Review of "Pedro"

Fifteen years after his death, the network that brought the voice of openly gay Cuban-American AIDS educator Pedro Zamora to the world is once again celebrating his work and legacy. On April 1st MTV and several of its affiliates (including Logo, the parent company of AfterElton.com) will be broadcasting Pedro, a biopic of the beloved reality star.

And while the film may lack the polish, star power or distinct narrative voice of Oscar-winning brother-in-arms Milk, Pedro pays earnest tribute to a man who shattered preconceptions about gay people and people living with AIDS in millions of homes in America and beyond.

Much like Milk (both scripts come from Academy Award-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black), Pedro introduces us to its subject near the end of his life, in a moment of reflection. It is 1994, and Zamora (played by relative newcomer Alex Loynaz), at the height of his Real World fame, is in New York City for an interview with MTV.

As he prepares in his hotel room, we see flashes of memory from his native Cuba, and it is clear that he is struggling to stay conscious. Before long he collapses, and we revisit the journey that brought him to this point.

Hale Appleman as Judd Winick

The majority of Pedro (which is a lean 90 minutes in all) focuses on Zamora's time spent as a roommate in the third season of MTV's groundbreaking reality show The Real World, which took place in San Francisco. We learn that the show was actively looking for a person with HIV to be a part of the cast, and Zamora threw his hat into the ring with a self-effacing but very charming audition tape. Soon enough he was being called in to meet with producers and eventually moved into the house.

Zamora's time in the house — including his friendships with housemates Judd and Pam and his faceoff with the obnoxious and short-lived Puck — is of course well-documented, but the "greatest hits" recreations provided here give a good overview of the season and an interesting look behind the scenes of the show.

We also learn how Pedro came to the States from Cuba with only half of his family, and meet his parents and outspoken sister, Mily (Six Feet Under's Justina Machado), who will play a pivotal role in Zamora's final months.

Justina Machado as Mily

Pedro also focuses on Zamora's work as an AIDS educator in his native Miami and how this work brought him to meet fellow activist Sean Sasser, the man who would eventually become the love of his life on a different coast and in front of millions of television viewers.

Having been fairly familiar with Zamora's work and time on the show, this storyline — particularly Sasser's initial chilly reception from Zamora's family when he became ill — was the most interesting to watch. It's tough enough seeing Zamora's painful final days recreated, but worse to learn that his family and his husband were initially estranged when Pedro needed them most.

Unsurprisingly, Black's script is succinct and gives a satisfying arc to Pedro's public life and work. While a 90-minute running time doesn't allow for much, I was left wanting to know more about Zamora as a man before he was an activist and when the cameras weren't rolling.

DaJuan Johnson as Sean