Warren's book, "The Fancy Dancer?"🤔)