A closeted gay lawyer named Paul (Garret Dillahunt) catches the eye of a star drag queen, Rudy (Alan Cumming) who lives in a West Hollywood slum. What begins as a hook-up quickly turns to love. OK, so Any Day Now starts out feeling pretty clichéd. But the twist is that the falling-in-love part happens after Rudy discovers his junkie neighbor has left her Down syndrome–affected son, Marco, alone in her apartment for several days, and he makes it his mission to gain legal custody of him. Rudy takes Marco and the two of them move in with Paul. Their family seems to be complete, and yet, it’s never that easy. The movie takes place in 1979, when adoption by even one half of a same-sex couple was considered radical. The dialogue in Any Day Now can be heavy-handed—and the film overall tends to oversimplify complex situations—yet, it draws its power from the fact that a similar family story could be playing out somewhere today, more than 30 years later. As a contribution to the film canon, Any Day Now falters, but as a point of discussion, its topic is just as resonant now as it was decades ago.

The film opens today at E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW. $8-$11. landmarktheatres.com. See showtimes.