Welcome to Screen Gems, Welcome to Screen Gems, our weekend dive into queer and queer-adjacent titles of the past that deserve a watch or a rewatch.our weekend dive into queer and queer-adjacent titles of the past that deserve a watch or a rewatch.
The Debatable: Midnight Cowboy
Director John Schlesinger came out to the world (well, kinda) with this gritty drama about New York street hustlers dreaming of a better life. Some critics have hailed Midnight Cowboy as a seminal queer classic. Others have labeled it one of the most homophobic movies ever made.
The story finds the naive Texan Joe Buck (Jon Voight) arriving in New York City to live the high life…as a low rent male prostitute. Upon arrival, he crosses paths with the ragged street man Ratso (Dustin Hoffman) who first cons him before offering to act as an advisor and surrogate pimp. A strange bond develops between the pair as they begin to dream of a life outside the city in the idyllic tropics of Maimi.
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Midnight Cowboy remains the only X-Rated movie to win the Oscar for Best Picture. Schlesinger, likewise, took home the trophy for Best Director. Contemporary critics read the film as a gay romance, and Schlesinger unquestionably views Joe and Ratso through a queer lens. That said, modern appraisal of the film both lauds it for its portrayal of a same-sex relationship (albeit a chaste one) and deride it as a homophobic nightmare. In all honesty, we can see it both ways: Joe and Ratso do have an odd devotion to one another, and Joe does seem to take easily to servicing male clients. On the other hand, the Joe/Ratso coupling has all the hallmarks of a dysfunctional relationship, and flashback scenes of Joe getting raped could imply that he isn’t gay; rather, he’s trying to cope with sexual trauma.
In any case, we recommend Midnight Cowboy both as a historical artifact, and as a controversy which invites debate. Where do you fall in the appraisal? Watch and find out.
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DomitoJo
wow. mr voight used to actually be sexy?
Mr-DJ
Easy to see where Angelina got her looks.
Dymension
I think people are idiots. You have to look at this film through the lens of the particular time in which the movie was made. It was quite a bold movie for its time and showed as much as what was possibly allowable at the time. Just watch it and enjoy it for what it is. Nothing more, nothing less.
Creamsicle
All media is a time capsule. If there’s homophobia in the film, it was a reflection of homophobia in society. If that makes people uncomfortable in 2020, then that’s a sign of the rapid progress we’ve made for Gay Rights and Gay Liberation. Public support for marriage equality only hit an inflection point in 2009. Gay acceptance as the norm is a very recent phenomenon.
gaym50ish
Today the movie would have an R rating. But this movie came out just a year after the MPAA movie rating system was adopted, and the standards were stricter then. Today the X rating is reserved for hardcore porn.
bachy
I love that film! Relationships between men can be very complicated. It would be SO great if everything could be explained by a simple black and white binary like “Gay or Straight”? But somehow life, love and human impulses refuse to be smooshed into strict, either/or categories.
inbama
I’m so glad you could find nonbinary inspiration in this film about a hustler who robs and kills a gay client.
john.k
It’s a good many years since I’ve seen the film but I don’t remember any killing in it. Joe does beat up and rob a male client but I don’t recall killing.
Evji108
Jon Voight’s current appearance tells us what Angelina will look like in a few years.
Troysky
@Evji108 ….totally agree. never saw the film or the trailer….but watching this is astounding the similarities in the face. At the same time Angelina looks incredibly like her rip mother. usually it seems kids look more like one of the parents.
Bob LaBlah
Looking back Voight now comes off as a German twink trying to play the role of a butch western cowboy. He was good but it was Hoffman who stole the show. The way he stuffed his pockets with food at that party still makes me laugh every time I see this movie on cable. This is a must see movie for those of us who were around during those days and can relate to how things were and how things are presently. Hoffman’s apartment in that run down vacant building is so memorable. You are NOT going to find a run down vacant building anywhere on the isle of Manhattan in todays world.
MacAdvisor
“I’m walkin’ here.” One of great ad libs of all time.
brianBrennan
for MacAdvisor: Absolutely! And soooo many great lines! “Hey Cass- ya know what ya got here? A damn penthouse! A damn penthouse!”,….. ” Let’s take a look at ya– turn ’round, turn ’round… Strong back! Yer gonna need it! “……..etc., etc…
Dick Gozinia
Excellent movie! It was nominated for 7 Academy Awards and won 3, including Best Picture. That movie was exceptional and daring for its time. So much better than the same old, same old rehashed super hero, action or dystopian films we get today. For anyone seeking to understand Boomers or the 60s culture, this movie is essential.
Donston
Pretty solid movie. I don’t think it holds up as well as some of the other American classics from the 70s. But I still appreciate the aesthetic and Hoffman’s performance. I do appreciate when risky, uncomfortable character stories dominated the movie theaters.
Saps48
Of course the headline spells the actor’s name wrong…