The Gay in Valentine's Day
Written by Zachary Togami Friday, 19 February 2010 07:49
There is, by most accounts, nothing particularly shocking or unexpected about the recently released Garry Marshall film, Valentine's Day. The film plays like a less sincere version of 2003's Love Actually, following a myriad of character's interwoven love stories. Though it's nothing unsurprising or unexpected, it is enjoyable enough to satisfy anyone looking for a lightly comical romance, bent on making your insides feel like they're being hugged by from something off of a LOL Cats website. Ranging from blind, hormonal teenage love to a relationship tried and tested by 50 years of marriage, the audience witnesses these couples, you know... relating to each other. Well, all of these couples except for one that is.
Eric Dane, Dr. McSteamy of Grey's Anatomy, and Bradley Cooper, who made hung-over look hot in The Hangover, are both featured in Valentine's Day as (spoiler alert!) a gay couple. However, the characters are neither revealed to be gay, or in a relationship, until late in the film. Dane's character, Sean Jackson, is a professional football player dealing with rumors of an early retirement, and Cooper's Holden is a kind (wealthy) plane passenger keeping Julia Roberts company. Their relationship, we learn, has been strained by the football player's unwillingness to out himself. The potential for this plot to mean something, to really be moving, was there: it could have been great.
Instead, it was unsatisfying and based on shock value. Rather than exploring the journey these characters are taking, like the emotional journeys (cliché though they may be) of the film's many hetero characters, they are reduced to little more than the 'surprise' of their sexuality. Up until that point, their personal conflict is eclipsed in favor of the conflicts of other characters. Sean Jackson serves as a point of consternation for both his publicist (Jessica Biel) and his agent (Queen Latifa), while Holden is a comforting shoulder for an Army Captain (Roberts) heading home for only a few hours leave. They serve as cyphers to support the development of other characters, with almost zero exploration of their own love story.
Yes, there are other gay bit parts in the film--flamboyant femmes played only for laughs. Haven't we, as a collective American film audience, grown past that? Aren't we ready for fully realized gay characters in mainstream Hollywood rom-coms? The intentions seem good; "Look," the film says, "these guys are obviously gay, but there are also real men, who happen to be gay!" But isn't that something we've already acknowledged? That gay men, like straight men, come in all shapes, sizes and octaves of speech? Instead of treating this fact like something audiences already understand, the film wants us to be surprised by it. It bypasses the actual central conflicts of these characters in favor of a single, exploitation-y moment of "oh-no-he-didn't!" when Dane announces he's gay. The flaming, even-grandma-knows-he's-gay characters are little more than punchlines, and the 'normal' gay characters are the ones who the film keeps closeted until the third act.
So where's the more interesting story here? "Two men are revealed to be gay" or "A couple in love questions the fiber of their relationship when one of them is unwilling to publicly acknowledge the other"? Hollywood seems to be more intrigued with the former. True, were this a real life situation, and a high profile football star publicly came out, people would be shocked. But, in that circumstance, the audience would be on the outside. Film takes viewers into the lives of characters--or at least it's supposed to. In a movie that is supposedly about love, hiding the romantic inclinations of the gay characters diminishes them to a twist-ending gimmick. Come on, Hollywood. It's time for some queer characters that have more interesting things going on in their lives besides the fact that they are queer.
About Zachary
Zachary Togami graduated from Columbia College Chicago’s Film School in May 2009.
He was excited to be a part of Reeling 09: The 28th Chicago Lesbian & Gay International
Film Festival where he was a part of everything from synopsis writing to coordinating volunteers.
An aspiring screenwriter and certifiable film geek, he loves examining how movies reflect
the changing moods and attitudes of our society.
Look for more movie reviews and content from Zachary on MTMChicago.com soon!
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