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The Deep End (2001)
Typical homophobic garbage.
This is another dumb movie about a homosexual predator preying on younger guys. The story concerns Tilda Swinton who plays a mother trying to protect her son from an older man who is having sexual relations with him. Even worse, her young son is a teenager, which means ONCE AGAIN, the villain is an older gay guy who is a predator and a sex-offender too. How are gay people ever supposed to achieve equal rights with straights when the movie theaters are flooded with films like this? Why are gay men in movies always negative stereotypes who chase after a teenager or some really, really young guy? I live near West Hollywood, CA and I only see adult gay men with other adult gay men. In my ten years of being in the gay community, I have NEVER known a gay man who chases after teenage boys. All the gay men I know are only interested in guys their own age. When will the film industry recognize that? Shame on the actors and producers of this movie for participating in a story like this. The writer of this film should spend some time in the gay community and realize that gay men are just like straight men and there is no difference! Well, maybe gay men work out in the gym more, but other than that, there is no difference!
Charlie's Angels (2000)
Too many stereotypes.
I knew I was in trouble when "Charlie's Angels" began and within the first two minutes of the movie, the first character we see is an effeminate gay flight attendant. He is clearly made to be a misogynist with the way he is talking about a woman passenger. He says, "It's not the seats that got smaller, lady. It's your ass that got bigger." Later, he is looking at an African-American passenger with disgust, telling him that he doesn't belong in first-class. Apparently this gay man is a racist too.
The African-American man points his finger in the gay man's face and says that he wants his drink "straight," which is an obvious nod to his sexual orientation. The nasty gay stereotype is the only gay character in the entire movie. That is unacceptable for two reasons: First, the Charlie's Angels movie and show has a huge gay following, so it is an insult to them to only show a stereotype. Secondly, I remember seeing many episodes of the original "Charlie's Angels" on TV that had openly gay characters (usually cameos, but still).
Equally as bad are the other stereotypes, like the scene in the massage parlor that shows an Asian woman walking on the back of a white man. The portrayal of African Americans is bad too. In this film, they are either assassins or dancing on "Soul Train." As for Asian men, the only one you'll see in this movie is an engineer at a computer company. I'm not saying everything should be politically correct, but at the same time, don't insult my intelligence. Not all gay men are effeminate flight attendants, not all Asian women work in massage parlors to give pleasure to white men and not all African-Americans spend their days either dancing or shooting people.
This was a revolutionary film that shows strong women doing stunts like never before. Women in action films will never be portrayed as weaklings again (I hope). So why is it that all other minorities are being pushed back into their stereotypes in this film?
Normal, Ohio (2000)
I loved it, loved it, loved it!
I loved this show! How wonderful it is to finally see a program on television that features a gay male character in the lead(!) that isn't a stereotype. In fact, he breaks all stereotypes. John Goodman plays William "Butch" Gamble, a tough, macho, masculine guy who also happens to be gay. He stands up for himself when verbally attacked and he likes football too. When is the last time a gay character on television or in the movies had all of those qualities?
I knew it would be a good show simply because everything John Goodman does is a showcase for his amazing talent and natural style of acting. His character in "Normal, Ohio" brought to mind the characters he played in "Roseanne" and "Coyote, Ugly," but this time he is the central focus.
The main point I want to make is that I have worked in network programming for years and I know how hard it is to get a show on the air. In fact, I can't imagine how difficult it must have been for this show's producers to even make this show at all. When critics say "Normal, Ohio" isn't as good as other programs, those critics do not realize that a few years ago, a show with a gay male character in the lead would never have been on TV at all.
It doesn't matter if you're gay, straight, bi or whatever - everyone should support this program and watch it. Let's not forget the way America jeered Margaret Cho's sitcom "All American Girl," which should have been praised for its wonderful portrayal of an Asian family. Hopefully, "Normal, Ohio" will find an audience before it's too late.
Billy Elliot (2000)
This movie had some problems!
I don't consider it a "spoiler" to mention a certain theme running throughout this movie that I found disturbing: Being that this film's premise is about a young boy taking ballet lessons, I expected to see plenty of scenes of his father and brother saying to him, "What are you, a homo or something?" To the contrary, the main person who said a lot of homophobic remarks was Billy Elliot himself.
Early on, he reluctantly takes ballet, telling his friend he thinks ballet is for "poofs." That word, a slang for homosexual, gets used over and over by Billy. Later, the screenwriter repeatedly points out to the audience that Billy is straight (through important plot elements that can't be revealed because they're "spoilers"). I questioned this because it was done in a defensive way...as if being gay is a bad thing. Also, there is a scene near the end where an effeminate boy Billy's age is talking to him and Billy punches(!) him in the face and calls him "bent" (another derogatory slang for homosexual). I find this insulting to the gay community because, like it or not, if it wasn't for the contribution of hard work and talented dancing that many gay men have put into ballet since its beginnings, ballet wouldn't exist.
It doesn't make sense that Billy is involved in the world of ballet, but the audience never sees one openly gay ballet teacher or dancer. If we had, it wouldn't have contributed to the plot, but at least it could have shown the audience "See? Gay people can be good dancers and do beautiful things. They don't just hang out in bars all day. They aren't just a bunch of 'poofs' as this movie likes to call them." Without revealing another spoiler, I will say there is a gay character thrown in, but he is a ridiculous stereotype. I've been involved in the gay community for almost ten years and I've never seen such a joke of a character.
Gods and Monsters (1998)
The worst piece of garbage I've ever seen!
My negative opinion of this "gay film" is valid because of two reasons: I've been openly gay for almost ten years and secondly, I have a degree in cinema production. Since this is a "gay" movie, I am fully qualified to say "What a stupid movie!"
The reason why gays are so discriminated against and being gay-bashed on the streets is because of people like the James Whale character in "Gods and Monsters." He's a perverted old old old man chasing after every cute young male that comes his way. He is a predator who takes in every bad stereotype of the gay community. Unfortunately, most heterosexuals believe that gays are as perverted and sleazy as the James Whale character in this movie. If gays want to change that image, this movie isn't going to help any.
The only other "openly gay" character in the film was the wimpy, effeminate Edmund Kay (played by Jack Plotnick). Edmund is a sissy personified running around in his underwear like he was at an orgy. Speaking of orgies, there was one offensive scene that had a group of male whores parading around James Whale's home naked.
My whole life I've never acted like any of these dumb gay characters. Why can't I ever see a normal gay character in a movie that is more like me? I've never "chased" after a straight guy, acted like a predator or behaved in a sleazy way. I also don't drink, take drugs or smoke. In this film, James Whale is suicidal and that is also something I've never been.
In closing, I wish the gay community (and the straight community) would politely decline to see movies like this and demand better from Hollywood.