This week marks the 14th anniversary of Patrik-Ian Polk’s landmark rom-com, Noah’s Arc: Jumping The Broom. By centering a predominantly Black, gay cast, the film felt downright revolutionary in 2008—and it still feels just as groundbreaking today.
Jumping The Broom acts as a feature-length coda to Noah’s Arc, Polk’s seminal dramedy series that ran for two seasons on Logo, from ’05 to ’06. In concept, the show was pretty straightforward: It was a “hangout” show, more or less, following along with the loves and lives of a group of friends in West Hollywood. But with Black, gay men in front of and behind the camera, Noah’s Arc deftly navigated queerness, race, and social politics in a way rarely seen in entertainment media up until that point.
Related: 10 beautiful, sexy films that celebrate Black queer love
There was our eponymous Noah (Darryl Stephens), a burgeoning screenwriter and clear stand-in for Polk, and his “ARC”: Quick-witted HIV counselor Alex (Rodney Chester), flirtatious boutique owner Ricky (Christian Vincent), and economics professor Chance (Doug Spearman), whose committed relationship saw him settling down faster than his pals. (Their first initials being “A,” “R,” and “C”… you get it, right?)
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We also meet Wade (Jensen Atwood) in the pilot, introduced as a new straight friend, who nevertheless finds himself falling for Noah and coming to terms with his sexuality. Their crackling will-they-won’t-they plays out over the show’s two seasons, with the finale ending on quite the cliffhanger. It’s not until the film Jumping The Broom that Noah and Wade finally get their happy ending—or do they?
Taking its name from a longstanding and storied wedding tradition, Jumping The Broom reunites the ARC for winter on Martha’s Vineyard, where they’ve gathered to celebrate the marriage of Noah and Wade with an intimate ceremony. Alex’s husband is back home looking after their newly adopted child, Chance’s long-term partner is along for the fun, and Ricky is accompanied by a much younger fling.
Despite the impending nuptials, there’s a lot of history between this group, so old flames are reignited, jaw-dropping confessions are made, and there’s the fact that Wade’s still not out to his mother! In other words, it’s no easy march down the aisle.
Related: Creator Patrik-Ian Polk on the ‘Noah’s Arc’ reunion, and the possibility of a revival
Jumping The Broom was for Noah’s Arc fans, first and foremost, tying up many of the series’ loose ends and bringing its character’s arcs to a sense of cathartic resolution. But it remains notable that the film received a proper theatrical release—and it even outperformed expectations! After its initial opening on October 24, 2008, Jumping The Broom was the highest-earner among the independent film box office, with many theaters reporting sold out screenings.
With a total domestic gross of just over $530,000, the film wasn’t a blockbuster by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a pretty remarkable run considering how few screens it played on and how little promotional support it received. It proved that there was, indeed, an audience for stories about Black, queer love.
Related: Fall in love with these 11 gay rom-coms while waiting for “Bros” to hit theatres
Fourteen years later, Noah’s Arc: Jumping The Broom stands as an essential piece of queer cinema—and still remains the only gay-rom-com about Black men to receive a theatrical release! Though the historic nature of Bros has been a major talking point this fall, it’s important to remember the films like this one that have paved the way.
Filmmaker Patrik-Ian Polk has uploaded the film, in full, to his Vimeo page, which you can check out below. And, if you still need to catch up with the Noah’s Arc series first, you can watch all episodes for free on the Logo website right here.
sfhairy
I loved this show. How has it been 14 years?!?
abfab
Keith in Six Feet Under. Was that a dish or what.
Kangol2
Gorgeous Keith Charles was played by Matthew St. Patrick. Not sure what he or his character have to do with Noah’s Arc, but perhaps Queerty will do a piece on him. His last screen or TV role appears to have been in 2019. More roles for him, please!
abfab
I must have missed the sailing of that Arc. Never saw it.
ryepie2222
I appreciated the series when it aired, even though some of the acting was horrrrrrible.
I watched the movie and it was not good.
Kangol2
Legendary, ground-breaking series (the Noah character could even be characterized as both a Black gay man and nonbinary at times) and the film was pretty good rom com too. It’s so unfortunate the series wasn’t allowed to have a few more seasons or that there weren’t more films. The film offered the first full depiction of a Black gay male marriage on film (Empire showed the first on TV, I think, though maybe another show might have preceded it).
wiggie
Loved watching this show during my coming out process. Still have all the episodes and the movie on DVD. Logo still hasn’t given a reason as to why they cancelled their highest rated original series after just 2 seasons and replaced it with endless reruns of 80’s sitcoms.
scotty
wonderful show as i recall.