— Originally published in Honcho
magazine - August, 1996 —
HOLLYWOOD HORSESHIT
by Lefty Boylan (aka Michael Kirwan)
There's been something stuck in my craw for
months now, and if I don't bitch about it, I'm going to punch
somebody in the head. A couple of years ago when I was living in
Miami, I went to a production of the gay play Jeffrey — it
was well-done and I enjoyed myself. Whenever the opportunity
presents itself (when I can spare the cash and the material isn't
too cloying or self-referential) I try to do my bit to support
homo-positive art. Okay, so when the movie came out, I was still
giddy from seeing Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and The
Sum of Us, and thought I'd throw some box office bucks at
Jeffrey despite the fact that I already knew the story from
seeing the play. I'd seen all the interviews, all the "straight"
actors yakking about their sensitive portrayals and the whole
rigmarole. Then I went to see the film.
So I'm sitting in the theater, listening to the familiar dialogue,
when there comes a time in the movie when two guys kiss. All of a
sudden, there's a shot of some double-dating teens in mock movie
seats reacting. The girls go "oohhh" and the boys go "Uulghh!" This
scene wasn't in the play; the audience I watched the play with
didn't make any particular noises at this juncture, so what was the
point? Well, obviously to tip off the movie-goers that this was a
"MOVIE KISS," the "ACTORS" were doing this disgusting thing, but
they had to remind you that "THE KISS WASN'T REAL." What the fuck
was that? Have you ever seen a movie wherein the director pulls out
of the story line to emphasize that the actor isn't really a
serial killer, or a wife-beater, or a cannibal, or a Nazi? Do actors
in these roles feel impelled to disassociate with the heinous acts
their characters perpetrate? Has anyone out there ever seen such a
blatant refusal to meld actor and role? In my humble opinion, this
is the most insulting nod to the gay community from Hollywood yet.
The critics (including the gay press) tried to put a positive spin
on Jeffrey, but that one ten-second scene was like a slap in
the face. My face burned from the humiliating sense that the
filmmakers had taken a nice, witty, funny piece of gay art and
turned it into a homophobic declaration. For cryin' out loud, the
cast had been on every crappy television show hawking the film (and
mentioning their wives, girlfriends, kids, and macho regalia more
often than strictly necessary), and I can't remember a time when any
actor was accused of being the part they played in a movie. But
apparently being thought "queer" is just too revolting, too
career-threatening, and perhaps too evil for these particular
thespians to abide.
I am totally over Hollywood's negative attitude toward
homosexuality. Europeans, Australians, and Asians all manage to
treat the subject matter with some dignity and humor. Why can't the
good old U.S.A. come up with a production that isn't so tensely
apologetic? Why is it that slaughtering scores of human beings is
somehow okay, but when the action requires two men to show some
tenderness toward each other, all of a sudden everyone gets antsy
and squeamish? If an actor is too weirded-out by homo activity, if
he imagines that it'll ruin him, if he finds the part too
"controversial," why not just pass on it and let someone with some
balls take the role? And where exactly is this "gay Mafia" that's
supposedly infiltrated Hollywood? Where the fuck is their input? My
advice is, if you've got a gay play or fag novel that they want for
a movie, make sure there's a clause in it to protect you from the
sly insult inserted into Jeffrey. In the meantime, stick to
the foreign and independent flicks. |