Gay cowboys?
Who could have ever imagined it?
I feel bad for the gay movie going public. They have had to sit through so many of our sappy "boy meets girl, boy takes girl for granted, boy loses girl, boy does 160-degree personality change and gets girl back and lives happily ever after" films that it's really no surprise that they're gay in the first place.So I accompanied Blandy to Brokeback Mountain last evening purely for scientific reasons. I was interested in finding out whether a minority culture, raised on the drivel produced by the majority, would see through it and demand more from the creators of their entertainment than over used cliches, predictable patterns and tacked on wrap up endings.
Unfortunately it was just Serendipity with butt sex. It told me nothing about what it must have been like to be gay at that time and in that place. Other than it apparently feels like what I feel like when at a Mooseheads hockey game.
My only hope is that the film breaks down a few barriers to allow other gay themed films through that have subtler plot twists with deeper meanings and characters thicker than cardboard. And if that's not going to be the case, at least toss in a decent sex scene or two. A drunken quickie in a tent followed by a little tustling in the grass? I was more turned on by the sheep.
And to those who were afraid I would somehow "become gay" after it was over, I totally did.**
** gay
adj., gay·er, gay·est.
- Showing or characterized by cheerfulness and lighthearted excitement; merry. As in: "He had never felt gayer then when the crappy movie was over."
posted by pizza diarist | 4:47 PM
7 Comments:
i truly enjoyed your review. i saw the movie on it's opening day. i had wanted to see the hoards of people enjoying a fantastic story that was thought-provoking and just happened to be gay. instead i left with a sour taste in my mouth and a riot in my heart. i am so sick of the "sexual deviants" getting their "comeuppings" in all forms of popular media. sorry about the long comment, i actually had this argument 4 hours ago with a school chum. i want/need more controversy in film.
Maybe part of the problem is that we're all hoping for more "real"ness or something ground breaking in a gay love story, but of all the gay relationships I've witnessed, they're pretty much just like all the straight relationships I've witnessed: mostly just boring and cliche. Maybe just by making a mainstream movie showing people that gays can be just as boring as straights, Hollywood will start incorporating gay people in roles other than fabulous sidekick. However, I still enjoyed the movie. But I agree with recessbandit: I'm sick of seeing "sexual deviants" getting their "comeuppings".
p.s. Go Randy Quaid!
There was an interesting article in the Globe a few days ago about how on the one hand the film is portrayed as this big step forward for gay rights, but on the other hand all the late night talk shows and skit comedy shows were taking the opportunity to crack big time homophobic jokes about the film.
Also of interest was the fact that when Blandy and I went to the film the audience was pretty much 98% teenage girls there to see Heath Leger's butt, 1% late 20s girls to see Jake Gyllenhaal's butt (Blandy) and 1% late 20s guys that wanted to see a sociological treatise on what it was to be a gay cowboy in the middle half of the 20th century (guess who).
I think we all left somewhat disappointed.
I agree with you that it's just a regular movie.
To you and I, this is a boring ass movie with characters that are dealing with being gay in a culture that deplores homosexuality, something that anyone with a membership at Video Difference or a cable subscription to Showtime has seen time and again.
But as a Canadian who lives in a country that accepts gay culture more than any North American country, I don't think you give the film enough credit. Conservative America (not Canada) has been coming to terms with the gay marriage debate and hate crimes legistlation in the last few years. If a regular boring movie changes the way Christian, right-wing America perceives homosexual relationships, then I think it serves a greater purpose and should be touted as a movie to see. If this movie changes the viewpoint of one backwards thinking conservative, then that's pretty powerful. That's what makes it poignant at the moment.
But I definitely agree - hopefully this will lead to more movies with gay persons that aren't the stereptypical sidekick, where it's just accepted that there are different sexual preferences out there.
Heterosexual ALERT: admit it, seeing Princess Diaries chick tear her shirt off was hot!
I'm waiting for Brokeback Mountain 2: Return to Brokeback Mountain, in which Heath's daughter returns to Brokeback years later to retrace her recently deceased father's steps only to find them scattered with gay mags and discarded KY containers. Of course, this leads her to question her own sexual orientation. After meeting the dull witted and mumbling lesbian ranch hand played, of course, by Renee Zellweger, she slowly comes to terms with her own lesbianism. The climax (no pun intended) comes when Renee gets tossed from her horse and trampled and becomes paralized from the neck down (the horses being an obvious metaphor for men). Add in a couple erotic flashbacks of them galloping about on horses (hey what can you expect? It was directed by a straight man) and end on Heath's daughter sniffing Renee's dung encrusted cowboy boot whispering, "I promise..."
Fade to black and it's yet another giant leap forward for gay rights.
PD
You are so sad.
LG
For the record, I was not there to see Jake Glyltnntlhshal's butt. I was there to adore his giagantic eyelids.
Post a Comment
<< Home