The Year in Gay Characters
Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 7:52PM Year in Review... more to come, too.
Though you know I am unfond of J. Edgar, it was super easy to make a list of the best gay characters without the noisiest ones: ol' Hoover and his much abused man Clyde. For my weekly column at Towleroad, I thought I'd wrap the year with a list on the Best LGBT movie characters of the year so click away if you'd like a few notes on Pariah, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Potiche, and even Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. Okay, the latter I only imagined but I like to engage with the movies in unexpected ways. Don't let filmmakers box you in; practice freeform movie watching!
Because the holidays are all about spreading oneself thin, I'm also a guest today at AfterElton. I met AfterElton's Brian Juergens at a Madonna event -- it's true, I met the Queen herself (M, not Brian!) but more on that in February when the embargo breaks -- and he was cracking me up with his insane Oscar predictions like "Best Supporting Actor Jim Parsons as Charlotte Phelan in The Help". Hee.
So I had to bring him back to reality, set him... uh... straight. Such a killjoy I am! An Oscar man's work is never done.
Reader Comments (11)
Hehe...but I don't see the resemblance between Ms. Janney and Mr. Parsons. God, can we have an all drag, off-Broadway musical version of The Help...my ticket is bought!
I see Jim Parsons as Skeeter.
Lovely article - and I'm a bit ashamed of myself that I still haven't yet seen Beginners or Weekend. Must rectify a.s.a.p. Potiche I was a bit disappointed by - but not by Jeremie Renier, who I thought was completely delightful and loveable as Laurent. (Renier's so great in everything!) And Tinker Tailor...I was having so much trouble trying to work out what on earth was going on that I barely noticed the homoerotic feelings; I'm sure a second viewing will do the trick (on both counts!).
Thank you for this list! I love this blog so much and can't help but read it every day. Articles like this are my favorite.
I loved Tom Cullen in "Weekend" but it's a shame that Chris New is not getting as much recognition, especially since he has a trickier role. When is this "gay-play-gay-is-easy" prejudice ever gonna end?!
Isn't it rather inadequate to dedicate a list with LGBT characters to a character played by Jeremy Renner? Renner is so gay that he (almost) lands on straight again.
And having fun while watching Ghost Protocol must have been the real Mission Impossible. Brad Bird and Tom Cruise even make a sandstorm boring.
You met M? that's great! hoping February will come soon!!!
I loved both actors in Weekend, but for me Tom Cullen gave the stronger more nuanced performance in that film, has nothing to do with off-screen sexuality which I knew nothing of before seeing it.
ramification - I'm glad you feel that way without knowing the off-screen sexuality, I did too.
You see the reason I liked "Weekend" so much has a lot to do with how well-written and performed the character Glen was. He has more of an arc than Russell cause he is someone who constantly has to "perform", put on a care-free and aggressive persona to mask his insecurity and vulnerability. Even though Cullen gave a quieter performance I don't think he was necessarily more nuanced than New, who was both showy and subtle at the same time.
I've seen Beginners, thank goodness. Amazing film.
But I still need to see Weekend and Pariah. :(
Buttercup -- i've often wondered when this built in prejudice will vanish, too. But i think it will be a while still. Baby steps, you know. At least we're finally getting a few gay roles for gay actors :)
Willy -- i couldn't disagree more. I thought M:I-GP was really fun and better than the other films (not that that was a super high bar). Love Brad Bird to death.
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