Last I heard, you were boycotting all “gay moment” movies and TV shows. In fact, you’ve been doing so for several years. What changed?

Just by chance my wife was flipping channels and we caught the dud who plays Jack on “Will and Grace” accepting some “best actor” type of award (I have no idea which award show it was). For his speach he made fun of “Brokeback” by saying how brave he felt fo playing a gay character, etc. It was funny as hell. The audience was laughing pretty uproariously, obviously not realizing that they were part of the joke since they are teh same Hollywood establishment that will be (already has?) heaping awards on everyong involved in “Brokeback”. In short - I agree. There is no longer anything brave or daring about playing a gay character. It’s more chic than anything else.

This might be hypocritical of me or it might just be me rationalizing my choice to go see the movie, but I think the thing that changed my mind was Ang Lee. I felt that he could make a movie that was more love story than it was gay love story, if that makes any sense.

Regardless of the media hype and noise--which I think really distorts the movie’s intent a little bit--it’s really just a film where the characters happen to be gay and the sermonizing is kept, mostly, to a minimum. To be sure, there are a few moments of blatant message, but I forgave it those moments because the rest of the story was told so well.

Are you going to see it?

Wait, there’s a gay cowboy on American Idol?

He might not be gay. He might just be overplaying the sensitive, young cowboy card.

I dunno. I mean, I can never tell until someone else tells me. If I were gay, I’d be completely celibate because I wouldn’t have any idea at all who to hit on. It would suck.

I’ve been avoiding it mainly because of the hype. Based on your recommendation I may see it, but probably not until I can get it through Netflix. I agree with you that Ang Lee (proud member of “The Streak") is a reasonable motivator. The only real motivator for me, in fact.

Just riding horses doesn’t make one a cowboy.  They were Sheepherders.  Any fan of western novels know sheepherders ruined the open rangeland, because sheep overgrazed and the sheepherders fenced off waterholes that the cowherders (or, in the vernacular, “cowboys") used to share freely.

Ain’t no sheep anywhere involved with cowboys.

Nathan:  correction, they herded sheep for three summers between them.  My summer job of lifeguarding doesn’t make me a “lifeguard.” That said, I agree with everything else. :D

David:  I loved the film, and I think they were brave because while “Will and Grace” may wonderfully continue to perpetuate Gay stereotype, I have yet to see two known straight men makeout, let alone simulate a very aggressive sex scene on any film not rated X--I have never seen any films with that rating, just for the record.  They were brave because they did on screen what made many men “uncomfortable” to watch in a dark theater.  They were brave because it was a story that, for once, didn’t depict overtly feminine men in drag, or as a girl’s best friend, or as a hairdresser or fashion designer living in some large city in a modern time in which they can (more so now than then) move about with relative anonymity.  The film showed two very masculine men in extremely tender and intimate situations with one another.  I believe this is why they were called “brave.”

That said, I agree that Heath Ledger has given the performance of his career thus far.  I didn’t care for Jake G.  He was just Jake G with an accent, then Jake G with a mustache, then Jake G with a paunch. 

I, too, felt such anguish for the wives and thought Anne Hathaway has finally grown up and out of Princess Diaries and other such female pre-teen junk film.

Here’s where I disagree: it’s not brave to be controversial, it’s brave to risk something to be controversial. They weren’t risking anything with this; Brokeback was being touted as a potential Oscar winner well before the movie was released. In fact, both Jake and Heath probably did their careers a huge favor by taking these parts (Ledger in particular), and it wouldn’t have been particularly difficult for them to see that outcome. That’s not brave, it’s a smart career move.

That’s not to take anything away from the artistic achievement or how much I enjoyed the movie, but it doesn’t seem particularly courageous to me.

I’ll stand up just a bit for Jake and say that I thought he was a little better than you described. It’s just that next to Ledger, he sort of faded. I actually felt the same way about Ann Hathaway, although I thought that Michelle Williams ("Alma") was so much more powerful.

Will & Grace is past whatever sell-by date it should have had. The jokes are now stale, the characters were never that likable (too selfish, self-involved, and nasty) for me to ever make a connection. Worst, the reinforcement of the stereotypes is grating (at least as involves Jack).

As for the cowboy commentary, I would simply add this single word to the mix: pedantic.

I have yet to see two known straight men makeout

You should attend more Rocky Mountain Blogger Bashes.

Hey, don’t look at me.  I’m all about the boobies.

I would simply add this single word to the mix: pedantic.

Sweet.  A new quote for as-yet-nonexistent my “What they are saying about me” section.

Rae,
What made them cowboys, then?  If 3 summers as a lifeguard doesn’t make you a lifeguard, it sure as shootin’ doesn’t make you a figure skater.

I haven’t seen the movie, of course, nor will I.  It has nothing to do with homosexuality, and everything to do with the idea that it’s okay to betray someone who loves and depends on you just because you really, really want to.  Okay, that’s unfair.  But even if I accept the premise, I will not see the movie because I cannot accept that it is a beautiful thing to lie to and betray someone who loves you and depends on you because you are in love.

But that’s a problem I have with Hollywood from long before they ever made “Brokeback Mountain”.

For what it’s worth, I would agree with you about the betrayal issue; I would also agree that it’s not about just this movie.

Here’s my but…

By the end of Brokeback, the world is mostly in tatters. These people don’t get off without paying for at least some of their choices. The beauty that I talk about is in the acting, the scenery, and the craftsmanship that went into making the movie, not in the consummation of the relationship.

Z: By the end of Brokeback, the world is mostly in tatters.

This is the reason that I may see Brokeback at some point. Going back to the classic Ang Lee, Ice Storm, I am reminded of the end of the movie, where Kevin Cline and his family are in the car and he leans forward against the steering wheel and cries while his wife and children watch him silently. Unlike so many Hollywood movies (American Beauty obviously comes to mind), in Ang Lee’s world people’s actions have real consequences.

I thought Michelle Williams portrayed the character of Ennis’s wife fabulously, but I guess I thought that was a given.  Anne Hathway’s performance stands out to me because it is such a striking step above what she has previously done.  I like the way you said that Jake’s acting “faded.” Excellent perspective.

Nathan, due to your above stated criterion, your movie selections are probably going to be extremely limited. For that matter, so is much of your reading material, unless you read science journals only.

I also agree with David that the movie is heartbreaking exactly because of the betrayal, but it is a result of many complicated things.  And as he, too, stated, it isn’t like it’s glorified in any way, shape, or form. 

Andy, I would very much enjoy attending more, but this month’s is scheduled on that date of my daughter’s birthday, so I’ll have to add to my attendance record in the fall.

Rae,
Yep, my movie viewing is extremely limited.  The last movie I saw in the movie theater was Bourne Identity, and in retrospect I regret even that.

I mostly read science fiction and fantasy, which tend to be less about fulfilling selfish sexual/romantic desires.  For instance, I remember lots of “fulfilling responsibility despite great personal discomfort and absolutely against personal wishes” in the Lord of the Rings, series.  Though I didn’t bother to see those movies either.

I’ve been a reader from way back, and I think being able to imagine my own scenes has always been more enjoyable than movies.  I totally got into movies in the 80s due to my first wife.  When she left, I looked back on all that time spent watching movies as a waste.  So as I noted the growing rift between Hollywood’s view of life and my own, I don’t miss not seeing movies any more.

David and Jerry,
Ang Lee is an amazing movie director, I agree, for the few I’ve seen.  “Eat, Drink, Man, Woman” is one of my all-time favorites.

I’m not touting my viewpoint/attitude as superior, just mine.  In fact, considering my experiences in life over the last few years, perhaps one would be smarter to not emulate my example.  Heh.

Ha!  I am just now reading this, and I have sitting right next to me, ready to go into the iBook, Eat Drink Man Woman.  We are more similar than we know, Nathan. 

In chinese?

Yes, but with subtitles, of course.

I just remembered: I have seen a Hollywood film in the theater more recently than I said.
It was Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

But we only went to see it because we had free tickets and had to see something.

And it was in Beijing.

And it was translated into Chinese.

And there were no sub-titles.

That might or might not allow me to claim not seeing a Hollywood movie in the theaters, but it at least explains why I didn’t recall it.