Other gay-themed movies

[opinionista]

****SPOILERS**** (Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN)

yeah, I have the same reaction. I enjoyed the character development in the film alot, and thought the actors and actress were great fun to watch. I just go "rrhhh?" when people categorize it as a gay film. Just because of one kiss? I guess we all interpret that kiss differently. I never thought of it as being a sexual tension between the two friends, but rather a confused stage of life for teen boys where intimacy and friendship is difficult to understand.

Some people, including me, wonder if they're gay not because of the kiss but because they don't speak to each other again. They were intimate friends, who even masturbated together, but after the kiss they treated each other as mere acquitances. That could be interpreted as they felt threatened in some sexual way. The ending made me think there was some sexual tension between them they didn't acknowledge before.

[Impish]

****SPOILERS**** (Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN)

Some people, including me, wonder if they're gay not because of the kiss but because they don't speak to each other again. They were intimate friends, who even masturbated together, but after the kiss they treated each other as mere acquitances. That could be interpreted as they felt threatened in some sexual way. The ending made me think there was some sexual tension between them they didn't acknowledge before.

That ending confused me...  if it was intending to reveal true homosexual feelings underlying both young men -- or if it intended to show that they were actually in love -- then it was way too late in the movie to reveal something so important.  I was enjoying the road-movie aspects to it, and the coming-of-age theme also.  Throwing that wrench in the very end kinda screwed things up for me...  for how I had been viewing the film up until that point.

[opinionista]

****SPOILERS**** (Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN)

That ending confused me...  if it was intending to reveal true homosexual feelings underlying both young men -- or if it intended to show that they were actually in love -- then it was way too late in the movie to reveal something so important.  I was enjoying the road-movie aspects to it, and the coming-of-age theme also.  Throwing that wrench in the very end kinda screwed things up for me...  for how I had been viewing the film up until that point.

I liked the ending because it was realistic in many ways. Remember that these two guys are mexicans, and homphobia has deep roots in Mexico and the hispanic culture in general, because of the Catholic church. Their reaction is actually normal within the context of their culture, even if they were gay. If the movie had ended with them behaving as if nothing happened, it would've been weird.

Well, back on topic. I have two ideas about the ending. One is the possibility that they felt sexually attracted to each other, and that scared them. The other one is the weight of their culture and homophobia. They felt unconfortable with each other because each knew they weren't gay, but weren't sure about the other one and didn't know how to deal with it if they were to continue to be friends. There was already too much intimacy between them, and they couldn't handle it.

[starboardlight]

you're right their reaction to the kiss is realistic. it's just the kiss itself just came out of nowhere. i think for many people, that's the confusing part. there had been no hint of sexual tension between them all through the movie, than all the sudden, bam! I don't read the two guys as being gay or even bisexual. the only interpretation that makes sense to me is that the kiss is a manifestation of their closeness and intimacy as friends being mixed with a moment of sexual arousal.

[opinionista]

you're right their reaction to the kiss is realistic. it's just the kiss itself just came out of nowhere. i think for many people, that's the confusing part. there had been no hint of sexual tension between them all through the movie, than all the sudden, bam! I don't read the two guys as being gay or even bisexual. the only interpretation that makes sense to me is that the kiss is a manifestation of their closeness and intimacy as friends being mixed with a moment of sexual arousal.

Well, I thought there was sexual tension between them all the time, but not in a romantic sort of way. They didn't have sex with each other but their whole friendship revolved around sex. I mean they were in heat the whole time, masturbated together and all, shared girlfriends, and even had a threesome. That's a lot of intimacy for two friends who aren't in love with each other or have a "normal" sexual relationship. They had practically no secrets. So the kiss wasn't really out of place, IMO. It is exactly what you say, a manifestation of their closeness as friends mixed not only with a moment of sexual arousal, but with a friendship where sex played an important role.

[Impish]

I watched "Chuck and Buck" last night for the first time.

The DVD cover presents this film as a comedy, but I found it deeply disturbing.  It was actually hard for me to make my way through it...  I was constantly tempted to skip scenes or stop the movie altogether.  I didn't do either.

First, the good:  the performance of Mike White, playing Buck, is truly amazing.  You never catch him "acting," he has become Buck to a degree that's a bit scary.  The soundtrack includes some great music.  The production values are better than average and far beyond other low-budget indies.

The problem for me was the view it takes of gay people: the "arrested development" theory, the "they never grew up" bit.  I understand that Buck is a single individual and I shouldn't over-generalize in this regard.  But Buck is the only gay person we meet in the film, there is no gay or lesbian character in the script that would counter Buck's immaturity, to show he's as much an oddball to the  gay community as he is to the straight.

And Buck is an extreme example.  I read some of the comments on IMDB, who talk about Buck's "innocence."  Innocence, my ass.  Excuse my un-PC language:  Buck is socially retarded to a degree that loses all charm and likability.  Yes, he has the mental ability of an eight year old, and the concept has the potential to show a charming innocence.  But Buck was and is an unlikeable 8-year old.   I kept thinking that the screenplay would show us more about Buck so  that viewers could come to care about him.  All the screenplay is able to show is that he has no skills, no talent, no redeeming features. He's a one-dimensional character, striking the same note again and again, and I couldn't stand him, from beginning to end.

So here's a well-made film that includes an stunningly good performance, but its story is about a character that I wish I had never met, and certainly one I don't want representing gay people.

[David]

I watched "Chuck and Buck" last night for the first time.

The DVD cover presents this film as a comedy, but I found it deeply disturbing.  It was actually hard for me to make my way through it...  I was constantly tempted to skip scenes or stop the movie altogether.  I didn't do either.

Yup.  I agree 100%.   I think much earlier in this threat when yo ufirst mentioned "Chuck and Buck", I had said then that it disturbed me.     I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought the characters were unlikable.   This is NOT a gay themed movie I want on my shelf of classics.

[starboardlight]

I can see where you guys are coming from. I think, seeing it in a different mood, I'd probably not like it as much either. I think I was the first to mention the film in this thread, and I still question whether it's a "gay-themed film". It doesn't deal with gay issues or what it's like to live life as a gay person. It's certainly made by straight writers and directors, who don't seem to have any connection to actual gay people. Their points of view don't reflect any understanding of gay lives. I did like the film for it's strangeness. Yes, it's disturbing, and the characters aren't like-able. I don't demand that from films. They have to get me involved and thinking. Chuck and Buck does that for me. And I did find myself laughing through the awkwardness of the situations. I did think the awkwardness was intentionally funny, but it's a dark dark dark comedy to be sure.

[azphil]

Hi, All.........

If you'll let me in for just a bit, I'd like to share with you a few thoughts concerning gay-themed movies.

My collection consists of several dozens of them, formatted on DVD, laser disc, and videotape, most of the latter I've transferred to recordable DVD (including someone else's mention of "Consenting Adult," starring Martin Sheen and Marlo Thomas---not a bad little film, considering it was a made-for-TVer of almost 21 years ago).

At the very top tier of these films, I would, of course, place "Brokeback Mountain."  Very close to this level I would have to include a little French number (Just A Question Of Love / Juste Une Question D'amour).  It's one that, like BBM, I find easy to watch over and over and over.

Another that's really gotten under my skin recently (and that's funny, because the word, 'skin,' is part of its title) is a 1999 Spanish production, "Second Skin" / "Segundo Piel."  It stars Javier Bardem (already a favorite of yours, I've seen) and Jordi Molla (bigger in Spain than here---but his work in this film is world-class in my opinion).  How the director got these 2 guys to do the anal intercourse scenes that they did is beyond me (and way above BBM's).  I've gathered from other reviews of this film that some might consider it "soap-opera-y," but I think it's way, way better than that.  It's got the same kind of 2-guys+unsuspecting-wife kind of thing going as does BBM.  Plus its own tragedy.

Yet one more little gem no one else seems to have mentioned is "Wilby Wonderful."  For all you Sandra Oh (of Grey's Anatomy) fans out there, she's a blast in this.  And what a great gay ending scene this one has.

Should anyone be further interested, here's a link to Imdb.com and some of my reviews of the preceding (and other) films:

http://www.imdb.com/user/ur1084088/comments

Enjoy

PS--This for JudeW who has mentioned at least a couple of times about waiting for "Burnt Money" on DVD.  Don't know where you've been, but this one's been out on DVD for a couple of years or so.  Just go to Amazon.com and do a search on this title---there's even some better pricing on some of the Used copies.

PPS--And for some of you who don't know of it, TLA Video has a great DVD movie sale site (they've produced/released a lot of the G/L films we enjoy).  Be sure to click on their Gay/Lesbian link.

http://www.tlavideo.com/main/main.cfm?sn=1&c=0&v=1

And for those of you who don't know of it, for brand new DVDs it's pretty hard to beat the pricing of DeepDiscountDVD.com.  Their prices are most often the lowest, PLUS free shipping.  And a couple or three times a year, they run a special of 20% off their already low prices.  I've dealt w/them for years now.

Oh, and one last lead for you:  DVDPriceSearch.com is a great one-stop place for finding the prices of a bunch of DVD internet sellers out there.  Give it a try some time:

http://www.dvdpricesearch.com/cgi-bin/dvdhtml2

[Impish]

Hi, All.........

If you'll let me in for just a bit, I'd like to share with you a few thoughts concerning gay-themed movies.

We'll let you in for more than just a bit.... please keep your thoughts coming! 

I own Just a Question of Love and also like it very much.

I get most of my movies -- about 5-7 per month -- from DeepDiscountDVD, and also recommend it.

I don't know of "Second Skin" but it's now on my Wish List!  I noticed that the DDD version is Rated R; while the one at TLA Video is "Unrated".  Do you know the difference between the two? 

If there is more wienies on the unrated, then that's the one for me!   

Impish