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1. 'The Art of Being Straight' or 'Eating Out 3: Playing It Straight. Again'.

   Is Queer Cinema completely dead or just in critical condition?

   Posted by: Chas | Jul 9, 2008 7:50:05 PM

   
   

2. It does look interesting, though the trailer is a bit hard to follow. The "questioning" character seems like a good actor.

   Posted by: Paul R | Jul 9, 2008 7:53:46 PM

   
   

3. I'm gonna have to agree with Chas on this one. Is it just me or has the entire gay indy film community ( if it does exist ) consist of nothing but a bunch of sexually-vague-but-actually-gay white guys who only hang with fag hags and other sexually-vague-but-actually-gay white guys?

   Posted by: Pekemo | Jul 10, 2008 1:12:36 AM

   
   

4. Is it too much to ask for an out and proud gay male lead character that isn't a stereotype?
   how are young men going to be inspired and confident with themselves if we only portray people who question themselves and hide who they are..
   there's no one we can relate to...
   it's not that hard of a concept:
   IT'S OK TO BE GAY!

   Posted by: Jesse | Jul 10, 2008 3:17:22 AM

   
   

5. Now, now, boys... It wasn't that long ago that this kind of film would never be made, let alone shown somewhere. We've made strides, overall.

   Thankfully, reality TV (I know, I know, it's not the same) has shown many positive gay role models who aren't stereotypes and are out and proud.

   Posted by: johnny | Jul 10, 2008 7:10:15 AM

   
   

6. Critical condition and spiraling into death, i.e. Chas and Pekemo and Jesse have it right.
   I'm sick of the newer "gay" movies that have a closeted or sometimes-gay lead character who fucks the opposite sex and plays games with the gay men/women. How about a movie that actually is about OUT gay men and women and our lives? Hell, I'd even accept a movie with gay and straight characters as long as they aren't all fucked up and confused and messy. Please, Jebus, deliver unto us some decent cine.

   Posted by: Shane | Jul 10, 2008 7:57:19 AM

   
   

7. Looks like a great flick to me. And there have been
   some great movies about "out" gay men who were
   not stereotypical, for example "Eating Out," 200 American, Shortbus, An Angel Named Billy, Boy
   Culture, Just a Question of Love and Phoenix. Not
   main stream movies, but pretty decent. There have
   even been some entertaining gay slasher films.

   On the other hand, a lot of us, unfortunately, spent
   a lot of our time suffering through sexual ambiguity.
   It's not easy, even today, to stand up and be gay!
   Fortunately, there are more and more out and proud
   men, like the ones on this blog, that help the rest of
   us.

   You guys have a lot of courage and those of us who
   are scared really appreciate it.

   Posted by: mudgeboy | Jul 10, 2008 9:58:27 AM

   
   

8. Chas and Pekemo, Jesse and Shane are correct. Personally this kind of behavior is so artificial and only takes place in bad movies where someone filmmaker wants to attempt to appeal to a cross-over audience.

   I don't need to see gay guys fucking women or lesbians fucking men. It's homophobic and simply feeds into the ex-gay movement argument that we can all change if we really want to.

   I've met thousands of gay guys in the past 30 years and NONE of them sleep with women.

   Posted by: Nick | Jul 10, 2008 10:10:05 AM

   
   

9. it just seems to be a well-worn trope: gay movie about "coming out." there are so many of those already . . . and why are all of these being made by young white guys in LA? is there an indie film scene anywhere else in the US?

   Additionally, having the lead be the writer/director is a bit suspect. It's another one of these gay buldingsroman films that the writer/director feels is oh, so unique and it really isn't (i should know, i have one of my own . . . only it's a play not a movie).

   I think it all boils down to this issue in queer cinema that we face a dichotomy between creating art that is aesthetically interesting and/or challenging and/or thought-provoking and entertaining (which IMO is what all artists--gay or straight--should do) vs. propaganda. So many of these gay indie films feel like propaganda to me--oh, look gay people are cute and a little quirky but ultimately well-adjusted and have cute apartments . . . which is fine except they don't resemble actual human beings.

   I don't know what the answer is, but as a writer I try not to make plays "about" gay people but about larger, universal themes that happen to involve gay characters.

   I do think some of these movies are an attempt to create a gay version of a rom-com, which is fine, but a good rom-com needs a good plot. I'm surprised no one has made Manhunt: the Movie yet. That would be an amazing premise ripe with comedic possibility!

   Posted by: Alex | Jul 10, 2008 10:24:03 AM

   
   

10. This movie's, like, so gay.

    Posted by: anon | Jul 10, 2008 12:42:07 PM

    
    

11. If my straight friends ever use the word gay as in lame, they make sure to spell it out as ghey. Being gay is being a homo and being ghey is being lame. No hurt feelings then. Just an fyi.

    Posted by: hulaman4 | Jul 10, 2008 1:50:34 PM

    
    

12. I am the last person to have much sympathy for people who don't just come out already, especially after a certain age (it seems much easier to be a gay teen these days in many parts of the country). But I also realize that I had it relatively easy, even when I came out at 13 in 1985---I've never cared what anyone thinks about me because I realized at a young age that most people are jerks, and even though I had Republican parents, they are very decent and loving people. I've also always lived near urban areas. Things are very different in other parts of the US, much less many other countries (the Gambia, anyone?).

    Just last night an old friend of mine was visiting and spent the night. He identifies as straight but is clearly drawn to some men. He also likes to flaunt his incredibly nice body in front of gay men. (His brother, who I knew first, is much the same---except I slept with him quite a few times in the early 90s. Now he's getting married. For both, a massive inheritance and incredibly homophobic father may explain their reticence to come out.) Anyway, this guy slept in my bed last night in his underwear and nothing else. I was wearing a t-shirt and shorts (more than I usually sleep in). And no, nothing happened.

    I learned a long time ago not to get involved with bi or questioning guys---they hurt me too much in college. And they can be frustrating as hell. But sadly and strangely, I have a lot more friends who fall into that category than I do actual gay friends. And I live in San Francisco. Moreover, these guys are my friends. If they want to come out or talk about their sexual uncertainties, I'll be there for them. But I'm not going to sleep with them. I prefer long-term friendships over short-term flings.

    Not to mention, guys with zero or limited experience usually suck in bed.

    Anyway, yes there are a lot of cliched or trite coming out movies, and they may not serve much purpose for gay audiences. But for that uncertain teenager living in Nowheresville, they can be very helpful. For a long time all gay literature was about coming out, and whenever gays met that was a prime initial discussion point. Not so much these days. But everyone has different circumstances, and though I wish everyone (especially people in the public eye) would just come out, I try my best to understand why they feel they can't, no matter how much they should.

    Posted by: Paul R | Jul 11, 2008 6:11:12 PM

    
    

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