It’s not often you’ll see an actor disagree with his director in public. Even Zach Galifianakis was cautious to bash The Hangover 2‘s temporary decision to give Mel Gibson a cameo. But that’s not why Vince Vaughn is agreeing with The Dilemma‘s Ron Howard about keeping the “electric cars are gay” joke in the film. It’s because Vaughn is just the type of guy you’d expect to be completely at ease with bullying.
“I’m glad to hear it’s staying the movie,” Vaughn told the Q100 Bert Radio Show yesterday. “It wasn’t a derogatory term…We clarified within the joke [that it was] not ‘homosexual-gay’ but, you know, your parents are chaperoning a dance.” Moreover, “the point” of comedy” is to push buttons, he says: “We’re not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings. If there’s tensions there, ultimately, it brings us together, it makes us more comfortable.”
But Vaughn says he is fine with Universal pulling the line from the trailer: “With all the things that were happening at the time, Universal was trying to be respectful of the climate.”
Except “the climate” hasn’t changed. Kids are still being bullied. Every day. And they’re still killing themselves. A lot. Mr. Vaughn fails to see that using a word like “gay” as a slur against a group of people is the reason why it is also used as a put-down — because to be gay is a sign of weakness and negativity and pussification (I’m choosing a word I think Vince would understand).
Nothing about this situation “makes us more comfortable,” aside from it making me more comfortable in having a reason not to see one of Vaughn’s terrible movies.
EARLIER:
Stop Interfering With Vince Vaughn’s Right To Tell Stupid, Awful, Unfunny Jokes
Joel
How about we have them say “Electric cars are so Vaughn” And Vaughn can mean a derogatory word and see how he likes it. What a douche!
Mr. Enemabag Jones
I’m tired of hets deciding what we should and should not be happy with. We should be happy with “civil unions”, and not marriage; we should be happy with DADT; we should be happy with gay characters who are played by straight actors. After all, they “feel” our pain. And when we do raise our voices with disapproval? Tough titty. Take what we give you and like it.
It’s getting harder, and harder to not really hate straight people.
Cassandra
You have a good idea there, Joel. We can use vaughn in place of lame – which has always struck me as degrading to people whose legs are less than fully functional.
For example, “Gigli” is so vaughn, Ben Affleck should have to spend the rest of his vaughn-ass career sweeping up dead french fries at Mickey-Dees. What a Vaughn-oid loser.”
John
I think it’s more offensive that Vince Vaughn thinks he can act AND that he’s funny. I can’t stand any of the movies he’s been in, and doubly so with all the characters he portrays. Every time he tries to make a joke, I want to puke its horribleness.
Devon
He’s always seemed like a complete douchebag. This just confirms it.
Dawson
Isn’t Ron Howard equally culpable?
And wasn’t he part of the reason that ‘A Dangerous Mind’ removed all contents of the main character being gay?
I think we are letting Ron Howard off the hook here.
Why does Ron Howard have a problem with the gay community?
Thomas Marx
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Change the line to say “only niggers like electric cars”. In that context, it’s not derogatory towards an entire race of people, it’s a delightfully funny reminder of how much we all felt like niggers when our parents chaperoned our dances. Makes complete sense to me.
royfromvegas
I am with Dawson they both should be held accountable. This is just a reminder to not spend any of my Gay dollars on any movie associated with either Vaughn or Howard. That’s how gay I am.
Martin
Oh I think this is all a bit much about nothing. I imagine Vince Vaughn is totally comfortable with his sexuality and has absolutely nothing against gay people. I think he’s an hysterical comedien (even though his roles seem like the same character repeated) and I think there was zero malice in this joke. I don’t think comedy should be politically correct, just funny and without overt maliciousness. I think this joke is like that and we should calm down.
Roger Rabbit
Yeah, Dawson is right (title excepted).
John Nash being gay was one of the main motivators of the book ‘A BEAUTIFUL Mind’. He was fired after being caught in a bathroom in the 1950s, was divorced from his wife due to being gay, has had affairs with men throughout his life and admitted to getting emotional fulfillment from his gay relationships. This conflict between his gayness and his life is what truly has tempered the life of the man (as it has mine).
Ron Howard pulled the gay content out of the movie version of ‘A Beautiful Mind’, AND he and the writers of the screenplay acknowledge what they have done:
– “John Nash is not a household name,” Howard continues. “And so I think we always said, `Look, we’re taking a lot of liberties. But we hope at the end of the day we’re capturing the spirit of these two characters [Nash and wife, Alicia] and how they navigated these waters.’ I feel very, very strongly that we’ve done a good job and an honorable job of it.” Ron Howard
(http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-84213166.html)
But has he? What he has done is changed a fundamental story by removing a pivotal point of the story to sell movie tickets. And that is what he is doing here. He is leaving in a patently offensive joke to sell tickets, create publicity and ultimately thumb his nose at the gay community.
Vince Vaughn is a rube as well as a poor actor. Ron Howard is a person of influence who continues to show us that he feels gay people do not deserve his respect.
Republicans have turned being Liberal into being Evil.
Ron Howard by erasing the gay issue out of “A Beautiful Mind” has upheld the rewriting of history that we as gay people have had to endure our entire history, and by doing so has promoted the idea that being Gay is something to be ashamed of.
Ron Howard by putting this offensive joke into and purposefully leaving this joke in a national movie is turning being Gay into being Bad.
I grew up with these “Ignore it and maybe it will go away” tactics in the 60’s. I will continue to vote against Ron Howard and his ilk by not buying tickets to any of his movies.
Kieran
When impressionable kids hear Vince Vaughn receive laughs using the line “electric cars are GAY”, they will be getting a clear message courtesy of Ron Howard: Being gay is NOT okay.
PJ
If it were gay, it would have taste, class and style. That’s why Vaughn is decidedly NOT gay. He’s just stupid.
stormskater
It’s already hard to NOT hate straight “culture,”, but when we have to hear the word “gay” interchanged with “lame,” well then, what the hell do young people then associate the word “gay” with? Any word that “lame” can be interchanged with. Goddammit, why is this logic only logical to us? Vince Vaughn has proved how closed-minded he is; he is NOT a rube, because he has been around for years–around Hollywood, around the country, around the world. He has been around enough gay people to know better, and he still doesn’t give a shit about what he says. That makes him a jackass who does not deserve our money, time, or support.
timncguy
If they always claim that they are using the word “gay” to mean “lame” and not homosexual, wouldn’t it be easier and more to the point for them to just say “that’s so lame”?
Max E Padd
Hey Ron Howard, you pissed off the wrong group of people. We need to share this within our community. WE ARE NOT YOUR PUNCHLINE.
Rick
@Martin: Yeah, we should all just forget that using “gay” in place of a more appropriate term contributes to the bullying that has caused so much pain and death. Laugh it up!
OnederRyder
Wow. I just can’t believe the rampant homophobia in the *white community*. It’s just so baffling to me that these white men are so hateful 8) Whites should be the first group of people running to the gay community’s defense in situations like this. They’re just so stupid!
Rick
@Roger Rabbit: If the movie was about homophobia I could see leaving the line in. It is not, however. It isn’t social commentary, nor is it a comedy as a vehicle for making social commentary. The decision to have the line in at all, let alone to keep it after the uproar, is a decision to appeal to the least common denominator. With his resume, Ron Howard should consider himself above that kind of nonsense.
peteNsfo
NEXT….
This guy isn’t going to ‘get it’ so move on…
His justification is not unlike asking white folks if racial discrimination still exists…
I don’t plan to attend any Ron Howard or Vince Vaughn film in the future- they’re small. Focus on the cool things that are happening instead.
jonimarie
I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. It’s freedom of speech. That’s the point. Movie’s use the n word or retard or gay, etc etc…movies have been doing it for years in jokes and in all different contexts…so whats the difference now. I have seen movies that had jokes that offended me…but we cannot provide the kind of entertainment that is acceptable to EVERYONE, because the we are such a diverse people. Basically if you don’t like it…don’t watch it. Simple solution.
John
He just keeps proving what a trashy idiot he really is!
BjBien1010
A comedy that uses a term that offends some people and makes others laugh….
THAT’S COMEDY!!!
Comedy should not be safe or P.C.
That being said if the LGBT community is so mad at this movie all you have to do is NOT WATCH IT, PAY FOR IT, OR SUPPORT IT.
I don’t read “Black Blogs” that attack every media for using the word nigga or nigger.
It isn’t like this film is being showed daily or weekly on TV for free. One has to actually PAY to go see this and if someone sees this and starts saying ELECTRIC CARS ARE GAY, then that person is an idiot no more then a person seeing SAW 3D and wanting to kill someone.
kitty litter
Doesn’t Ron Howard owe the gay community an explanation?
#8 Roy & # 19 Pete—I am with you. Ron Howard is not getting my gay dollars any more. Hollywood only knows the bottom line which is money. He is never getting my money again.
It is more then comedy that we are talking about here. Enough is enough. Begin the boycott. Let’s not stay silent on this one.
Scott
I was almost hurt when I first watched The Wedding Crashers because of it’s negative portrayel of the token homosexual. I’m sure this movie will be the same.
Queer Supremacist
@Mr. Enemabag Jones: It’s surprisingly easy when you look at man’s inhumanity to man throughout recorded history, who is responsible for 99% of it, and why they did it.
Wanna get together and start a hate group? I’m ready to lynch me a few uppity breeders.
Vince Vaughn
I dont know why everyone is making a big deal. I’m sure he’s not homophobic and he’s just trying to make a comedy here. When comedy starts being politically correct then it stops being funny. Theres plent of comedians who make fun of different groups of people for example, blacks, whites, muslims, asians, and yes even gays too get made fun of. I think carlos mencia said it best. “If you can take a dick, then you can take a joke”. Also people arent realizing that the word “gay” is going through a social and linguistic change in its meaning. Remember the word gay used to mean happy and over the years it changed to meaning homosexual. The word is going through another change just like the word “faggot” meaning a bundle of sticks. I remember i recently saw a Simpsons episode where they used the word but they used it as its original mean (bundle of sticks), to point out how words over different time periods can take on a different meaning.