Welcome to Screen Gems, our weekend dive into queer and queer-adjacent titles of the past that deserve a watch or a rewatch.
The Eye Roller: Latter Days
This 2003 comedy found an immediate cult following on release for its love story between a West Hollywood circuit boy and a Mormon missionary. We have a feeling that has more to do with the premise than the quality of the final film. Let’s face it, some guys have a Mormon fetish. Latter Days indulges that.
Wes Ramsey plays Christian, the aforementioned party boy who falls hard for his new Mormon neighbor, Aaron (Steve Sandvoss). The film follows a fairly boilerplate story from there on, with the sexual tension mounting, and Aaron predictably having to choose between his homophobic Mormon faith, and his newfound passion for Christian. Latter Days also deserves recognition as one of the first queer films to deal with the subject of conversion therapy. Those scenes, while nowhere near as brutal as those in later films such as Boy Erased or The Miseducation of Cameron Post, do pack a strong emotional wallop, and hint at a more powerful film buried somewhere in the material. Ditto the mediation on the role of faith in the lives of LGBTQ people, a subject still rarely explored in the movies.
Predictable, confused, and yet somehow still compelling & moving, Latter Days will polarize viewers. We recommend giving it a watch for its more redeeming qualities (including a fine supporting cast that includes Mary Kay Place, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rob McElhenney, Jacqueline Bisset and Amber Benson), than for its eye-rolling love story. Think of it as a bit of comfort food before the Thanksgiving feast.
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Josh447
This is a great movie, by far one of the best gay movies to date.
Bromancer7
For all its cheese it’s still one of my favorite LGBTQ films.
joeboyle49
YES I HAVE THIS ONE AND I LOVE IT.
Matthewnow
Next to Flipper, my favorite gay movie.
mz.sam
A flipper…meaning State of Arizona and Georgia?
mz.sam
Agreed, my library classic featuring the beautiful Jacqueline Bisset and way better than silly GP Broadway’s Book of Mormons.
pvkalso
Latter Days is a really great movie, but be sure to get the unrated version rather than the R rated version. You will NOT be disappointed. BTW, I have both versions.
Bromancer7
The only difference between the unrated and R version is one shot in one scene that’s no more than a few seconds long. And good luck trying to find the unrated version for a decent price.
MacAdvisor
SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT! SPOILER ALERT!
In 1981, the love of my life, Scott, died in a fire. That event left my life shattered and I spent years healing. I saw this movie in the theater knowing little about it. When Aaron walks into the restaurant by accident towards the end and Christian realizes he is not dead, I broke down sobbing. The idea of seeing Scott alive after thinking him dead was powerful. Hence, this movie will always have a special place in my heart. I love it and think it wonderful.
Charlie in Charge
That moment gets me EVERY time. And very sorry for your loss.
WashDrySpin
Agreed the supporting cast makes the movie worthwhile NOT the horribly predictable and ridiculous plot…innocent closeted Mormon guy falls in love with an easy guy whose into “straight guys” is willing to change his ways until the movie is over then it is back to random hook up
Oh yes make them shallow, with great bodies and of courage friends that support the stupidity
sanfranca1
I love this movie! Bought the DVD years ago, and have watched it several times. It never gets old.
jorgecruz
I had the fortune to be with the writer and the stars at a premiere they did in Chicago. All were extremely nice and had a great time celebrating with them afterward. It’s predictable but very sweet and romantic during a time when there were very few gay romance movies being made.
Josh447
That’s really cool. I sat across the isle from Jacqueline Bisset at the premiere in West Hollywood and when the show was over we met mid-isle and chatted all the way to the street. She is so stunning in person. A total sweetheart.
Wes Ramsey is seriously tall after seeing him. I’m 6, he had to be 6.4ish.
starri
Yeah, I really love this one, mess and all, and I’m not ashamed.
Mack
While there have been a few gay themed movies since this one came out, this is the one I remember above all of them. Can’t remember if I rented the movie or saw it on netflix or what, but I’ll always remember the movie.
slinky49
If I’m recalling correctly and you have the DVD, there’s a sex scene where, if you slow-crawl through one section, you can see that Steve Sandvoss has an erection. That little bit of method acting made it so much more real and meaningful for me. Shallow, I guess.
SientoCaer89
It is a great movie. Sadly the guys career never took off.
madtown52761
Someone wrote a book based on the screenplay (the reverse of the usual book to movie process). The book went into much more detail about the mental institution and how the song on TV changed everything. It’s like those things got left on the cutting room floor. So, weirdly, the book written after the fact does a better job. But I still love this movie. Came out when I was a young gay man and seeing a gay story on film was huge!
My2CentsWorth
Is the book the same name. I liked the movie. Thought that the plot could have been less predictable and etc..