soul man-on-man

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Is it just me, or is I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry the Soul Man of 2007? I saw a preview earlier today when Sara and I went to see Knocked Up (which was so sweet and funny and thankfully different from any movie we saw a trailer for).

In Soul Man, C. Thomas Howell, through a wacky tanning mishap, is mistaken for black and reaps the benefits of affirmative action at Harvard. A lot of white-guy-trying-to-act-black zaniness ensues, but an Important Lesson About How It’s Hard To Be A Person Of Color is tacked on at the end.

In Chuck and Larry, two shlumpy straight guys pretend to be gay so they can reap the benefits of domestic partnership—which, as we know, is the jackpot of civil rights. A lot of straight-guys-trying-to-act-gay-without-actually-kissing zaniness ensues. It’s unclear from the trailer whether an Important Lesson About How Gay Marriage Should Be Legalized is tacked on, but I’m guessing it is. I’m pretty sure the Gay Mafia wouldn’t let them get away without one.

I’m also pretty sure that that tactic is an exaggerated version of giving a bigoted character all the funniest, evilest lines and then claiming moral righteousness because the “nice” characters periodically aim slight frowns in the general direction of the bigot.

I’m not going to go all GLAAD-boycott on Chuck and Larry, but I doubt I’ll be paying $11.50 to see it, which is fine, because if it truly follows in Soul Man’s footsteps, channel 9 will be airing it every Saturday at 2 p.m. for the next 20 years.

Comments

Ms. Q said…
You've hit it on the nose - I have been thinking the proliferation of gay characters and straight characters pretending to be gay for a while - Blades of Glory - Talladega Nights - has reached such a fever pitch that it is bound to be something that eventually dates movies of this era. What comes next? Even I am afraid to ask.
July 5, 2007 at 6:19 PM
Cheryl said…
It's weird, isn't it? Passing "up" (pretending to be straight, white, etc.) is Serious Drama (except for maybe that one Whoopi Goldberg movie), and passing "down" is Hilarious Comedy.

Talladega Nights gets extra points for including an able-bodied person pretending to be handicapped too.
July 6, 2007 at 10:04 AM
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