Some good gay-themed movies
I've watched a few gay-themed movies in the past two or three years, and I thought I'd share my thoughts.
I don't like superficial or vacuous movies, so all of these deal with larger issues. And I don't like unhappy endings (because there are wayyyyyyyy too many gay movies that end tragically) so most are happy/ambiguous.
1. My Beautiful Laundrette (★★★★★)
Starring a very young and dashing Daniel Day-Lewis and an relatively unknown but charming Gordon Warnecke, this is a movie set in the 1980s in the UK and deals with the issues of that time. It's a very subtle film that keeps you pondering what the characters are thinking and why they do the things they do. The two leads are very good-looking (together, too) and share a certain chemistry that's very at ease and comfortable, much like their relationship. No budding romance, they kind of just meld together and deal with the things that happen in the film.
And what does happen? Mostly it deals with race issues and subtle homophobia. Omar (Warnecke) is smart and rather cunning, trying to make the business his uncle gives him successful. He employs a childhood friend and street punk (who he hasn't seen since he left school), Johnny (Day-Lewis) to help him run the business and deal with the riff-raff. The two have to deal with the expectations of Omar's family and the snide remarks Johnny's street "friends" make about him working for a Paki.
(Also, some people who watched the film got confused about Tania's role in all this?? I thought it was obvious. She made advances on Omar but didn't get any reaction. Omar gets pressured to ask for her hand in marriage from his family, but nothing really comes of it. Johnny gets jealous and goes gallivanting with Tania to make Omar jealous. But all this happens in a very quiet way i.e. their intentions aren't clear unless you think about it. In the end Tania realizes they only have eyes for each other and she was kind of a pawn in their plans)
I can't help but add that the two leads are super hot together. /blushes
I like the secondary and tertiary characters too. The film feels very real and believable. Kind of slice of life but bigger.
2. The Falls (2012) (★★★★★) and its sequel, The Falls: Testament of Love (2013) (★★★★☆)
A film about two Mormon missionaries who fall in love. In the first film, they meet as mission companions and as they gradually become friends over the months, they realize they have quite a lot in common, and the chemistry is strong. There is no overt romance; in fact, you barely see it coming. I didn't find the film slow at all; I enjoyed the time taken to build up to the point where they both succumb to their feelings.
I think the first film trumps Latter Days by a mile. The director clearly did his research on Mormonism; it wasn't just a convenient "forbidden love" kind of scenario. Both actors truly had chemistry! I loved their interactions. The film had a lot of subtle scenes where you just get to enjoy their time together. (: The ending wasn't totally expected either; yes you'd expect at least one of them to conform to expectations, but RJ (the dark-haired dude) had a brilliant speech at the end. I just found the whole film very real.
The second film picks up 5 years after the two separate. Chris stayed with the church and is married with a 3 year old kid. RJ is no longer associated with the church (though not formally excommunicated) and is working for a magazine in Seattle. I won't go too much into it because you should watch for yourself! I appreciated the film a lot. It was definitely darker and the scenes were well portrayed to show the complexity of the issue.
I especially liked Chris's father's role. You'd expect the traditional Mormon man to be very against it (usually cause of disgust or shame), but his reason for not supporting Chris's choices near the end of the film was due to a different reason. Love for his child. I thought it was beautifully done.
Both are in my top 10 gay-themed movies of all time. (:
3. Touch of Pink (★★★★☆)
This film is about two guys already in an established relationship, living in Toronto. Alim's family has no idea he's gay because he moved away a while back, but his mother comes for a visit to pressure him to find a girl. Giles pretends to be his roommate, and they have a kind of tense relationship while Alim's mom is there (understandably, cause Giles feels marginalized).
Don't worry though, the whole thing gets resolved quite nicely, despite the race issues and gay being an issue stuff. The only two things I found weird in the movie is Alim's "ghost friend/guardian angel" sort of character. Like why is he there? Kind of strange. The other thing is that Alim's mom looks really young even though they tried to make her look older. Still, she acted really well.
All in all it's a great watch and leaves you with a happy feeling!
4. Maurice (★★★★★)
This was a bittersweet movie set in Edwardian Britain. It stars James Wilby in the title role as Maurice, who meets a very liberal and refreshing Clive (played by Hugh Grant) in college. Clive falls in love with Maurice and confesses, who first reacts with horror and then later realizes he's felt the same for a while, too. It just never really occurred to him that a man could love another man. They are in a relationship for about 2 years, when Clive gets doubts because he's afraid of the consequences if things get out, so he breaks it off.
(Ugh stupid, cowardly Clive!)
Maurice, rather lost and heartbroken, doesn't really know how to deal with it, especially after Clive gets himself a wife (a benign, rather sweet girl that Clive is fond of). He even tries conversion therapy, which doesn't work and leaves him feeling more hopeless. But he meets the smouldering gamekeeper Alec Scudder (played by Rupert Graves i.e. Lestrade in BBC's Sherlock), who helps him realize that he isn't wrong to feel that way about men.
I cried at the end. Maurice gets a happy ending, but in the last scene, Clive looks out the window, an empty shell of who he once was, watching his memory of young Maurice (in their college days) disappearing forever. It's so sad how societal pressures and his own cowardice to face up to his true nature could force this man into the closet and a loveless marriage.
And just to add, James Wilby is a true English beauty; just look at his fair hair! He was my bias in the movie. Young Hugh Grant is a looker too. And Rupert Graves is just smoking.
5. The Truth About Alex (★★★★★)
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A BRILLIANT movie set in the 1980s USA. Alex and Bradley are best friends, both on the football team. Alex is found out to be gay (a mishap, really), and Bradley has to come to terms with it as a straight friend. The movie shows his struggle between standing up for his own principles (great principles, really), and the reactions of his teammates/girlfriend/army father. I think Scott Baio did a great job as Bradley.
No romance in this movie, just solid friendship and how things were in the 1980s (and now, probably). Bradley does succumb to his father's ravings about not having him associate with queers, but in the end he stays true to his principles and accepts Alex for who he is. Lovely lovely ending; friendship is a powerful thing.
6. Latter Days (★★★ and a 1/2)
A good film that deals with religion and homosexuality, and how ironic it is that religion claims to bring people together but actually rips families apart. Aaron Davis is a Mormon and Christian Markelli is an openly gay neighbour when Aaron moves into the apartment complex with several other "Elders".
I didn't rate the movie very high due to its tendency to fall into stupid cliches, but the characters themselves were pretty good (especially sweet sweet Aaron!). And the topic the movie dealt with was well-conveyed in most parts.
Also, there's a happy ending cause gay movies should have more of those. /huff
7. Artemisia (艾草) (★★★★☆)
Sweet family-oriented movie about a mother who finds out her grown daughter had a mixed child overseas, and comes back to Taiwan to raise the child. It shows how she struggles to come to terms with this and reconcile with her mother (her kid's grandmother) because it's seen as a disgrace to the rest of the extended family. There's a balance of humour, family, love and a bit of drama in this movie.
The other lead is her son, a gay man already in an established relationship with the cutest guy ever (and they're so cute together!). He doesn't tell his mom he's gay because she already has enough on her plate, but it's shown that his mom eventually accepts her daughter's child into her heart, which implies that her love for her kids overcame her stigma. So it's probable that she'll accept her son for who he is in the future (which is not shown in the movie).
I thought it was a great, sweet watch. The mother is such a grumpy sweetheart, and she acted really well. The mixed child was such a cute little girl too! And the male lead and his partner are just so lovely together. Watched it twice. (:
8. Two Weddings and a Funeral (★★★★☆)
Lighthearted but rather sombre at times, this Korean movie is about two gay couples that get involved in a fake marriage. The handsome guy in the black suit and the long-haired girl are doctors, and they get married so that he can ease the pressure to find someone from his family, and so that she can adopt her child (which she isn't allowed to do as a lesbian couple). The male couple is the focus in the movie, but the female couple makes humorous appearances.
I thought the main actor was super cute! He was such a bumbling fool that took a while to realize that the fake marriage was only a short-term solution. His partner in comparison, is a lot more self-assured. The female lead is really funny, and her partner is one of the comic reliefs in this movie, I swear. She's so cool.
Of course the "funeral" might give it away; but I saw the death coming a mile away (a friend of the male lead). Overall a great movie and a great watch if you're looking for a sweet ending. (:
Okay there are two more I think, but I don't have the time to find them at the moment. Will add them later~ (: ..
I don't like superficial or vacuous movies, so all of these deal with larger issues. And I don't like unhappy endings (because there are wayyyyyyyy too many gay movies that end tragically) so most are happy/ambiguous.
1. My Beautiful Laundrette (★★★★★)
Starring a very young and dashing Daniel Day-Lewis and an relatively unknown but charming Gordon Warnecke, this is a movie set in the 1980s in the UK and deals with the issues of that time. It's a very subtle film that keeps you pondering what the characters are thinking and why they do the things they do. The two leads are very good-looking (together, too) and share a certain chemistry that's very at ease and comfortable, much like their relationship. No budding romance, they kind of just meld together and deal with the things that happen in the film.
And what does happen? Mostly it deals with race issues and subtle homophobia. Omar (Warnecke) is smart and rather cunning, trying to make the business his uncle gives him successful. He employs a childhood friend and street punk (who he hasn't seen since he left school), Johnny (Day-Lewis) to help him run the business and deal with the riff-raff. The two have to deal with the expectations of Omar's family and the snide remarks Johnny's street "friends" make about him working for a Paki.
(Also, some people who watched the film got confused about Tania's role in all this?? I thought it was obvious. She made advances on Omar but didn't get any reaction. Omar gets pressured to ask for her hand in marriage from his family, but nothing really comes of it. Johnny gets jealous and goes gallivanting with Tania to make Omar jealous. But all this happens in a very quiet way i.e. their intentions aren't clear unless you think about it. In the end Tania realizes they only have eyes for each other and she was kind of a pawn in their plans)
I can't help but add that the two leads are super hot together. /blushes
I like the secondary and tertiary characters too. The film feels very real and believable. Kind of slice of life but bigger.
2. The Falls (2012) (★★★★★) and its sequel, The Falls: Testament of Love (2013) (★★★★☆)
A film about two Mormon missionaries who fall in love. In the first film, they meet as mission companions and as they gradually become friends over the months, they realize they have quite a lot in common, and the chemistry is strong. There is no overt romance; in fact, you barely see it coming. I didn't find the film slow at all; I enjoyed the time taken to build up to the point where they both succumb to their feelings.
I think the first film trumps Latter Days by a mile. The director clearly did his research on Mormonism; it wasn't just a convenient "forbidden love" kind of scenario. Both actors truly had chemistry! I loved their interactions. The film had a lot of subtle scenes where you just get to enjoy their time together. (: The ending wasn't totally expected either; yes you'd expect at least one of them to conform to expectations, but RJ (the dark-haired dude) had a brilliant speech at the end. I just found the whole film very real.
The second film picks up 5 years after the two separate. Chris stayed with the church and is married with a 3 year old kid. RJ is no longer associated with the church (though not formally excommunicated) and is working for a magazine in Seattle. I won't go too much into it because you should watch for yourself! I appreciated the film a lot. It was definitely darker and the scenes were well portrayed to show the complexity of the issue.
I especially liked Chris's father's role. You'd expect the traditional Mormon man to be very against it (usually cause of disgust or shame), but his reason for not supporting Chris's choices near the end of the film was due to a different reason. Love for his child. I thought it was beautifully done.
Both are in my top 10 gay-themed movies of all time. (:
3. Touch of Pink (★★★★☆)
This film is about two guys already in an established relationship, living in Toronto. Alim's family has no idea he's gay because he moved away a while back, but his mother comes for a visit to pressure him to find a girl. Giles pretends to be his roommate, and they have a kind of tense relationship while Alim's mom is there (understandably, cause Giles feels marginalized).
Don't worry though, the whole thing gets resolved quite nicely, despite the race issues and gay being an issue stuff. The only two things I found weird in the movie is Alim's "ghost friend/guardian angel" sort of character. Like why is he there? Kind of strange. The other thing is that Alim's mom looks really young even though they tried to make her look older. Still, she acted really well.
All in all it's a great watch and leaves you with a happy feeling!
4. Maurice (★★★★★)
This was a bittersweet movie set in Edwardian Britain. It stars James Wilby in the title role as Maurice, who meets a very liberal and refreshing Clive (played by Hugh Grant) in college. Clive falls in love with Maurice and confesses, who first reacts with horror and then later realizes he's felt the same for a while, too. It just never really occurred to him that a man could love another man. They are in a relationship for about 2 years, when Clive gets doubts because he's afraid of the consequences if things get out, so he breaks it off.
(Ugh stupid, cowardly Clive!)
Maurice, rather lost and heartbroken, doesn't really know how to deal with it, especially after Clive gets himself a wife (a benign, rather sweet girl that Clive is fond of). He even tries conversion therapy, which doesn't work and leaves him feeling more hopeless. But he meets the smouldering gamekeeper Alec Scudder (played by Rupert Graves i.e. Lestrade in BBC's Sherlock), who helps him realize that he isn't wrong to feel that way about men.
I cried at the end. Maurice gets a happy ending, but in the last scene, Clive looks out the window, an empty shell of who he once was, watching his memory of young Maurice (in their college days) disappearing forever. It's so sad how societal pressures and his own cowardice to face up to his true nature could force this man into the closet and a loveless marriage.
And just to add, James Wilby is a true English beauty; just look at his fair hair! He was my bias in the movie. Young Hugh Grant is a looker too. And Rupert Graves is just smoking.
5. The Truth About Alex (★★★★★)
A BRILLIANT movie set in the 1980s USA. Alex and Bradley are best friends, both on the football team. Alex is found out to be gay (a mishap, really), and Bradley has to come to terms with it as a straight friend. The movie shows his struggle between standing up for his own principles (great principles, really), and the reactions of his teammates/girlfriend/army father. I think Scott Baio did a great job as Bradley.
No romance in this movie, just solid friendship and how things were in the 1980s (and now, probably). Bradley does succumb to his father's ravings about not having him associate with queers, but in the end he stays true to his principles and accepts Alex for who he is. Lovely lovely ending; friendship is a powerful thing.
6. Latter Days (★★★ and a 1/2)
A good film that deals with religion and homosexuality, and how ironic it is that religion claims to bring people together but actually rips families apart. Aaron Davis is a Mormon and Christian Markelli is an openly gay neighbour when Aaron moves into the apartment complex with several other "Elders".
I didn't rate the movie very high due to its tendency to fall into stupid cliches, but the characters themselves were pretty good (especially sweet sweet Aaron!). And the topic the movie dealt with was well-conveyed in most parts.
Also, there's a happy ending cause gay movies should have more of those. /huff
7. Artemisia (艾草) (★★★★☆)
Sweet family-oriented movie about a mother who finds out her grown daughter had a mixed child overseas, and comes back to Taiwan to raise the child. It shows how she struggles to come to terms with this and reconcile with her mother (her kid's grandmother) because it's seen as a disgrace to the rest of the extended family. There's a balance of humour, family, love and a bit of drama in this movie.
The other lead is her son, a gay man already in an established relationship with the cutest guy ever (and they're so cute together!). He doesn't tell his mom he's gay because she already has enough on her plate, but it's shown that his mom eventually accepts her daughter's child into her heart, which implies that her love for her kids overcame her stigma. So it's probable that she'll accept her son for who he is in the future (which is not shown in the movie).
I thought it was a great, sweet watch. The mother is such a grumpy sweetheart, and she acted really well. The mixed child was such a cute little girl too! And the male lead and his partner are just so lovely together. Watched it twice. (:
8. Two Weddings and a Funeral (★★★★☆)
Lighthearted but rather sombre at times, this Korean movie is about two gay couples that get involved in a fake marriage. The handsome guy in the black suit and the long-haired girl are doctors, and they get married so that he can ease the pressure to find someone from his family, and so that she can adopt her child (which she isn't allowed to do as a lesbian couple). The male couple is the focus in the movie, but the female couple makes humorous appearances.
I thought the main actor was super cute! He was such a bumbling fool that took a while to realize that the fake marriage was only a short-term solution. His partner in comparison, is a lot more self-assured. The female lead is really funny, and her partner is one of the comic reliefs in this movie, I swear. She's so cool.
Of course the "funeral" might give it away; but I saw the death coming a mile away (a friend of the male lead). Overall a great movie and a great watch if you're looking for a sweet ending. (:
Okay there are two more I think, but I don't have the time to find them at the moment. Will add them later~ (: ..