New romantic comedy- Page 2

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 1:26pm

eslgr8, paragraph breaks are our friends! They make our missives easier to read.

Just a couple of thoughts: There are no "openly African American" actors because there is nowhere for them to hide, to pretend to be anything other than what they are. Tell that to Vin Diesel.

Well, gay people have been "buying it" forever, and when a film like Adam and Steve comes out, with two OPENLY GAY actors playing lovers, two OPENLY GAY actors who don't have to shut their eyes and imagine they're kissing a woman when they kiss on screen, two actors who've lived and continue to live the day-to-day struggles and joys of being gay and aren't afraid to tell the world who they are, when these two men star in a film about gay boyfriends, it's a BIG BIG event.

I would have to vociferously disagree with this theory. Unfortunately for the small, independent film world with their small, "important" films of gay romance and coming out stories (enough of those, thanks!), the real world progressed so much faster that non-acting civilians are living the lives that the closeted screen performers can't admit to. And things have progressed so far beyond the "admitting to" stage in the real world, that many people across all age groups could give a crap about what the real story is of the actors in productions like "Adam and Steve."

I think you're projecting when it comes to saying things like two straight actors have to close their eyes and imagine women. You really do not know what's going on in their heads. I have seen PLENTY of straight men play gay (Philip Seymour Hoffman in Flawless, for example) and I didn't feel as if he didn't "feel" the part, or whatever it is you think ONLY an actual gay man can bring to the part.

I know this USED to be a big rallying cry among the Larry Kramer set, (WHY won't openly gay actors play gay parts? WHY are there no openly gay actors?). Well, I think the whole rest of the world has moved on.

It's great when actors come out. It is not imperative that gay actors play gay parts in, well, the general pablum that serves as gay indie stories of today.

Updated On: 7/17/05 at 01:26 PM

[eslgr8]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 5:45pm

Sorry that my posting got you so riled up that you had to pick a way-out-of-left-field example (Vin Diesel) to rebut my very real point: there is a huge difference between being an African American actor denied many acting opportunities and a closeted gay actor who hides his orientation in order to avoid losing job opportunities.

As to comparing me to Larry Kramer, for goodness sakes, I beg to disagree. I have read many letters to the editor in the Advocate agreeing with my point of view, and I'm sure they represent a fairly broad spectrum of the gay community. 10 or more years ago, we were happy just to see our stories on screen. Now, many of us are tired of reading about how it felt for a straight actor to play gay, again and again and again. It is refreshing to finally see our stories played by us, in a film like Adam and Steve.

As to your general putdown of independent gay cinema, it indicates an elitist attitude and an opinion with which I would heartily disagree. Thank goodness there are so many fine films being made, many of which I have been fortunate to see in the past five Outfests.

My opinions, as expressed in my earlier post, stand.

(I have added the paragraph, breaks though.)
Updated On: 7/17/05 at 05:45 PM

[DAME]

Posted: 7/17/05 at 5:54pm

eslgr8,
I was also there. I thought the film was cute at best. I wish it was better since two of my clients are in it and I really love the guys at funnyboy pics.