Gay-Friendly Blu-rays (2 Viewers)

[MatthewA]

In the absence of actual gay male role models, one takes what one can get.

 

[Will Krupp]

Why are 'strong, dynamic female characters' so appealing to a lot of gay men? I have wondered about this for a long time.

I THINK (and this is just a guess on my part as I have never really cared WHY they appealed to me I just know that they do) that women in the classic Hollywood era were the underdogs usually at the mercy of a heavily patriarchal society. When they were dynamic and "kick ass" (if you will) it upends the status quo and gives a vicarious voice to those who have traditionally felt equally oppressed.

Gee whiz that sounded heavy and pretentious but I can't think of another way to get it across.

All I really know is that I will happily watch ALL ABOUT EVE a hundred times before I will ever sit through PHILADELPHIA again.

 

[MatthewA]

Will,

I SO agree with you. I have been thinking about that for awhile, not just so I can answer my Dad's "why do gay men like insert-flamboyant-female-star-here?" questions.

I also agree about Philadelphia. When I saw the film on HDNet Movies, I thought to myself, "Demme only made this because of the protests over The Silence of the Lambs, but that was actually a much better film!" Larry Kramer, a man I seldom praise, wasn't a fan either.

For a superior film about the early days of AIDS, I'd suggest the late Bill Sherwood's Parting Glances from 1986. The casting is excellent and it includes a young Steve Buscemi, Kathy Kinney (later of Newhart and The Drew Carey Show) and John Bolger, who was on Guiding Light as Philip Spaulding at the time. Sadly, it was Sherwood's only film, as he himself succumbed to AIDS four years later. Unfortunately, it isn't on Blu-ray either, though there is a DVD by First-run Features that came out 14 years ago.EDIT: To clarify who actually died. Thanks, Will.

 

[Will Krupp]

and John Bolger, who was on Guiding Light as Philip Spaulding at the time. Sadly, it was his only film, as he himself succumbed to AIDS four years later.

WOAH, there!!!! John Bolger is alive and well and can still be seen as the face of that "little blue pill" they always advertise on TV (he's the dude who gets the blue devil horns when he wants some sex!) He was also Samantha's "baby-talking" boyfriend on SEX & THE CITY. It was Chris Bernau, who played his FATHER (Alan Spaulding) who succumbed to AIDS in 1990.

I absolutely love PARTING GLANCES and would happily pop for even a DVD of it (I didn't know there was one.) Great great movie that really points to the difference between movies made FOR gay people and movies made ABOUT gay people.

When I saw PHILADELPHIA (in the movies, I was ten...just kidding) I immediately knew that I wasn't the target audience and it wasn't a movie that was made for gays but a movie made for straight people in order to make them like us a little more and be less afraid of us. It was earnest and apologetic and, while I appreciated the effort, I already KNEW that gay people weren't monsters and I already KNEW we are just as human as everybody else so the experience left me a little cold. I felt manipulated, and not in the good "SOUND OF MUSIC" way. PARTING GLANCES, on the other hand, makes no excuses and doesn't sugar coat what being "gay" is. The fact that a movie about the AIDS crisis from 1986 can be so charming and funny is a testament to what a wonderful little gem it is.

Take the proliferation of "drag queen" movies from the early 90's for another example. PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT has a definite queer sensibility and I would consider it a "gay" movie. TO WONG FOO (released shortly after) on the other hand, is a movie made about drag queens for straight people.

Poor John Bolger!!!

 

[schan1269]

There's a list of the essential 50 gay movies someone in a Facebook group posted today. Now, the list is prefaced by saying these are camp films and #50 (The Boys in the Band) is acknowledged to be one of the few gay films in the list...but come on. I can't be the only one who sees this list as being pure stereotype through and through, ranging from Streisand to Crawford, Taylor and Davis.I know this is stereotype, too, but where's Philadelphia? And the Band Played On? Brokeback Mountain? The Bride of Frankenstein? The Times of Harvey Milk?

That list is garbage. I'm straight and seen 35(at least) of them.Wonder if written by a relative of the nimrod who wrote an article about "the top 10 cars men should not own" in menshealth (online article...and think it was menshealth) and included the FIAT 500 and Miata. What a dumbass. But back to gay men and "straight men in touch with their manhood/masculinity"...One of the guys I work with...his wife/gf(have no idea if married) tried out a new finger nail polish...on his toes. He was getting razzed by the guys and the women were sighing "why aren't more men like you?"...I came to the rescue with..,"what you've never gone to get a mani-pedi?" (Sadly...had to explain what that even was)

 

[Will Krupp]

That list is garbage. I'm straight and seen 35(at least) of them.

Well, to be fair, I don't think the list ever claimed to be meant for ONLY gay men...

 

[schan1269]

Well, to be fair, I don't think the list ever claimed to be meant for ONLY gay men...

What?There aren't any bucolic gay men?(By the way. I've been to, and when I lived in Indy, frequented, both The 501 and The Metro. I've personally seen gay men who care not for Minnelli and Streisand)

 

[MatthewA]

I've personally seen gay men who care not for Minnelli and Streisand)

I just had to explain who both of those people were to one of my gay friends' 25-year-old boyfriends (the friend in question is 37 and a huge fan of both). As for me, you can have my Judy Garland CDs when you pry them out of my cold, dead hands.

 

[schan1269]

I just had to explain who both of those people were to one of my gay friends' 25-year-old boyfriends (the friend in question is 37 and a huge fan of both). As for me, you can have my Judy Garland CDs when you pry them out of my cold, dead hands.

Probably knows who Matt Bomer is though...(That crushed my cousin who fauned over him. Then I listed off Rock Hudson[bi-more likely], Anderson Cooper, NPH, JTF and Montgomery Cliff...to wit..."who is Montgomery Clift?)

 

[Mark-P]

Probably knows who Matt Bomer is though...(That crushed my cousin who fauned over him. Then I listed off Rock Hudson[bi-more likely], Anderson Cooper, NPH, JTF and Montgomery Cliff...to wit..."who is Montgomery Clift?)

The funny thing is, after reading that I got all judgy of your cousin because she was crushed to learn that Matt Bomer was gay (as if she actually had a shot at getting him) but then realized that I'm guilty of the the same thing. I recently watched the movie Nebraska (not a gay film) and was immediately enamored with Will Forte, who I had never even heard of. Afterwards I looked him up and found out he was from Saturday Night Live and movies of that ilk which explains why I don't know him. So I scoured the internet hoping to learn that he might be gay. I found an interview clip where Larry King asked him outright if he was gay and he said no. I guess I'm just as irrational as your cousin for being dissappointed!

 

[mackjay]

. So I scoured the internet hoping to learn that he might be gay. I found an interview clip where Larry King asked him outright if he was gay and he said no. I guess I'm just as irrational as your cousin for being dissappointed!

I confess I went through the same thing when James Franco, asked if he is gay, said "I almost wish I were"

 

[bob kaplan]

...not a real deep observation but.....Just watched FREE FALL and like BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN we hope that "those" situations were left behind in the 70s or at least in the 80's But i think because of societal pressure even today poor decisions such as those made by the lead characters are still being made by many people.

 

[Mark-W]

I liked Free Fall enough to order the region-free Blu-ray of it.

...not a real deep observation but.....Just watched FREE FALL and like BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN we hope that "those" situations were left behind in the 70s or at least in the 80's But i think because of societal pressure even today poor decisions such as those made by the lead characters are still being made by many people.

 

[Steve Tannehill]

I scanned that list of 50 movies, and did not think much of it. Someone mentioned stereotype, and Auntie Mame was at the top of the list. Yep.

 

[Jason_V]

I think the title is clear:

The 50 Movies Every Gay Man NEEDS to See

These are not Gay movies every man needs to see.
But Movies (without gay content necessarily) that every gay man needs to see.
There is a big difference.

I see these are mostly musicals, melodramas or movies with strong and dynamic female characters, that's why the author feels they're more suitable for viewing by gay men (in comparison to straight men) or that they would be appreciated more by gay men.

I don't scubscribe to that one bit. These are the "easy" movies to pull out of the genre that "everyone" is going to know. They create headlines and don't make the reader think too hard about them.

See, I do think a list about movie every gay man should see needs to include a healthy proportion of gay movies. You can identify with the down-and-out female protagonist all you want, but why not celebrate or include films that show US in all our glory (pun completely intended)?

I love the Davis/Herpburn/Garland set as much as the queer next to me, but isn't it more important to showcase a young gay man coming to terms with an attraction that isn't particularly popular in society (Bear City)? Or maybe, just maybe get people some learnin' about our history with And the Band Played On or The Times of Harvey Milk? Heck, we just watched Weekend for the first time last night and that was an awe-inspiring experience for us.

 

[MatthewA]

That list is garbage. I'm straight and seen 35(at least) of them.

I'm gay and I've only seen 34. You've got me beat.

That list is basically Camp 101 with a sprinkling of Actual Gay Movies to justify calling it gay. Not exclusively gay, and the only actually gay directors (that I know of) represented are John Waters, George Cukor, John Schlesinger, and James Bidgood (Andy Warhol was gay but did not direct Trash, and Paul Morrissey has never been married to anyone but I see nothing specifically identifying him as gay).

As for Mr. St. James' reasons for weighting the list in favor of camp films over actual gay content, he opines in regards to #50, The Boys in the Band, "I haven’t included many gay films here – you know, movies about actual homosexuals – because usually they’re either too dreary or too earnest and lack that certain “quotable quality” that makes something camp," then goes on to justify including that film, which owes its life to so many of the other films on this list, because it had that quality. He has a point, but I think he sells actually-gay cinema short. I find many gay films have the opposite problem: they just try too damn hard to be camp and fall flat on their faces. You can't do camp on purpose. Either you are, or you're not. And the absence of either Victor/Victoria or Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is unforgivable.

One movie notoriously absent from this list (and from Blu-ray) is Party Monster. One can only speculate why, and I doubt it's because of the quality of the film.

Woody Allen has no business being on this list, though. Considering how many of them take place in New York, has he EVER included gay characters in his films? Annie Hall had a short scene of two gay men passing by Alvy and Annie in the park, but that's all I can recall.

But since I was also born in Waterbury, Connecticut, as she was, it's nice to see Rosalind Russell get some attention. I just wish we'd gotten that long-promised Blu-ray of Auntie Mame when they said it was coming out. I guess it'll be a Warner Archive thing. So long as it becomes available and looks good.Perhaps this needed to be a 100 film list to be satisfactory, but it still wouldn't please everybody. That's impossible because no one likes everything and there's nothing everyone likes.

 

[mackjay]

Perhaps this needed to be a 100 film list to be satisfactory, but it still wouldn't please everybody. That's impossible because no one likes everything and there's nothing everyone likes.

Truth.

 

[Matt Hough]

There's a gay moment in Radio Days when a fellow escorting Diane Wiest's character confesses over coffee that he misses his boy friend killed in the war. And, of course, Meryl Streep's character in Manhattan is a lesbian.

 

[mackjay]

There's a gay moment in Radio Days when a fellow escorting Diane Wiest's character confesses over coffee that he misses his boy friend killed in the war. And, of course, Meryl Streep's character in Manhattan is a lesbian.

Right, and the Radio Days scene is almost surprisingly compassionate for the period depicted

 

[Matt Hough]

By the way, it's not on Blu-ray (boo!), but I did post my review for the television series of The New Normal from two seasons ago. It just came out on DVD last month, but I only got the review copy on Friday.