Yesterday’s feature about He’s Just Not That Into You — and whether the three gay characters perpetuate gay stereotypes — generated a lively discussion here on Queerty. On the one hand, we had three gay characters representin’! On the other hand, they were the typical a-sexual “gay confidants” to a leading character. But the debate over the movie’s homophobia isn’t over — not when producers had the film’s three stars (Kevin Connolly, Justin Long, and Bradley Cooper) put together this web video aimed at straight guys who think they’re being dragged to just another chick flick. The clip presents “10 Ways He’s Just Not That Into You Is NOT a Chick Flick” and has the stars acting out those oh-so-typical lady movie cliches (i.e. makeover montages, singing into kitchen utensils) you won’t find in the film. And in the nearly 7-minute video countdown of those 10 reasons, we identified at least six where Kevin, Justin, and Bradley engage in obvious homo behavior. But is it all in good fun? Are these guys in on the joke? Or is their pitch to get straight guys to go see the movie really about saying, “There’s not gonna be any of that gay shit in here”?
Gay parts in bold.
10) No makeover montages.
9) No singing into random objects.
8) No quarky best friend. Or sardonic best friend. Or sassy best friend.
7) No scene where someone has a one-night stand and then show’s up to work the next day to find out they slept with their new boss.
6) No one in this movie slides down a wall while crying.
6a) No one is ever laughing and crying at the same time.
5) No elderly folks who say anything inappropriate.
4) Nobody chases anybody down to stop them from going somewhere or to stop them from doing something.
3) No shot where heads fall into frame and land on pillows.
2) No speech where, in order to win her over, a guy tells a girl all the little details he likes about her. (Bonus homoeroticism: “I love everything that comes out of you.”)
1) No falling in love montage.
Ed
It’s funny how the take varies from one gay site to another – AfterElton has two separate articles on this, and hail it as universally positive, both in the articles, and the comments. Queerty sees it a bit more negatively.
Me, I just thought it wasn’t funny.
Kid A,
The kind of guys this is intended for have a 10-second attention span. They wouldn’t make it halfway through the makeover montage before rolling their eyes and hitting Stumble again.
dgz
either i have some amazing rosy glasses or you’re hypersensitive. i kindof love “chick flicks” and i thought this was hilarious. even though i’ve seen this on every major network and E! already. i don’t see any serious heterosexism in this vid.
dgz
oh, p.s. they forgot one important one: no dancing wildly around a table. see The Holiday, YaYa Sisterhood, etc. for details.
faghag
Seriously, you need to chillax about this.
IT’S A FUCKING ROMANTIC COMEDY!!!
I’m looking forward to watching this movie, granted it’s far from being high art but it’s just a bit of mindless fun.
This is getting stupid.
Darth Paul
@faghag: Romantic comdies are to film as cancer is to the human body.
Erick
I thought it was funny, but not that funny. But nothing to do with gay or straight.
Ill tell you why I think this is positive.
For something that is intended for straight guys and featuring touching and hugging between men there is something notably missing…gay panic. No gross comments, sounds, faces or body language.
The clip has nothing gay about it, ok the friend thing is kind of gay, but the rest are just guys doing roleplay and being completely fine and open about it.
With this post Queerty seems to fall into what so many straight idiots fall into when ever men get close together…that is so gay.
Yes, people Queerty just had a gay panic attack.
faghag
@Darth Paul: THAT’S UTTER BULLSHIT!
jenson
Actually it doesn’t look like Queerty took a position on this. Maybe leaned a certain way, but they posed the question to us. Any my answer is, Yeah, it’s kinda anti-gay, but at least a smidge humerous.
faghag
@jenson: How is it anti-gay?
in what way is this anti-gay?
please find another battle to fight, this is just stupid and ridiculous.
RainaWeather
What video was Queerty looking at?
dgz
in a review from SF Chronicle:
“If a movie this well made had Spanish or French subtitles, we’d all be talking about it as a searing examination of sexual politics.”
how true. probably applies to this for-fun spoof vid as well.
scott
That was funny. Thanks. I enjoyed that.
I wasn’t offended. It wasn’t anti-gay. It was anti-chick flick.
I think I love Bradley Cooper even more and my doppelganger Justin Long (peeps say we look alike 🙂 )
porky poon
Cue the dog tired macho movie voiceover announcing this flick as “coming to a theater near you”
I can almost smell the popcorn, feel the cold conditioned air as I step onto ancient soda stains. At once clamoring to get a seat whilst maintaining composure amidst a roomful of strangers…”what the hell this movies stars drew barrymore!?”
that aside, yeah a boring trip down the hollywood glut factory of “inclusion.”
A little Hattie McDanielism as the pink trio recalls nothing about knowing how to “birth babies!”
At least butterfly mcqueen had a nice name.
SNORE.
Gay people are accessories. Gay is the new Black. Rich is the new poor.
Sometimes it’s ok to drink a lot before puking out integrity and honor to watch a bad example, ultimately, of nepotism.
p.s. Drew, ET was a transsexual.
ZZZ
Ed (the original)
I’m just not that into this movie.
Stereotypes aside, it looks dumb and probably will be.
blake
8) No quarky best friend. Or sardonic best friend. Or sassy best friend.
—> This is usually the “black girlfriend” role.
7) No scene where someone has a one-night stand and then show’s up to work the next day to find out they slept with their new boss.
—> This is from the pilot of “Grey’s Anatomy” where Meredith meets McDreamy!
ChristopherJ
I thought it was marginally funny.
ks
It’s not homophobic. It’s just a movie about straight women and straight men. They’re allowed to have those; we don’t need to be in everything.
So this video is just a bunch of (ostensibly) straight men telling other (ostensibly) straight men about all of the mushy parts not in this movie. So they have to act like girls in it. Because the movie is about heterosexual love.
Get it?
Whup-Ass Master
I can’t decide whether to see this movie or stay home and drill screws into my toes.
PJR
SO ridiculous. Is Queerty actively looking to get offended? It’s not all about us!
Rob Moore
I don’t think there is any intent to imitate gay characters. These men are acting out chick flick cliches by exhibiting the behaviours so common in these films. That means they are acting effeminately to create female, not gay male, characters.
They aren’t aiming at a homophobic audience. Instead, they are aiming to draw in heterosexual men as paying customers with or without their girlfriends. I am as queer as they come, but I would almost rather stick a needle in my own eye than go to chick flicks. The last one I actually enjoyed was the first Legally Blond because it had some genuine comedy.
This is a tempest in a teapot.
John from England(used to be just John but there are other John's)
@faghag:
You’re off on one.
But erm, can you not look at this beyond your own self interested nose??
Have you NEVER heard of recreating stereotypes?? Which causes alienation…
Or not?
Ah, well.
Dawster
really Queerty? really?
you are really going to post this article and be proud of it?
… “we identified at least six where Kevin, Justin, and Bradley engage in obvious homo behavior.”
obvious homo behavior? how hypocritically stereotypical of you.
this really is getting ridiculous. as an out and proud homosexual, i’m actually more offended at this article than i would ever be at the video.
where the hell is Andrew???
boyssaygo
@PJR:
’nuff said.
TANK
Um…this movie was relentlessly panned. ‘Twas apparently unwatchable trash. But this matters? Are we going to ignite a revolution in how we’re portrayed in movies written by uneducated idiots for uneducated idiots? Who cares. And the actors basically suck, too.
Smokey Martini
Hey Queerty: how about re-framing those bolded items to signify not “anti-gay sentiments” but “critiques of those stereotypes/myths persistent in romantic comedies that, for all intents and purposes, should be done away with to reflect the reality of things.”
For example, what “No quarky best friend. Or sardonic best friend. Or sassy best friend.” REALLY means to say is:
Gay men in romantic films are great, but why must we characterize them as sardonic, sassy, or quarky? What this does is limit the potential for masculine gay men (or, for that case, masculine straight men) to befriend the protagonist and truly develop an intimate/platonic relationship with her. Because, you know, to have the protagonist of the story befriend a masculine, straight guy (or masculine gay guy) who is no different than her love interest is utterly impossible in the film world. He’d be too much of a (sexual) ‘threat’ to her, which is where characterizations must come in to ‘soften’ his image and make him acceptable for the (predominantly) female audience.
Jeffrey Bernstein
I think these upstart students need to be remanded to a “re-education camp” and re-evaluate their sensitivity to cultural diversity.
“The national debate over gay rights became a divisive force on Sacramento-area school campuses this week, as religious Christian students wore T-shirts expressing their disapproval of homosexuality as others participated in a Day of Silence to honor gay and lesbian peers.
Thirteen students at Oakmont High School in Roseville were suspended Tuesday when they refused to take off T-shirts that declared: “Homosexuality is sin.” The students hired a lawyer who appealed 12 of the suspensions to the district Wednesday.
Other schools in the region have disciplined students in recent weeks for refusing to remove T-shirts condemning homosexuality. Two students at Mira Loma High School said they were sent home Wednesday, and one student was suspended this month at San Juan High School.”
The slogan there — “Homosexuality is a sin” — would be most clearly protected under the freedom of religion provision of the First Amendment, one would think.
Jhon
This is gay.