Perfect Wedding

Last night I finally watched Single All The Way. Loved it. After, I was debating whether to watch something else. I went to Amazon Prime and was browsing through my Watch List and came across Perfect Wedding. I thought to myself, oh, it’s about a fake couple and it takes place during the Christmas holiday, perfect! Because Single All The Way is about two best friends/roommates who plan to pretend to be boyfriends when one returns home for Christmas.

In this film’s defense, maybe because Single All The Way was a bit too similar to watch back to back, I didn’t pay as much attention as I would have had I watched it on its own. That being said, I enjoyed it. I expect Christmas films to be cheesy and I expect romcoms to be cheesy.

For this one, a guy named Roy is coming to celebrate his friend Alana’s wedding. The only thing is, her brother, Paul, is his ex and he hasn’t seen him since they had a nasty breakup. So, he does the only thing he can do, bring his friend, Gavin, who pretends to be his boyfriend.

While Alana is dealing with the stress of her mom (Kristine Sutherland aka Joyce Summers, aka Buffy Summers’ mom!) putting on a big wedding she doesn’t want, Paul and Gavin are getting closer and closer. Like with Single All The Way, the film isn’t subtle about who you should root for. Almost immediately after meeting Paul and Gavin bond over a game of charades. Both are apparently terrible at it, but can correctly answer for each other.

Here is where I’m going to be a hypocrite (if you haven’t read my post about Single All The Way, if you do, this will make more sense.) I didn’t like Paul and Gavin ending up together in the end. Maybe it’s because I thought Roy was going to be the main character (I didn’t even know his name until I looked it up to write this), so I was a bit thrown having this focus on Paul and Gavin. (In the film’s defense, the very first person you see is Paul.)

It’s not that I don’t think people who do bad things are irredeemable (hello, my favorite fictional character is Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer). I just didn’t connect with him as a character, so I didn’t care what he was going through. Let me be clear. I’m not saying it’s a bad film, nor am I saying I didn’t enjoy it, I just didn’t connect with the main character, whom I presume to be Paul. For clarity, Paul and Roy broke up because Paul was an alcoholic and going through a destructive downward spiral. He cheated on Roy and Roy caught him and that was the last time they saw each other.

Maybe it was because I just watched Single All The Way, but it would have been interesting to me to see Paul and Roy get together as they faked this relationship… but, I realize that would be a completely different story.

All that aside, there’s this moment I really liked between Paul and Gavin. So, at one point, Alana is telling Gavin how she met her soon-to-be husband, Kirk. It was an embarrassing situation, she had her skirt tucked into her underwear, and he let her know. I think he finds he some time later and they discuss it and he tells her he is going to marry her someday. During the climax of the film, Gavin has taken off because he and Paul kissed the night before, and Paul goes to find him once he realizes he did nothing wrong because Gavin and Roy aren’t together. He finds him and asks him to stay longer and once they get to know each other better, he’s going to marry him. (So cheesy, I know, but I love cheesy.) I love a good setup and payoff.

They kiss, and the next thing you know, they are kissing at the altar on their wedding day… who knows how much later that was, but sir, you told this man you are going to marry him someday after knowing him a couple days… at best.

Nonetheless, it’s a very cute film. I’ll probably wait a bit and then watch it again to see if my feelings have changed about it, as I’m well aware Single All The Way may have clouded my judgment about it.

Single All the Way

I specifically waited until December to watch this. It’s been on my Watch list forever, and I figured I’d watch it to get in the Christmas spirit.

I’ll preface by saying I LOVE Michael Urie and completely understand that will make me biased with my thoughts about this movie (especially considering my thoughts about the movie I watched immediately after.)

Let’s start with a brief synopsis, shall we? (This means I will be discussing what happens in the movie, so if you haven’t watched, now would be a good time to click away…)

We have Peter, played by Michael Urie, who has lots of trouble with love. Can’t keep a man very long, and though he seems to be doing well as a photographer, his true passion is plants. Plants aren’t really my thing, so I didn’t get it, but whatever. Peter lives with his best friend Nick, played by Philemon Chambers. (Michael and Philemon are so adorably cute, and that’s the reason I watched this movie.) He works for TaskRabbit and is also apparently a really great writer who is afraid to write a sequel to his best-selling children’s book… That felt odd to me, and I’m not sure how to put into words why…

I understand the fears that come with writing, so I can only imagine them being worse once you’ve created something successful… It was more the TaskRabbit thing… How much money did he make from that book because he seems to have an infinite amount of money… and if so, why is he working at all? I suppose at some point he says he likes helping people. I don’t know, it just seemed like an odd combination of occupations/skills, but nothing to ruin the movie.

Peter starts the film with a boyfriend. They’ve been dating for a few months, and since the boyfriend is a doctor, he gets called away to the hospital a lot. Peter decides to invite him home for Christmas, after agreeing, and even though the boyfriend just got there, he is called away to the hospital again.

It just so happens that Nick gets a Taskrabbit job to put up Christmas lights. He’s on the roof and the woman is telling him how she normally uses someone else, but he fell and died while putting up someone else’s lights (it was so odd how caviler she was telling this story… shouldn’t this be a jolly movie?!?) Anywho, her husband drives up, and guess who it is?!? Peter’s boyfriend. Nick tells Peter. Peter breaks up with the boyfriend. Now he is sad, because he is the only single one of his siblings, and he was excited about introducing the boyfriend to the family…

He then comes up with an idea to have Nick come home with him and pretend to be his boyfriend. His family already knows Nick, and they’ve been best friends for nine years. His plan is to tell them they just fell in love, which is kinda what his family had wanted to happen. With very little persuasion (and having to buy his own plane ticket for the next day, I might add… if you’re roping me into a sham relationship, you can at least buy my plane ticket…) Nick accompanies Peter to his family’s house for Christmas.

Kathy Najimy plays Peter’s mom (I’m a HUGE King of the Hill and Sister Act fan, so was happy to see her.) and Barry Bostwick plays Peter’s dad. He looks familiar to me, but I don’t know what I know him from and I’m not going to IMDB him (I know he’s in Rocky Horror Picture, but I haven’t watched that.) Before he even gets to tell his family that he and Nick are now boyfriends, his mom tells him she has a blind date set up for him the next day, and Nick tells him he should go. (We’ll circle back to my thoughts on this later.)

Long story less long, he goes on some dates with this guy James, played by Luke Macfarlane, while leaving Nick with his family (… a choice.), all the while his nieces are scheming to get Uncle Peter together with Nick. They eventually turn the whole family to their side, aside from Peter’s dad, who was with them from the beginning. It’s a cheesy movie, but I expect Christmas movies to be cheesy, and I expect romcoms to be cheesy, so it’s par the course.

Oh, how could I forget, Jennifer Coolidge is in this too, she plays Peter’s Aunt Sally. She is hilarious and ridiculous and is putting on a play. He has a bunch of other family members, two (or maybe three) sisters, their husbands, and their kids. I’m not going through all of those people, sorry to those actors (I did think you were all wonderful. His sister w/ the daughters, I think her name was Lisa, she had such witty lines. I liked her character.)

The nieces finally get Nick to admit to them (and himself) that he has feelings for Peter, and that’s probably why he came on the trip. He goes to the play, and Peter invites James to the play as well. In a ploy to get Nick and Peter together, they help Aunt Sally with said play, so they are off to the side watching it, and have their arms around each other… very couple-like behavior… and James notices this from the audience.

After the play Nick tells Peter how he feels, and Peter feels the same way but is afraid to mess up their friendship. Before they can discuss it further, James interrupts. For some reason, Peter thought it would be a good idea for the three of them to get a drink. Nick says he’ll meet them there (the town only has one bar), but he goes home, packs his stuff, and is on his way out when he gets a Taskrabbit job.

Peter and James are at the bar, which is owned by Peter’s sister, and James makes Peter admit they aren’t compatible. James tells him he saw the way he interacts with Nick and lights up when talking about Nick just like he lights up when talking about plants. So now Peter rushes home, but Nick is gone, so he’s heading to the airport.

I guess this town only has one street (to go with its one bar), so on the drive, he notices their rental car parked. He stops, gets out, and he and Nick reunite and confess their love. Nick is there painting this building and has used his saved up money to pay for like six months of rent for Peter (oh yeah, Peter wants to move back to New Hampshire). They kiss. It’s magical.

We fast forward to Christmas day. Nick wrote a sequel to his book and gives it to Peter’s nephews (who are big fans of the book), and at the end, it says Nick and Peter are moving together to New Hampshire.

Now, my thoughts…

I could have done without the love triangle. I’m not well versed in romcoms, so I assume they tend to be a major component… but I consider Coyote Ugly to be a romcom (and one of my all-time favorite films), and it doesn’t have a love triangle… unless you count the bar, and I don’t. It would have been more interesting to me to see Nick and Peter spending time together throughout the film and learning their love for each other is more than platonic. Again, doesn’t ruin the film for me, but James just felt kinda unless.

Maybe it was because I was rooting for Nick and Peter from the beginning, but I didn’t see Nick and James being compatible… not to mention living on opposite sides of the country. Even from the very beginning, Nick and Peter interact like a couple and they know each other so well. The only thing James has going for him (as far as a relationship with Peter) is he is extremely good-looking… but so is Nick.

What really prompted me to write this is a post I saw about this film. Not so much the post itself, but the comments people left. People were saying Peter was insane to pick Nick over James. Now, I’m well aware that are is subjective… HOWEVER, this film isn’t very subtle, you’re supposed to root for Nick and Peter… So people saying they don’t have chemistry (I thought they did), and they would never pick Nick over James… is interesting, to say the least.

It seems some people are equating two different things. Just because one isn’t personally attracted to Nick (and if you aren’t… interesting), doesn’t mean the movie doesn’t make sense because Peter chose Nick over James. The way the story is told, there isn’t a way that Nick and Peter don’t end up together.

I hate to be that person… but Philemon Chambers (Nick) is black and Luke Macfarlane (James) is white, and I can’t help but wonder if that comes into play at all when SOME people say it doesn’t make sense to them why Peter ended up with Nick instead of Luke…

Surprisingly, unless I missed something, race doesn’t come up at all in this film. Not that it needed to, but Nick is the only black person I remember seeing in this town. It is quickly established that he’s met all these people before, but I’d still be uncomfortable, personally, hanging out with ANYONE’S family on my own while they are out dating.

All in all, it was a very cute movie… and I may sound like a hypocrite with my next post (or if you read this before the other one, you may think, I’m glad he called out his contradictions.)

Another Gay Movie

It’s 2:45am PST, I’m sick and can’t sleep and felt compelled to write. As you may or may not know, I’m a lurker. A lurker is someone who goes through comment threads but rarely engages. I don’t have the time nor energy for that… But I had some thoughts, and I wanted to get them off my chest.

A film called Bros came out over the weekend and there is a LOT of discourse within the gay community regarding it flopping at the box office. Being the person I am, I can’t help but notice what is being said… and by whom. To put it bluntly, I am noticing a lot of white gays telling people what they should be doing to support the community. That’s a problem for me…

The main argument I’m seeing is, we need to support THIS film if we expect to get more films with more diversity. That’s a bad faith argument. In the year of 2022, we already know the myth of needing a white lead for a film to be successful is a fallacy. Look at films like Girls Trip or Crazy Rich Asians. Look at Black Panther. It also feels like a bad faith argument. What ultimately drove me to write this, and it has been building up, was a queer creator saying shaming other queer creators/writers/actors for not showing up to support this film (in his defense, he lumped QaF and Bros together in a post, which I wouldn’t have done…) I interpret that as, let us through the door, and we’ll help you through after. It’s giving trickle down economics, and I don’t like that.

Around 2007, I started watching a lot of gay movies. Pretty much anything I could find, I’d watch. There were SO many movies about white gays. Then there was Queer As Folk, you’d see a black person every blue moon, but also a story of white gays. I never saw people that looked like me, until I stumbled upon Noah’s Arc. I’m sure if I searched more, I’d find more gay content with black and people of color, but the fact that I can go to a streaming service and look in the gay & lesbian category and be SWARMED with stories about white men with chiseled bodies says enough for me. If feels like the “community” is always supposed to gather to support the “mainstream” gay content, while the rest of us are told to wait our turn.

It reminds me of The Devil Wears Prada, when Miranda gives Nigels job to Jacqueline to save her own, and he sits there and tells himself one day she’ll repay him. I don’t want to be a Nigel waiting for that day to come.

Not to mention, why are we putting all of the onius on the gay community. Why are we not thinking, how could we have marketed this film better? How could we have made the film better, to draw in a larger audience? Overall, it just seems like an odd take, but I’m seeing a lot of it.

Pride

I used to be someone who would argue on the internet. I felt that if I used the right analogy I would get through to people… Those days are long gone for me. People arguing on the internet aren’t there to learn, they are there to argue their point, myself included. For my own peace of mind, I had to let that go. There are still PLENTLY of times I see stupid people making stupid arguments, but I just read it and then go about my day. Maybe I’ll start blogging about it instead.

The other day I saw a video from a musician I used to follow. She used to be in a girl group, but she is a born again Christian… like super Christian. It seems pretty clear that something happened to her (I won’t presume what) and Christianity has been her coping mechanism. I almost feel bad for her… but she spews hate in the guise of Christian love (and those are the worst kinds of Christians, in my opinion). So, she makes this video about Pride month, but she is saying how wrong it all is. The thing that got me is when she started talking about people who transition and de-transition and how it can lead to suicide. The mental gymnastics some people do is truly Olypmic worth. So… we are considered about the suicide rate of individuals who transition and de-transition (not that we shouldn’t be)… but not worried about the suicide rate of kids and young adults seeing videos like hers telling them that being who they are is wrong, a sin, and going to result in them burning in Hell for all eternity?… Sure, Jan.

She also brought up drag queens performing in venues that have kids. I’m not sure how this became a big topic, actually, I have an idea. I think it is absolutely something to take people’s minds of the recent school shootings. Lets protect the kids from… drag queens, but lets keep the guns. Make it make sense. It’s grooming kids… but asking toddlers if they have a boyfriend/girlfriend isn’t… taking little boys to Hooters isn’t… Again, mental gymnastics.

The thing that prompted this blog today was a post where Tom Hanks stated he wouldn’t play a gay character today and he believes gay actors should. There was a bunch of arguing in the comments. Now, I don’t want to flat out say that I’m right and they’re wrong… but I will say I have a more nuisanced approach to the matter. See, once upon a time in college, I had this GREAT professor. He taught several courses, including Screenwriting and Race & Gender Studies. For my degree, Race & Gender Studies was required (and honestly, I think this is something that should be required in high school AND college). I couldn’t take his course, which I was extremely upset about, but I got to take a Sci-Fi Culture & History (I don’t remember if that’s the exact name, but let’s just go with it) class and he brought his Race & Gender Studies into it when we had discussions. Something I learned from him is we can’t look at things in a vacuum, and I feel that often times, especially when it comes to arguments about race, gender, sexuality, people are arguing as if we’re in a vacuum… whether they intend to do so or not.

I’ll give an example. Someone in the comments said something along the lines of, “Oh, so if gay actors should only play gay characters, does that mean straight actors can only play straight characters?!?” In a vacuum, they would not be wrong… but we don’t live in a vacuum. Until recently, it was pretty tabboo for an actor to come out in Hollywood, so they were had no choice but to play straight roles (and there weren’t really gay roles anyway.) You can’t make such an argument without taking history into account (at least not if you want to make a good argument.)

What I interpret Hanks is saying is, I don’t want to take an opportunity from a gay actor, and I think that’s a noble thing. He’s Tom freakin Hanks, he has his pick of roles, if he even wants to continue acting. A straight actor moving aside for a gay actor could potentially open doors that gay actor might not have been able to open. Not to mention, when a straight actor plays a gay character, they are always told how “brave” they are. Look, in a perfect world, we could be like Scarlett Johansen and play any race and any tree we want… but we don’t like in a perfect world, so until things are more equal, I absolutely think straight actors shouldn’t play gay characters, but gay actors can play straight.

I have a lot of thoughts on race and gender… but I’ll get into that in another post.

To wrap up my original thought (sorry, tangents) I wish people were more honest about their hatred. I don’t want to say I’d respect it… but it would be refreshing. I don’t want to hear the bullshit about “love the sinner, hate the sin”, “I just don’t agree with that lifestyle”, “think of the kids!” Just say you hate gay people, because that is the subtext. Also, I implore those who argue online to use that internet access to do research, because a lot of times people argue as if they are an expert on a subject when they have very general (at best) knowledge of it.

Queer as Folk: Season Five

I just finished S5 Ep10, which is the bomb episode, for those who don’t remember. I figured I’d take a moment to stop and reflect as it’s an intense episode, and I remember, more or less, what happens in the last three episodes.

It is fascinating to watch this show now that I am the age the characters were at the start of the show. When I first watched the show, I was 18, which was almost 12 years ago, and the show ended a year before that. I’ve done some living and learned about the world since then.

The bomb episode is bittersweet. Though the show dabbles with death before this episode, this was the first time you see something of that scale. Long story short, there is a benefit to raise money to stop Proposition 14, which will ban same-sex marriage, and said benefit takes place at Babylon. While Cyndi Lauper is performing (I just learned the song has a Babylon Remix which was used for the show) a bomb goes off. The first time I watched it (and even in re-watches before this) things like Pulse hadn’t happened yet, so I had a different perspective this time.

The sweet comes with Justin and Brian. I think I may have to retract my statement that I hate Justin the most. In season five, he was easily my favorite character, as he had such maturity. Anyway, I still remember the first time I watched the scene where Brian finally tells Justin he loves him. I still get emotional when I watch it because it meant so much to me to see.

Brian is supposed to be leaving for Australia, but he learns of the bombing (of his club) on his way to the airport and turns back around. He is so afraid that something has happened to Justin. He’s always loved Justin and cared for him, in his own way, without expressing it using those words. He finds Justin and they embrace, all covered in smoke, and he finally says “I love you,” and the look on Justin’s face. He grabs onto Brian as if he can’t believe it is real.

I first saw the scene shortly after being introduced to the show by my roommate at the time. I was watching clips of the show on Youtube (as one would do when one couldn’t afford the boxsets and streaming services weren’t a big thing in 2006) and stumbled across one with a title along the lines of “Brian finally says ‘I love you’ to Justin.” I don’t think I knew the context of how it came about, as I’d only watched clips here and there. I don’t think it was until 19 or 20 that I watched the show in order.

It was such a great feeling, even know, for Justin to hear those words he had been waiting so long to hear. Even though I tend to enjoy bitter ends when it comes to gay media, I really cared for their relationship and wanted the best for them (despite thinking Ethan and Justin seemed more suited for each other.)

I may or may not write one final post about the overall season (which will discuss how I hated Hunter this season. He was the Dawn of the show,) or maybe I’ll just start writing when I move on to a new show. I have kinda enjoyed these “reviews” if you will. Perhaps next will be Buffy.

Queer As Folk Season 4

This may be part one, as I’m only halfway through season 4, so I’ll try to make this short and sweet. I have to eat my words in regards to Justin, I completely forgot that I quite enjoyed him this season. Though Justin bothered me a lot as a character in the first half of the series, and even though I felt Ethan and Justin were more compatible, I really enjoy Brian and Justin together.

Despite Brian being over ten years Justin’s senior, Justin is clearly the more mature one, especially when it comes to expressing emotions. Once upon a time, I had a friend who told me I was like Brian. We definitely share methods of communication and emotional expression, which is quite little. Though I relate to the way he interacts with people, I was never a big fan of his until the final two seasons. I loved when he went through cancer because he had a vulnerability we hadn’t really seen before.

There are two scenes that really hit me in regards to this two. The first is when Justin doesn’t know about Brian’s cancer. In typical Brian fashion, he pretends he is going on an impulse vacation. When Justin confronts him about not being invited, Brian yells at him, and walks away, partly in pain from being sick, but also because he is hurting Justin in hopes of driving him away. He walks back and Justin tells him if he did or said something to upset him, he didn’t mean to (as Brian has been pushing him away for at least a few days at this point.) It was really touching.

The other is after Brian kicks Justin out (upon discovering Justin knows of his cancer.) Justin comes back to fight for his relationship. This time he yells at Brian, telling him he has been a piece of shit for not telling him and for thinking he would leave. I found that touching too.

I think it was this season when I really started to relate to Brian. I have a tendency to push people away too. The closer someone tries to get, the harder I push. Also, like Brian, I have my idea of what it means to be perfect, and I don’t like to stray from it.

Also, I want to touch on the death of Uncle Vic. It is interesting to watch something years later and have it affect you differently. I watched the episode where Uncle Vic dies on Tuesday, the day after the second anniversary of my mother’s death, and it hit me harder than expected. I related so much to Debbie, as she had concerns of how her brother felt about her, as he died after a fight. My mother and I didn’t have a fight before she passed away, but I also thought later in life we would reconnect and life didn’t work that way for me. Sometimes it makes me sad if I think about that too much.

Nothing else really stood out to me so far, other than I hated that Michael told Brian he and Justin knew about the cancer, despite him telling Justin they couldn’t say anything. Though he said it was an accident, I feel he purposefully did it so Justin couldn’t say something first.

Queer As Folk Season 3

I finished Season 3 without even realizing it. I think my post about Ethan and Justin said a majority of my thoughts on Season 3, so this should be short and sweet. Though I like Brian and Justin together, I still think Ethan was better with Justin, but that had to do something to get them to break up so it could be Brian and Justin again.

I forgot about Hunter coming into the picture (and I believe it is Season 4 when he just pops up with all new teeth and it isn’t commented on.) At first, I hated Hunter, though not as much as Justin. I hated how he treated Ben and Michael, despite the fact that they were trying desperately to help him. Also, something that comes up in season 4, but Hunter is apparently straight, which doesn’t make sense, as he actively pursued Brian in Season 3, even offering to pay Brian to sleep with him rather than having Brian pay like a typical client, so it seemed weird to make him straight, maybe bi.

The main thing I hadn’t talked about was Emmett and Ted. I really enjoyed their relationship, and though I really enjoyed the Blake and Ted story about addiction and crystal use, the Emmett and Ted story was more fleshed out. Of all the things that happen to the characters that felt out of, well, character, for the characters, Ted becoming a crystal queen made sense.

When he had an argument with Emmett about how he uses crystal because he doesn’t want to be himself anymore, it reminded me of Willow’s talk with Buffy when she indulges in the dark magicks. In both cases, they were the reliable, meek characters, and their addiction is fueled, subconsciously, by self-loathing. It’s beautiful and tragic and relatable.

I have a few top favorite moments in QAF, and one of them happens in Season 3. Ted finally hits rock bottom, which is being awake for days and discovering he got gangbanged while watching video of it. He goes to rehab and there he sees Blake. I loved this because the last time you saw Blake was Season 1, and he just disappeared, presumably dead. Naturally, Ted assumes he is a patient in rehab, but it turns out he is a counselor. I love that moment when Ted realizes that. That’s the thing I love about tv shows, characters have so much room to grow. In the two years they haven’t seen each other, their places in life completely switched. We don’t know what Blake has been through since we last saw him, but we know he was able to kick his addiction and is now helping others to do the same.

I also liked how despite being so against Ted helping Blake, when it was Emmett’s turn, he behaved much like Ted, if not more so, in trying to defend and deflect Ted’s destructive behavior.

Another favorite moment is when Michael confronts Ben about his steroid use. At one point, Ben, in his roid rage, says maybe he should be with someone who is also positive. Michael finds a needle Ben uses for steroids and threats to prick himself with it, thus exposing himself to HIV as well. Ben gets scared and demands Michael doesn’t do it and Michael tells him to stop using the steroids and to stop hurting himself and their relationship. The dialogue and the tension of that scene were perfect.

Now I’m on to season 4 and after that, the fifth and final season.

Trick

Not too long ago, I had a conversation with someone about gay films, I can’t remember who off the top of my head, but I was told I needed to watch Trick. The opportunity presented itself tonight and I figured, why not?

I quite enjoyed it, despite being a little confused. In short, a shy writer meets this gogo boy on the subway and decides to bring him home. They are unable to hook up, as his roommate and his best friend both get in the way, and they spend the evening trying to find a place to hook up.

It is set in NYC in the 90s, which I love. I really regret not being an adult in the 90s. I think I would have loved living in NYC. Gabriel, the main character, is played by Christian Campbell (Neve Campbell’s brother… though I think he could pass for Ryan Reynold’s brother,) and I really liked and related to the character. In the beginning, he is testing a song from a musical he wrote, and a friend questions how he can write about falling in love or the potential to do so if he hasn’t experienced it.

There are a series of misfortunes between him and the go-go dancer, Mark, and at several points in the film, both debate calling it a night and going to their respective homes. Though I enjoyed the film, I was a bit confused by the motives of the main characters. For instance, to me, it seemed very apparent from the beginning that all Mark and Gabriel wanted was sex, more so Mark than Gabriel. I could see Gabriel maybe hoping the hookup could turn into something more, but I didn’t see that with Mark.

After they are kicked out of Gabriel’s place, they try to figure out where they can go to mess around, and a guy walks by, and Mark starts checking him out. But later in the film, it seems Mark picked up Gabriel in hopes that this hook up would be different than the others, something more, which didn’t make sense based on what I thought of the character prior to that moment. Perhaps it is a bit nitpicky, but I couldn’t understand why either of them were so emotionally invested in a hook up that hadn’t even happened yet. Nonetheless, it was cute and sweet.

Queer As Folk: Justin & Ethan

So, this is going to go against my previous two posts where I said I hate Justin. It still stands true, but I really liked his relationship with Ethan. Towards the end of season 2, Justin meets Ethan, a young violinist, and there is instant chemistry between the two. I think it has a lot to do with the two of them being artists. I can’t say this for a fact, but I believe those with artistic souls are more passionate about things than others. In this case, Ethan’s passion and romantic ways draw Justin to him.

Ethan provides Justin what he desperately wants from Brian; romance and attention. Brian shows Justin in his own little ways that he cares but he refuses to make grand romantic gestures. So, Justin plays with fire by continuing to flirt with Ethan. One particular instance, which is probably my favorite, is when Justin and Ethan have this romantic lunch picnic on Ethan’s living room. Justin craves that kinda thing and Ethan slowly but surely seduces him by feeding that craving. The next scene is Justin recreating a picnic dinner on the floor at Brian’s. Brian comes home and instantly isn’t into it, which begs the question is Justin into Ethan or is he into the idea that Ethan represents, which is romance; the one thing lacking (for Justin) in his relationship with Brian.

Eventually, Justin leaves Brian for Ethan (I haven’t gotten to the episode yet, so I can’t remember exactly why.) but their love is short lived. Again, I believe it is an issue of the writers using the characters as plot devices more than anything, but who knows. Ethan ends up cheating on Justin and he goes back to Brian. I have the same issue with Ethan cheating as I have with Kevin suggesting an open relationship in Looking. In my mind, at least the way I thought I knew the character, it would seem highly unlikely for Ethan to cheat on Justin after spending so much time to win him. In Looking, Kevin finally wins Patrick back, only to suggest an open relationship. To me, these did not seem like moves these characters would make. However, would Queer as Folk really continue if Brian and Justin’s relationship didn’t? It was the whole premise of the show.

Though I dislike Justin, I thought he’d found his soulmate in Ethan. I remember thinking I was going to meet a musician in college and we’d fall madly in love. It didn’t happen. Though I am an artist at heart, I care myself more like a Brian. I keep people at a safe distance and I don’t like when people try to get close. The closer someone tries to get, the harder I push them away. But underneath it all, I relate to what Justin wanted. The passion, the romance, the attention. And I think when you are both artists you can relate on a different level.

I also liked that Ethan was more age appropriate. Ethan was a struggling artist, which I also found attractive about him. When I see myself falling in love, I see the guy being equal to me and we help the other build his career and success. I saw that and I wanted that for the two of them.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Justin and Brian are cute together, I just thought Justin and Ethan were better. What makes me like Justin and Brian are the moments when Brian lets down his guard and lets Justin in. Ethan was like that all the time, sentimental, romantic and sweet. But the show must go on.

Queer As Folk Season 1

Queer as Folk was my introduction to gay TV at the tender age of 18 and it shaped how I thought the “gay world” would be, which never really came to pass, at least not for me. Season 1 is an introduction to the characters, and I really enjoyed them all… except Justin. Though at that time, he should have been the one I related to the most, at least age-wise, Michael was the one I identified with and I had such a crush on Hal Sparks because of Michael. Michael’s relationships have always been my goals. I think I also identified with Brian, though only on an emotional level. He showed people he cared in his own ways but was not one to wear his heart on his sleeve.

It’s funny, this time around, I find myself a lot more attracted to Ted than I think I’ve ever been. Even for the “ugly” older friend, he is pretty fit and I could see myself with a Ted these days, though Michael would still be #1.

At 18, I’d never been to a club, I’d barely touched alcohol, and I was 100% a virgin, so it was interesting to see a show that included so much partying and sex. I liked the idea of a core group of friends that did everything together. I thought once I finally entered the “gay” world I’d find that group.

Something that really bothered me about season 1 is something that would bother me again later down the road. Buffy is my favorite show, and I never felt the characters did anything out of character for the sake of the story and I believe that is why I judge other shows so harshly. My biggest issue with season 1 is Emmett making a promise to God to never sleep with another man if he is negative after a HIV scare. I understand why they wanted to tell this story, but it felt like a story that should have been told through someone else.

Emmett is the “queeniest” of the group. He has always been the way he was. He doesn’t appear to be religious, I don’t recall him bringing up religion and/or God often, if ever again. Also, his promise was never to sleep with another man again, but that somehow converts to him trying to be straight. It just didn’t make any sense to me, other than the writers wanting to tell the story of conversion groups. Don’t get me wrong, it is important to discuss, but I needed more to make me believe the one of the group who seems most proud to be gay would try to become straight. Other than that (and a lack of diversity), I really love this first season and the show in general.

I remember expecting to see clubs and bars like Babylon when I came out and only finding BS West. Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of fun at BS West, but it was no Babylon. It wasn’t until my first time in San Diego, for San Diego Pride, that I discovered Rich’s, which is still Babylon to me.

It’s also strange to watch a show that had 20+ episodes per season, as I’m so used to shows having around 13.

Finally, the season finale. It was brutal on my emotions. I think seeing Justin get hit affected me more now as an adult, as seeing things like Pulse and real bashing in the news, than it did the first time. When I was 18, I didn’t know anything about gay bashings. It was also one of the first moments when Brian breaks his guard and shows he truly cares for Justin.

Now I’m midway through Season 2 and still loving it (I can’t decide who I am more like, Ben or Michael, but theirs is my favorite relationship of the series.)