Gay Best Friend: George Downs in "My Best Friend's Wedding"
Monday, November 9, 2020 at 3:10PM
NEW WEEKLY SERIES!
The trope of the “gay best friend” proves that not all representation is created equally. In the 90s especially, we finally got to see openly gay characters in big Hollywood movies, specifically romantic comedies. Before that, queer characters were often only coded as such. While this representation was a step forward, the types of LGBTQ+ representation were always the same: white, cis gay men without an interior life. Throughout this series, I want to revisit these characters and examine the good, the bad and the ugly of their portrayal and how it has shaped the culture of today.
George Downs (Rupert Everett) embodies a lot of what is bad about the “gay best friend” trope. So why do I love him so much? It’s not just because Everett is incredibly charming and handsome. George starts out as a sidekick and becomes the “love interest.” Sure, we never get to spend time with him a queer man and learn more about his love life and relationships. Still, he's the force that shapes and defines the narrative. That this happens in a $100 million plus Julia Roberts blockbuster is no small feat...
George's introduction is in the opening scene (4:25 minutes in)
For those who haven’t seen My Best Friend’s Wedding (what’s wrong with you), let’s get into a quick plot description. Julianne (Julia Roberts) is a salty food critic who made a pact with her college “best friend,” Michael (Dermot Mulrooney), that if they turned 28 and weren’t married they would marry each other. When Michael calls Julianne on his 28th birthday, she believes he’s going to take her up on the bet. Quite the opposite, he announces he’s marrying Kimmy (Cameron Diaz), a college student, in just four days. Julianne flies to the wedding with plans to break it up, plans that get even more complicated when Kimmy asks her to be her maid of honor.
So where does George fit in? As Julianne’s editor and best friend, he’s her sounding board when Julianne thinks Michael is going to take her up on the bet. The character really gets to have fun when Julianne calls him in as backup. George flies to Chicago to persuade Julianne to deal with her feelings and talk to Michael. Ever the drama queen, Julianne quickly lies and says George is her fiance, leading to a perfect line:
Julianne: He just came in for few hours to uh, to uh, FUCK ME.
George: Huh! Takes a few hours.
This article may be about George, but it has to be said that Julia Roberts’ line readings have never been better.
In 1997, especially in romantic comedies, gay best friends were never sexualized. Yes, we don’t get any interiority to his actual sex life as a gay man. Still, trying to sell him as a sexual prospect for the largest A-list movie star at the time, Julia Roberts, is a half-step in the right direction. This fake relationship escapes some gross "passing" territory because George is able to still be himself while pretending to be something else. He’s giving a half-hearted attempt at playing straight. There’s only so far he would go for Julianne.
"Say a Little Prayer" ranks as the best musical moment in a movie full of iconic musical moments (opening credits, Kimmy's karaoke slay)
What does any gay best friend do when they’re thrust back into the closet for a scheme to break up a straight wedding? They stage a giant musical number, of course! At lunch with the wedding party, George goes too far in the pursuit of making Michael jealous. He leads a rousing rendition of “Say a Little Prayer” that endears himself to the entire Wallace clan, less so to Michael or Julianne. While it relies on the stereotype of gays loving musical extravaganzas, it’s an important moment that defines George as a character, rather than a function of the plot. He’ll go along with Julianne’s scheme, but he won’t change who he is so she can get her man. If he’s going to fly to Chicago and pretend to be Julianne’s fiance, then why not make a show out of it.
This also establishes George’s stakes in the situation. At this moment, he’s not interested in destroying Kimmy’s wedding. He’s interested in helping Julianne work out her feelings for Michael and giving her the space and distraction to do so. In essence, George is the essence of chaotic neutral here (or neutral Terminator).
Everyone is looking behind to hear what's happening with Julianne, naturally.
However, nowhere is George more effective than in the film’s big chase. After Kimmy sees Julianne kiss Michael, there’s a high speed pursuit through Chicago. Having stolen the catering cart, Julianne gives George a frantic call while he is at a book reading. Upon getting the call, George gives a knowing, slightly embarrassed nod to the rest of the crowd at the reading. It’s a hilarious sort of shrug that seems to go, “ugh, straight people, am I right?” Of course, that’s reading too much into it. Plus, this very stodgy, very white book reading doesn’t seem like the queerest of spaces. However, Everett carves out a moment where we see George’s perspective and life outside Julianne. He gets a chance to somewhat halfheartedly acknowledge, “I know, she’s crazy right?”
George: Michael's chasing Kimmy?
Julianne: Yes!
George: You're chasing Michael?
Julianne: YES!
George: Who's chasing you... nobody, get it? There's your answer. It's Kimmy.
Yes, this is an example of the gay best friend being a wise oracle for the heroine. Still, Everett delivers the line reading so well, you can forgive the predictability. George hits Julianne with a bucket of cold water rather than coddling her. It’s said out of love, because George truly loves her. But Everett nails that George is exasperated. He’s tired of her shit. He’s flown to Chicago once and is about to do so again. She puts him through a lot of bullshit. Scratch that, she puts everyone through a lot of bullshit.
My Best Friend’s Wedding works because both writer Ronald Bass and star Julia Roberts understand how horrible Julianne is. Charlize Theron takes pages from this same playbook in her indelible performance in Young Adult. Smartly, George also knows how horrible Julianne is. Yet, he loves her because of her rough edges, not in spite of them.
Of course… then there’s George's ending monologue:
"Suddenly, a familiar song. And, you're off your chair in one, exquisite movement... wondering, searching, sniffing the wind like a dapple deer. Has God heard your little prayer? Will Cinderella dance again? And then, suddenly, the crowds part and there he is: sleek, stylish... radiant with charisma. Bizarrely, he's on the telephone. But then, so are you. And then he comes towards you... the moves of a jungle cat. Although you quite correctly sense that he is... gay... like most devastatingly handsome single men of his age are, you think... what the hell. Life goes on. Maybe there won't be marriage... maybe there won't be sex... but, by God, there'll be dancing.”
Julianne embarked on this quest in search of a husband when she was actually in search of a titular best friend. She had clung to her relationship with Michael like a life raft, rather than expanding her post-collegiate friendships. She said goodbye to Michael and Kimmy not knowing what would be next for them. Yet, George surprises Julianne at the reception in a fantastically staged reveal. Director P.J. Hogan really milks the entire phone call in delightful fashion. As George drops hints that he can see her, she scans the reception area almost as if she’s in a horror movie. Roberts knows how to give great reaction shots and hold the audience’s attention.
When she finally spies George waiting at another table, he saunters over with all the charisma and confidence of James Bond. After all, George is Julianne’s one true love. He’s the one that was chasing after her, being her confidant and shoulder to cry on and going along with her schemes. The final scene creates a wholly original version of true love. Yes, it’s still a man and a woman, but it’s the bond between a woman and her gay best friend. While the two dance the night away, Julia Roberts flashes her trademark smile. George has been the hero all along.
EW reunited the cast just last year for a reunion coverIt’s worth noting that it was rare for this type of role to be played by an out gay man. Everett had come out professionally in 1989, which posed severe limits on the types of roles he was offered. This partially explains what makes George such a refreshing figure, even if he’s not always used to his fullest potential. By having an out gay man play him, the character feels fully fleshed out. Even when he’s flamboyant or singing, George exists in a grounded universe, more so than some of the wackier characters (love you Rachel Griffiths and Carrie Preston). As we’ll see through this series, these characters often come off more cartoon-ish when played by straight actors.
We began with My Best Friend’s Wedding because it expertly embodies all the machinations of a romantic comedy while also twisting them. It shows you can make a different picture with the same puzzle pieces. George is still very much the prototypical gay best friend. However, the way he was used in the plot and given depth by Everett represented a major turning point. For those reasons, this felt like a good place to start in examining the trope. There will be worse versions, there will be better versions. Diversity will (slowly) make its way into the framework. Still, George is who I instantly think of when I think of a “gay best friend.”
Are you a fan of this movie? Which "gay best friend" would you like to see covered in this series?
Reader Comments (25)
All three Rupert Everett memoirs are recommended reading for The Film Experience visitors.
An incredible movie, one of my favorites of the DECADE. The directing and staging by PJ Hogan, well, he was at the top of his game at that point.
Rupert was great, of course. I don't really think his omission from the Oscar lineup was as huge a travesty as everyone else did at the time, although he certainly should be in there instead of a knee-jerk nomination for Anthony Hopkins in "Amistad." This is one of those instances where the surprise nominee who bumped him out was also richly deserving -- Robert Forster in "Jackie Brown," who should have won the Oscar handily.
But I was fully in lust with him at the time. Goodness me, was he at the peak of hotness and I had the Premiere cover to prove it. Reading the Page Six gossip about him hitting on twinks in the city the very summer I was about to start college downtown, well, I was extremely excited to get out of the house. Needless to say, I never found him and my college love life hit a dirt-floor plateau.
But, really, we need to talk about the two actually exceptional performances in the film. Roberts, naturally, is brilliant. This was a pretty good Best Actress lineup but she could have easily squeezed her way in had the acting branch had any imagination. She's certainly better than her Golden Globe vanquisher and eventual Oscar winner Helen Hunt (who is, you know, fine). Her mea culpa in the stadium bathroom is just a magical moment.
Finally: THIS. IS. CAMERON. DIAZ'S. BEST. PERFORMANCE. If you disagree, you are wrong! She finds the perfect line between cloying and oversensitive, nails the arc to anger, and really doesn't put a foot wrong, like she can sometimes do with her typical overly bad mugging in her other mostly-good performances (TSAM and BJM). That Supporting Actress lineup would have been very tough to crack but the two favorites are pretty weak and she should have knocked either of them out.
I worked at the movies that summer and I must have watched this thing a hundred times. Fuck the Star Wars re-releases!!
Thanks. This was fun!
Other ideas The Object of my Affection (Paul Rudd), Reality Bites (Steve Zahn), Perks of Being a Wallflower (Ezra Miller) Mean Girls (Daniel Franzese), Three to Tango (Oliver Platt), Sex and the City (Willie Garson)
GREAT write up and cannot wait for the rest of this series! Don't you forget about David in Bride of Chucky ;-)
@Marek: Love the reading recommendations!! Rupert Everett is the best!
@JJ: Agree with you so much on the greatness of My Best Friend's Wedding. Julia Roberts does such a great job essentially dissecting and inverting her movie star persona. Agree with you on the greatness of Cameron Diaz in the movie. The more I watch it, the more layers I see in her performance. While I've always loved her most in "There's Something About Mary" (though have not rewatched lately and am scared to), this is just another example in a long line of movies that proves that Cameron Diaz is one of our most underrated and undervalued actresses.
@Julian & Mikenewq: Thank you so much for the recommendations. Some of them were already on the list, but will definitely have to add the other ones. Keep the recommendations coming!
The scene where George meets Kimmy is really funny and completely delightful and Everett and Diaz play it to the hilt. I was PO'd he wasn't nominated that year, esp when Greg Kinnear was for playing a victim-y gay male character (in a movie I hated to boot). Booo!
@Christopher James: If you're looking at seminal openly "gay best friends," please cover Murray Melvin in A Taste of Honey (1961), Antonio Fargas in Next Stop Greenwich Village (1976) and Craig Russell in Outrageous! (1977).
Diaz is the one we root for not Roberts and it's due to Diaz's playing of her,she's so sunny and fresh and wounded when she's hurt.
A true sparking defintion of a how a 90's Rom Com looked.
Fun idea for a series!
Would love to see a writeup on Belize from Angels in America.
Today I learned that George had a last name.
Gotta disagree on the "I Say a Little Prayer" scene. It's funny, but it always rang false to me. (For best musical moment, I prefer the opening credits, or the throwaway scene where the teenage boys are singing with helium voices.)
I re-watched the movie recently and was disappointed. Yes, Roberts is great at playing such unlikable character, Diaz has her moments, but the screenplay did not utilize the comedic potential of the premise. I laughed only when Everett was on screen. I'm glad he got Globe and BAFTA nominations (but Greg Kinnear took the spot of a gay friend at the Oscars).
And boy, could Everett get it back then.
This is a terrific film, loved all the actors and the songs, funny, smart, warm. One of the earliest DVDs I purchased, liner notes look like a wedding invitation. I also bought that reunion magazine, still have it and the DVD, stars of late 1990s aging beautifully!
Actually, Cameron Diaz's best work as an actress either goes to There's Something About Mary or Being John Malkovich. I would also vouch for Bad Teacher.
There's another Bad Teacher fan! I kind of love that movie. Diaz is great. And Phyllis Smith forever.
I'm not a fan of My Best Friend's Wedding - but I like this feature and am looking forward to more in this series. As far as others I'd hope to see - Paul Rudd in The Object of My Affection (if that counts, not sure since he's a lead) and Kieran Culkin in Scott Pilgrim.
i'm so excited for this series and seeing which characters will be featured.
and i'm still so angry that whatshisface was nominated for overdoing it while pretending to be a sad gay in the same category while this brilliant gay actor was firing on all cylinders and people STILL talk about this performance and nope. no oscar love.
I just got childhood memories of my aunts making me rewind "I Say a Little Prayer" over and over again.
when I think of Cameron Díaz's career I get angry that she hasn't been even nominated for an Oscar... just think about these performances...
A Life Less Ordinary
My Best Friend's Wedding
Very Bad Things
There's Something About Mary
Charlie's Angels (she steals the whole movie)
Being John Malkovich
Vanilla Sky
(and some more, evidently)... I mean, really? Not even a nom?
Great idea for a series. My suggestions: Nathan Lane in Frankie and Johnny and Ed Harris In The Hours.
I co-sign a lot already said above, primarily that as solid as Everett is, he's nowhere near my Top 10... Roberts and Diaz on the other hand are both giving some of the best work of their careers... for that from Everett, I'd recommend The Comfort Of Strangers obviously...
Does Queen Latifah count in Set It Off? Supporting and a GBF to all 3 other members of the ensemble... that character is wonderful and I still think it's some of her best work...
Thank you all for the kind words and great suggestions! I've definitely been taking note!!
Also, loving all the Cameron Diaz love throughout. Truly one of our most gifted comedic actresses.
Plus (and I should've included this), completely wild (yet expected) that Oscar went for the "suffering gay" Greg Kinnear when Rupert Everett is doing much better work. Kinnear really personifies what "playing into the stereotype" looks like.
This was the movie that made me actually like Julia Roberts. I went into it with my usual indifference (it was a free screening on the lot) and came out of it finally understanding her magic. I was sort of underwhelmed when the scripts were so "on point" for her charms, like Steel Magnolias (shudder) or Pretty Woman.
In fact, if you throw in the director, I still think this was the height of all of their careers. Everything in this movie just works despite the fact that it really shouldn't.
I seemed to remember that they added the last scene after initial screening saying they wanted more of Gorge/Rupert Everett. That's how charismatic he was to the test audience. They basically reshot the ending around him & Jules.
IMDB confirms: In the original ending, after watching Michael and Kimberly leave the wedding reception, Julianne meets a man (played by John Corbett). This ending did not test well and audiences wanted to see more of George, so a new ending was filmed.
Julia's best movie, and one of the best of the Decade. The George and Kimmy meet is so giggly cute!
Another idea / recommendation might be Bronson Pinchot in "Beverly Hills Cop" or the late Glenn Shadix in "Beetlejuice"
After seeing this film didn’t we ALL want Rupert Everett as our best friend? His character was, by far, the most generous in the movie. He made us all adore him: character and actor.
Dermatologist Mulroney rarely gets mentioned in discussions of this film. This is a shame, but not surprising, but his character is as steady, warm, and honest as Everett’s is, just not nearly as fun.
I look forward to an article about The Object of My Affection. Its premise asks many open-ended questions, which was rather progressive for its time. The relationship dynamics in it are layered and complex, though many of the supporting characters (notably, Alan Alda’s, Allison Janney’s, and John Pankow’s) are rather obnoxiously written and directed. Still, I have watched it several times with great affection. Don’t blink and miss Audra McDonald’s lovely cameo as a wedding singer.