Dissenting opinions

Film buffs name the gay-themed movies they hated

Brokeback Mountain

We’ve covered 10 films that depict the struggle for LGBT equality, 10 gay films that you Queerty names as must-sees, and even 9 gay films that are perfect for date night… but what about the gay-themed movies that queer folks hated? Yep, there’s a Reddit threadfor that. And here are a selection of responses, edited for readability. See if you agree with their points…

Call Me By Your Name

“I didn’t like Call Me By Your Name. I mean, it was beautifully shot and well-acted. The monologue by Elio’s father at the end was a lovely piece of scripting. But I found it needlessly longwinded, dull, and in parts downright peculiar. Considering it’s set during the early ‘80s, I thought not even mentioning HIV and AIDS was odd. I also found Armie Hammer — who I do rate as an actor, generally — utterly unconvincing as a 24-year-old. It was like… come on, guys. This dude’s 30-plus and looks it. Which makes his entanglement with a 17-year-old — and again I’m conscious that in the plot Elio does most of the pursuing — feel somewhat ickier than it was probably intended to be.”

Related: ‘Dead Boys Club,’ and 9 classic, long lost queer films that can now finally be seen

The Birdcage and The Kids Are All Right

“This might be a bit random, but I hate when movies have a gay character that can turn ‘straight,’ especially when convenient for the plot. Like in The Birdcage, Armand had sex with a woman just to see what ‘straight guys raved about’ or whatever. Or in The Kids Are All Right, the whole premise of that movie is a lesbian cheating on her wife for a man, even though she says she’s gay. We don’t just turn like that, goddammit.”

Moonlight

“I had trouble with Moonlight. Great script and acting, but it bothered me how it was portrayed as groundbreaking. Show me a gay sex scene as opposed to an off-camera handjob, and then we’ll talk about groundbreaking.”

Brokeback Mountain

“I didn’t like that movie when it came out. I was still firmly in the closet and looking forward to a mainstream gay movie hitting the theaters, but when I eventually saw it, I just couldn’t fathom what people saw in it. The relationship between the characters was so toxic and destructive. The indulgent nature-shots slowed the movie down to a crawl, and one of the main characters died at the end (a fate shared by far too many queer characters in cinema). Even after rewatching it in university, I couldn’t sit through all of it because of how damn boring it is.”

Related: 10 very queer feature films with the highest Rotten Tomatoes score streaming now

Love, Simon

“Too sanguine about the coming out process. I shudder to think of the teens who watched it, got false impressions, came out, and then were kicked out of the house, sent to gay rehab, etc.”

Pretty much all of them

“I have pretty much hated all of them except Fourth Man Out, which actually had a decent, believable storyline not fraught with conflict and despair. Brokeback was terribly boring and depressing, as was God’s Own Country. 99% of gay-themed movies focus on cliche and stereotypes. There is always crippling conflict and heartbreak because they are gay. I don’t want to watch a movie that depresses me or focuses on ’the struggle’ of being gay. Give me a movie where the main character is gay but that isn’t the coolest thing about him. Make the movie about solving crime or something. Instead of the guy solving the case and winning the beautiful girl, give him a guy instead. Being gay shouldn’t define your life, or a movie. It can be an important part, but not the focus.”

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