Gay Best Friend: Tim in "Frankie & Johnny" (1991)
Monday, April 12, 2021 at 5:03PM a series by Christopher James looking at the 'Gay Best Friend' trope
Even before officially coming out, Nathan Lane (left) wasn't afraid to play gay in "Frankie and Johnny," pictured here with Kate Nelligan and Al Pacino.Especially in the early days, the inauthenticity of the “Gay Best Friend” trope came from straight actors mincing about to sell the part. The role is able to gain a whole lot of authenticity when a queer person is either writing or acting the part. In the case of Frankie and Johnny, both the writer and performer of the 'gay best friend' were gay, though both were not out. Theater legend (and out gay playwright) Terence McNally adapted his Off-Broadway play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune into a movie in 1991. He was able to get A-List talent to take the titular roles for film, with Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino headlining. However, he also gave Nathan Lane one of his first breakout roles as Tim, the gay best friend and neighbor of Pfeiffer’s Frankie.
The 1991 film did not achieve the level of acclaim that McNally’s play did (thus it was the subject of a great This Had Oscar Buzz episode). Still, there are things to appreciate about this adaptation...