The 19th Wife is a book by David Ebershoff. Lifetime turned it into a television movie. It aired this week. The story focuses on Jordan, played by Matt Czuchry of The Good Wife, a twenty-year-old kicked out of the Mormon Church, and his mom, who’s accused of murdering her polygamous husband, in a story that spans two centuries and includes many a side story. To pop culture watchers, it’s just the latest in a string of polygamy-oriented programming. But you see, in the book Jordan is gay and enjoys a romance with another fellow. In the Lifetime version, Jordan’s homosexuality is nowhere to be found — though some on-lookers expected this, since the role of Jordan’s lover, Johnny, wasn’t in Lifetime’s cast list. I’m sure it was just so the program, based on a 544-page book, could fit the allotted two-hours-with-commercials time slot, without all the unnecessary gay drama, right?
Jon
Read the book.
ChiGuy76
@Jon: After hearing about what Lifetime did, I fully intend to.
NAP79
Shouldn’t queers that actually get their kicks out of Lifetime (one of the dullest, lamely-acted and produced networks on television) get their heads out of their cavernous pussies and stop watching, caring about, or talking about such awful television?
Jaroslaw
NAP 79, I get what you’re saying, but it still bears reporting. We are expendable. Too bad the author agreed to this adaptation. Maybe we should be bothering him too?
Nick
No! They did it without consulting him.
Jon B
Wonder what he gets kicked out for in this version… even drugs and alcohol don’t usually lead to excommunication that quickly…
Btw, Jaroslaw, the author was really disappointed that they did this, but he had sold the rights and has no way to stop them from changing the characters. He says he hopes it inspires people to read the book so that they can meet his Jordan and Jordan’s lover.
NAP79
@Jaroslaw –
Why do some gays feel that its absolutely necessary to be included in everything? Inclusion is NOT total immersion and it certainly doesn’t have to be over-exposure.
I think its more of this “victim mentality” that some like to project so they can just whine and bitch, bitch, bitch that we are treated unfairly. Who cares?!?!
If Lifetime doesn’t include the gay storyline in some crappy made-for-TV movie about Mormons of all things that only middle-aged women and Jesus freaks are going to watch, that’s hardly a call for a civil rights revolution or even a second glance.
It doesn’t matter in the least!
Blake J
@NAP79: They degayed the work, which is not the same as just not writing in a gay character. The story makes less sense without the character being gay.
Ray
I read the book and looked forward to seeing the movie. I am a big fan of David Ebershoff and recommend reading the 19th wife and also Danish Girl, Pasadena, the Rose City. The movie actually made less sense by making Jordan straight. And to make it more ridiculous, Lifetime laced the movie with commercials for Project Runway and followed it with an episode of WIll and Grace.
jason
Lifetime is a disgrace. I’m never going to watch another show on it. The producers of The 19th Wife are just as bad. They’re a collective disgrace.
Jon
@NAP79: yeah . .every one of us who try to share our experience and history are now labeled with “victim mentality”.
Thanks for your support for the few of us left to share. . .oh, never mind . .we’re all now just victims asking for pity from the youngsters.
I’ve got a finger reserved for nap79 . . .it’s not my ring finger.
Amanda
@Jon B:
He was not kicked out for being gay in the book. He is FLDS, not LDS like the majority of mormons. In those communities the men have many wives so most of the teen boys are kicked out once they start attracting girls.
Jaroslaw
Thanks Blake J, haven’t had time to blog lately.
And Nap79, please, what are you doing here anyway? Not that this will matter to you, but check out Vitto Russo’s book “The Celluloid Closet” or the movie if you have trouble reading.
Many famous movies had Gay characters in the original novel/play/story and were REMOVED. Big difference.