Gay-themed Movies: What is it with Hollywood?

A recent article in Entertainment Weekly magazine wonders why Hollywood has failed to make any gay-themed movies of significance after 2005's Brokeback Mountain ^[1].   Do you all remember Brokeback Mountain?  What a great movie! Here at ObsidianBookshelf.com, I loved the main characters:  just regular (if handsome and sexy) guys.

Apparently film critics everywhere expected Brokeback Mountain to pave the way for many other great gay-themed movies.  But it didn't happen. As evidence, look at present-day crap that could have been produced in the bad old 1970s such as I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry about two firemen who pose as gay life-partners to be eligible for benefits.  Give me a break. 

Anyway, the article points out that Hollywood is still extremely conservative about risking a big budget on a gay-themed movie that won't sell to most of the population.  A well-known television producer adds that television shows have whole seasons to show all the aspects of a gay character's life in a more normal context so that homosexuality can just be an ordinary, realistic thing – whereas movies only get two hours to tell a story.  Therefore, gay-themed movies inevitably have to go for something overly plot-driven:  for example, the story of a martyr (Philadelphia, Boys Don't Cry), or a serial-killer (Monster).

I had a look at the sidebar that accompanied the article, showing the 16 top-money-making gay-themed films that have come out of Hollywood (I've seen all but five).  The sidebar intends to prove to Hollywood that gay themes sell. I liked many of these movies, but none of them with the possible exception of Transamerica approach the realism of Brokeback Mountain (and Transamerica was not about gay men).

It's true that movies only have two hours to engage us; therefore the need for drama or comedy serves up larger-than-life characters. But how convenient this turns out to be! Mainstream audiences would probably shy away from a story about a gay male which made him as low-key and believable as one's own brother or college roommate.  We don't want the gay characters to be too much like us because then we can't dismiss them so easily. We, especially if we're straight males, don't want the gay characters to be sexy, handsome, and nice guys:  good golly, we might find ourselves attracted to them!

Almost all of the gay characters in the block-buster gay-films list that follows are easy to dismiss for some reason as not being "like us."  They're either martyrs or psychopaths or stereotypes or drag queens (which haven't been shocking in decades).  Most of these movies are entertaining and well-worth watching as thrillers or comedies or whatever.  But, oh, the characters!  You'll see what I mean.

The 16 Top Grossing Gay Films: ^[2]

1. The Birdcage (Comedy) I've seen this, which is a remake, and advise you to get the original French film La Cage aux Folles with English subtitles. What's it about? Two older gay men who run a decadent nightclub must hide their relationship in order to meet their son's straitlaced in-laws. It's funny in a fast-paced, screwball 1960s-comedy way.  However, the gay characters are easy to dismiss as old, unattractive, screaming queens.  How would mainstream audiences see the gay characters?  Gay man as cartoon character.
2. Brokeback Mountain (Drama) Two young cowboys fall in love in 1960s Wyoming but the homophobia of their time keeps them apart for decades. It's beautifully written and acted, and the two gay guys are handsome and realistic. Adapted from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Proulx's short story. How would mainstream audiences see the gay characters?  As real people.
3. The Talented Mr. Ripley (Thriller) A penniless young man ingratiates himself with a wealthy set of friends and then kills one and assumes his identity, staying one step ahead of the police. It's a well-written, well-acted, and exciting adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's 1955 thriller. How would mainstream audiences see the gay characters? Gay man as psychopath.
4. Philadelphia (Drama).  Didn't see this one.  A gay lawyer with AIDS files an anti-discrimination law suit against his employer. How would mainstream audiences see the gay characters? Gay man as martyr.
5. In & Out (Comedy). A prissy and secretly gay drama teacher gets "outed" on national television by a former student, and then must deal with media attention while preparing for his wedding with a neurotic woman. This one is so light-weight I almost didn't remember it. How would mainstream audiences see the gay characters?  Gay man as cartoon character.
6. The Crying Game (Drama).  A tricky but good film involving IRA terrorists, British soldiers, and gay relationships. I don't want to give away anymore than that in case there are one or two people left on the planet who still haven't seen it.  How would mainstream audiences see the gay characters? Gay man as psychopath.
7. The Hours (Drama).  A day in the life of three women: Virginia Woolf, having a nervous breakdown in 1920s Britain; a repressed lesbian housewife in the 1950s; and a lesbian book editor in the present, having a party and coping with a male friend dying of AIDS.  Well-done but depressing. How would mainstream audiences see the gay characters? Gay man as martyr, and lesbians (maybe) as real people.
8. Monster (Drama).  Didn't see this one.  The short, brutal life of a lesbian serial killer.  How would mainstream audiences see the gay characters? Lesbian as martyr and psychopath.
9. Capote (Drama/Biography).  Excellent character study focuses on when the famous gay author wrote In Cold Blood.  How would mainstream audiences see the gay characters?  Well, the talented Truman Capote comes off (accurately) as someone whom mainstream audiences could dismiss as an effeminate little weirdo.
10. Kiss of the Spider Woman (Drama).  Super-depressing and highly unrecommended film about a gay window-dresser who pines in unrequited love for a gruff political activist who is his cellmate in a South American prison. It trots out every conceivable stereotype, and I really wanted a refund after seeing this! How would mainstream audiences see the gay characters? Gay man as martyr
11. Victor/Victoria (Comedy). Didn't see this one. In 1930s Paris, a female nightclub singer launches a successful career pretending to be a man who is impersonating a woman. (Seems like this would be more believable in Berlin rather than Paris, but oh well.) When a man falls for her, she must chose whether or not to reveal her secret.   How would mainstream audiences see the gay characters? What gay characters?
12. Far from Heaven (Drama). Gorgeously filmed and well-acted melodrama set in the 1950s about an unfulfilled white housewife (she has an unhappily gay husband) who flirts with having a forbidden friendship with a black man.   How would mainstream audiences see the gay characters?  Well, the husband is sort of a martyr and sort of psychologically disturbed, but the movie pins the blame for that on the society in which he must exist.
13. Boys Don't Cry (Drama).  Didn't see this one.  Transgender teenage girl lives life as a boy in rural Nebraska until getting found out and murdered by locals. How would mainstream audiences see the gay characters?  What gay characters?  They would probably see the transgender character as a martyr.
14. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.  (Comedy/Drama)  Three drag queens from Sydney cross the Australian outback to remote Alice Springs to perform in a casino.  How would mainstream audiences see the gay characters?   If they're not paying attention, they'll think gay man as cartoon character.
15. Transamerica (Drama/Comedy). A transsexual on the verge of her final operation to become a woman takes a road trip with her troubled son, a male prostitute, who doesn't know her identity. A good film. How would mainstream audiences see the gay characters? What gay characters? The transsexual is turning into a woman, and I'm not sure if the son is really gay or not.   It's a real milestone for transgender issues, though.
16. Gods and Monsters (Drama/Biography).  Didn't see this one.  Gay film director James Whale, famous for his old horror movies such as Frankenstein, has an intense acquaintanceship with a male gardener during the last few days of his life before his mysterious death. How would mainstream audiences see the gay characters?  I'm not sure, but I think it helps mainstream audiences to dismiss the film director's character because he's so old.

Here at Obsidian Bookshelf, I would love to see some fun escapism like War of the Worlds or Transformers – and the main character just happens to be a gay man, and his being gay has nothing to do with the plot.  (It will never happen – I know.) Or we could have a movie about Alexander the Great, and if there really must be a huge sex scene between him and a female lover, then give his male lover equal screen time in another sex scene. Or perhaps we can have more terrific historical pieces on notable gay men like Oscar Wilde who certainly had a colorful life. But I think I may be waiting a long time for a gay movie with the same realism and plain-folks appeal as Brokeback Mountain.

References:

1. "Out of Sight" by Adam B. Vary, p.42, Entertainment Weekly, 2 November 2007
2. ibid, p.44

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