The gay Interwebs went nuts when beefcake photos of Jonathan Lipnicki went viral. (Yes, that little dork from Jerry McGuire is all hot now.) So we figure you can wrap your head around the idea that lil’ Haley Joel Osment is all grown up—and playing a ditzy gay boy toy in the new comedy Sassy Pants.
Ashley Rickards stars in this movie, and you love her in Awkward. Also (and perhaps most important), she plays a teenage girl with a smothering mom and a gay dad, and do you know who plays the jean-shorted younger boyfriend of said gay dad? Oh yes, it is Haley Joel Osment, star of The Sixth Sense, A.I., and Secondhand Lions. (What, no Secondhand Lions fans in the house?)
Still, you’d be forgiven for not recognizing Osment in this movie, seeing as how he’s shirtless and wearing cutoff jeans, piercings, and a Kate Gosselin do. Unexpected!
Um, jelloh? did no one notice the adorkable Deidrich Bader of The Drew Carey Show as the gay dad? You can have Mr. I See Dead People. We’ll take Oswald anyway.
MEJ
Oh, good. A movie perpetuating the stereotype that middle-aged gay men chase after teenage boys, played by actors who are straight.
Caliban
Except for that fact the HJO isn’t a teenager I’d say you’ve got a heck of a point there, MEJ! Somewhere. I guess.
Andy
Gotta say, Mr. Osment does not appear to have aged terribly well.
Darren
What is the point or purpose of watching crap movies like this? Seriously.
Por Supuesto
i would tap that
MEJ
@Caliban:
Except for that fact the HJO isn’t a teenager
He plays a teenager in the film. Caliban.
petey
holy crap!!!
what the hell happened to haley??!!!??!!
Cam
Wow, an older guy who comes out, dates a teenage with piercings who is a walking stereotype. How DARING.
Lady Haha
Guuurl, HJO has gotten fat!
Isaac C
@EdWoody: Those complaints aren’t out, because people are still making them.
And yes, people like this do exist. We get to see them in virtually every other gay-themed movie, especially played by straights.
Cam
@EdWoody: said…
“@Cam: @MEJ: Are you honestly claiming that people like this don’t exist? You know perfectly well they do. So are you claiming you’re embarrassed of them? Of being lumped in with such horrid feminized freaks?”
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Are YOU honestly saying that Mammies, and step and fetchits didn’t exist and blacks were wrong for complaining about how they were portrayed in films?
I just find it interesting that this married father leaves his wife and IMMEDITATLY hooks up in a relationship that would be deemed MOST shocking. Because of course you CAN’T show gays normally. Even Modern Family has neutered their gay couple and turned CAm in to a hysterical bad imitation of Nathan Lane in “The Bird Cage”.
Pickles
I’ve seen hundreds of movies with gay characters and only rarely have I seen and adult man dating a teenager.
Also, who says the character played by Haley Joel Osment is a teenager?
I’d love for someone here to name 5 gay movies in the US where a divorced gay father is dating a teenager.
Do y’all actually go to the movies? There is a VERY WIDE RANGE of gay men portrayed in screen in the last 20 years.
Sometimes I think folks haven’t watched a gay movie since the 1980s given how trapped in that time your assessment of gays in films seems to be.
Here’s a list of movies with gay lead characters that I’ve SEEN in the last 5 years (some might be older) that don’t involve adult gay men dating teenagers
Kiss The Bride
Coffee Date
Role Play
The Love Patient
3 Day Weekend
The One
Make the Yuletide Gay
Mr. Right
Noah’s Arc – Jumping The Broom
Whirlwind
Save Me
The New 20
Fur Coat, No Knickers
Latter Days
I Love You Phillip Morris
Shelter
Weekend
August
East Side Story
Trick
I could go on…
I hate that folks just fling stuff like “all the gay movies are just full of stereotypes”. It simply IS. NOT. TRUE.
I’m not saying things a perfect in terms of mainstreaming gay films and broad reach, but if you just ignore everything that isn’t full of stereotypes then of course your opinion will be skewed.
Esculapio Mitiríades Torquemada de la Cueva
Was that Drew Droege I saw somewhere in there???
Ryan J.
Damn, HJO is hot! Did you see that ass! I’d hit.
MEJ
@EdWoody:
So you have no issues with middle-aged men dating teenagers?
MEJ
@Isaac C:
And yes, people like this do exist. We get to see them in virtually every other gay-themed movie, especially played by straights.
^This
Ryan J.
But that haircut’s gotta go
Lazycrockett
Well he may not be everyone’s taste but hes still getting gigs and making a career for himself, which very few child actors get to do. He’s got talent and over all seems level headed. Good for him.
Pickles
@No. 17 · MEJ
“@Isaac C:
And yes, people like this do exist. We get to see them in virtually every other gay-themed movie, especially played by straights.”
^This
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Except that is simply isn’t true. This is not based in fact. PLUS, we don’t even know if the character being played by HJO in this film is a teenager.
EdWoody
@MEJ: Not if everyone involved is of legal age and consent, no. Why should I? Why do you? What business is it of yours?
JayKay
If you’re over 35 and you’re dating someone in their 20’s or younger, you’re creepy and I judge the shit out of you.
Mike UK
@JayKay: so someone who’s 35 dating a 29 year old is creepy? you need to get out more!
Bryan
@JayKay: A 35yr old dating someone within 21-19 isn’t that creepy. But are you really saying a 35yr old dating 17 or 18 yr old doesn’t raise eyebrows, gay or straight?
Caliban
First I’d like to see proof that the character HJO is playing IS a teenager. The actor is 24 or 24 years old and NONE of the descriptions of the film I’ve found online indicate he’s playing a teenager. Since the movie seems to be about a girl who’s graduating from high school (as a homeschooler) that would make her character the same age as her dad’s BF and there’s NOTHING in the trailer to indicate that. If anything he seems to be portrayed as a mentor for her as opposed to her controlling mother and distant father.
So put up or shut up. If the character is a teenager then supply a link to info that backs that up. Thanks ever so!
Cam
@Pickles:
Gee, what a shock, the same person who is over on the GLEE post defending everything the studio does there is over here defending Hollywood as well.
Nice to see the interns over at CAA are being kept busy.
13Zeroither
@ Lazycrockett Yes, thats right. He still has a job playing as Sora in the Kingdom Hearts series. Great game btw.
Pickles
@No. 25 · Cam
I’m not defending anything or any one. I’m responding to the posts previous to me.
Saying that something “always happens” doesn’t make it so without evidence.
Saying that the character played by HJO is a teenager (without any evidence that it’s true) doesn’t make it so.
HJO’s character could be anywhere from 17 to 28. The actor is 24. So why assume he’s a teenager? 30-year-olds don’t wear shorts and have piercings? Since when is that only a teenager thing?
Furthermore,
All the movies I listed are made by different studios so I don’t understand what you mean by defending a studio.
Why not just deal with the content of my comment instead of making assumptions about who I am (ridiculous and wrong assumptions at that)
You seem to enjoy insulting others more than talking about the issue at hand.
I have no stake in Hollywood. I just think people play fast and loose with accusations about how we are represented in the media and it makes it impossible to have a real conversation about the good AND the bad.
My issue is that some people refuse to incorporate new information into their world view or acknowledge the progress we’ve made in the media.
So someone decided 20 years ago that all movies with gay characters in them are homophobic and full of stereotypes and their p.o.v. is just stuck in that 20 year old assessment in perpetuity.
It makes no sense.
dani
@Pickles: You are so smart! I had fun reading your comments 🙂