'Chuck and Buck' vs. 'Notes on a Scandal

[Auggie27]

Posted: 3/30/07 at 8:31am

SPOILERS:

Revisiting CHUCK AND BUCK yesterday on Logo -- a favorite film of mine -- I was struck by its interesting parallels to SCANDAL, insofar as both deal with the sometimes hot-button issue of 'gay stalking.' SCANDAL provoked some strong reactions from people who felt it a nasty portrait of a lesbian gone wild, a negative stereotype turning up at a time when gay issues are divisive and a struggle continues to make gay lives seem "normal."

Worth noting: The arrested development poster boy -- the child-man Buck -- certainly stalks, boldly and baldly, and s hardly anyone's role model for gay maturity, or anything else. A closeted Mama's boy, he loathes adult responsibility, babbles in an infantile way aboutplayng office, preserves a toy collection to freeze time, etc, and uses teenaged rum and coke-fed seductive techniques to recreate adolescent fooling around. Clearly, Chuck certainly uses his sexuality -- though oddly never acknowledged as homosexual -- to wreak havoc in the life of a "straight" crush.

Also worth noting: If one examines straight vs. gay balance in the universe portrayed, the straight people in CHUCK AND BUCK are rendered with far more compassion than the single gay one(Chuck is an okay enough guy, with self-esteem and an entirely sympathetic girlfriend who even welcomes Buck. Compare that with Cate Blanchett's skewed moral universe -- an affair with a teen that betrays a husband.) Note, too that there are no other gay people anywhere on the canvas. Buck exhibits the only homosexual urges. In SCANDAL, Dench's sister welcomes her as a lesbian, and rather sensitively inquires about a former relationship.

Both SCANDAL and CHUCK AND BUCK ends up fairly happy. In both films, the "gay" characters survive their soul-destroying crushes and the damage they do, and both "straight" people get what they want too.

Though admittedly wildly different in tone, it was interesting to me that CHUCK never seemed to inspire a whiff of backlash that SCANDAL provoked. Perhaps because Mike White is gay? Still, a close comparison of the two doesn't really make CHUCK AND BUCK as the more gay-positive story per se. Perhaps it's a difference in eras -- 5 years ago, when CHUCK AND BUCK crept into a handful of theaters, it was a different America.

Updated On: 3/30/07 at 08:31 AM

[Calvin]

Posted: 3/30/07 at 9:25am

See, I never really thought of the gayness of either character of being their most outstanding trait. Buck was a guy stuck in his childhood, and Judi Dench's character was a pathetically lonely old woman who had never had any affection throughout her entire life. The fact that their respective obsessions were of the same sex was secondary, in my mind.

BTW -- I thought Mike White was straight and that only his dad (Mel White) was gay. Has he come out?

[robbiej]

Posted: 3/30/07 at 9:56am

I believe Mike White came out as bisexual several years ago.

[Auggie27]

Posted: 3/30/07 at 10:36am

I thought his TV series promo's made it clear he was self-described as gay... Never heard "bi" used.

Calvin, I believe the homosexual nature of the obsessions are secondary, too, but reaised the issue only because of the backlash to the Dench behavior, some of which was discussed at length at this board.

But just a thought to trigger more. Maybe I'm straining. It was the stalking component of both stories that made the parallel at least worth posing.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 3/30/07 at 11:19am

That is an interesting observation, Auggie. The first thing that crossed my mind, however, was that in Chuck and Buck the two characters have had sex in the past, and indeed do it again, so the sexuality of Chuck's character is in question. There is a possibility that Charles will come out and declare his true feelings for Buck. I also think the "creepiness" factor in Notes is partly due to the difference in age of the two women. People always get uncomfortable when the gap in ages is so wide.
Chuck and Buck's tone is much less sinister and much sweeter than the melodramatic tone of Notes on a Scandal and the ending of Chuck and Buck the two characters have reached a place where they are both content and seem happy. Buck has moved past his crush/obsession of Chuck and seems to have reached a much healthier stage of his maturity.
Dench's character (sorry, I can't remember her name) has moved past her obsession of Blanchett's character, but she has set her sight on another young beautiful woman. I don't get the feeling that the relationship with the woman in the park is going to be much different than her previous relationship.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 3/30/07 at 11:30am

I loved "Notes..." so now I want to watch "Chuck"

[Auggie27]

Posted: 3/30/07 at 8:51pm

I find Sueleen's observations telling. I think the issue of Chuck's sexuality is fudged, though charmingly. He gives Buck what he wants, and they move past it, as if one or both had to get it out of their system. But who am I to judge -- perhaps that's a bonafide form of catharsis, sexual or otherwise. But you're right, the films are tonally in different leagues, and what I didn't mention before is the extraordinary context for Buck's transcendance -- his play and his relationship with the wonderful Lupe Ontiveros's character. Nothing as fun manages to show up in SCANDAL, when careers are on the line, and lives potentially ruined. The play-within-the-movie in CHUCK goes a long way toward giving the audience a point of access in Buck's obsession -- and yes, it's infused with sweetness.