Gay Best Friend: Buddy (Charles Grodin) in "The Woman in Red" (1984)

a series by Christopher James looking at the 'Gay Best Friend' trope 

Don't worry, Teddy (Gene Wilder). Buddy (Charles Grodin) isn't going to take your girl, he's gay.The recently passed Charles Grodin (1935-2021) leaves behind an enviable film career. From Beethoven to Clifford, Grodin mastered being the “straight man” in comedies opposite zany characters. The master of reaction shots, Grodin knew how to wring laughs out of being the “put upon wet blanket.” His career features many other great performances, including The Heartbreak Kid, Midnight Run, Heaven Can Wait, The Great Muppet Caper, Dave and Ishtar. In all of the many obituaries that have recently been written about him, few have mentioned his role as Buddy in The Woman in Red ...and with good reason. The movie may have won an Oscar (Best Original Song for Steve Wonder's "I Just Called To Say I Love You"), but it has little cultural footprint today.

The misogynistic film is best left undiscovered. However, Grodin’s Buddy has an interesting distinction of being one of the earliest out, sympathetic gay best friends in a popular, male-centric comedy…

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May Retrospective: “The Heartbreak Kid” (1972)

by Cláudio Alves

After many years redefining the paradigms of American comedy along with Mike Nichols on the New York stage, Elaine May made the jump to the movie business when she appeared as an actress in some late 60s cinematic endeavors, including Mike Nichols' The Graduate. It wouldn't take long for her to branch out and, by 1971, she was writing, directing, and starring in A New Leaf.

In our last piece about this intrepid artist, we looked at that movie and how May's genius was able to transcend the interference of pushy producers and remain a near-masterpiece. This time, we'll be looking at the picture May directed after that flick, a production that suffered much less interference from panicky executives. It's also the only picture May directed she didn't also write and the single one of her movies to ever be nominated for the Academy Awards.

We're, of course, talking about the Neil Simon-penned The Heartbreak Kid…

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