Based on an discrimination court case that took place early on in the AIDS crisis -- In 1986, Geoffrey Bowers was discharged from a prestigous law firm after they discovered he had AIDS -- Bowers sued the firm and Clarence Cain became his attorney; The actual case was tried in New York City; it is unclear to me why movie was set in Philadelphia, but the infomation is no doubt available wth some Googling.

According to a citation from Wikipedia: 'many queer publications had quite a few issues with the film. Out referred to Philadelphia as "maddeningly closeted". There was a lack of dimensionality in the film's gay characters. Many gay viewers felt that Demme missed an opportunity here to accurately portray someone's experience living with AIDS. Gay activist and playwright Larry Kramer described the film as "dishonest" and "simply not good enough"' However, from someone living somewhat distant from the political maelstrom of urban gay culture, what most struck me about the movie is how true to life back then it is. Now, over 30 years after the A.I.D.S. crisis began, the cultural milieu of the film is as I remember it. Many "queers" (we didn't use that term back then even among ourselves) were "maddenly closeted (and I don't except myself or most of our friends), and it wasn't until much later than support groups began to be found in employment venues. We also need to remind ourselves that the film is fiction, not history. It is not intended to be a documentary. There are many other fine films and literature that address some of the elements of the criticism.

Academy Awards 1994: Tom Hanks, Best Actor in a Leading Role; Best Music, Original Song, Bruce Springsteen