Friday, April 29, 2011

Know Your LGBT History - Not Another Gay Movie

Not Another Gay Movie (2006) typifies the saying "you've come a long way, baby."

Another other time in our nation's history, this motion picture would have probably caused huge controversy.

But it went by without a whimper and is actually a cult classic in some circles.

Not Another Gay Movie is an extremely low-brown takeoff of another low-brown comedy (American Pie) which tells the story of four gay teens seeking to lose their "anal virginity."

All of the stereotypes are present - the nerdy guy, the cute jock, the flamboyant queen, and the overly horny guy.

And since it's low-brow there is nudity (a lot of nudity), and toilet humor (the enema scene is one I refuse to describe for you).

So what do I think of this movie?

I liked it. It was hilarious.

Not every lgbt movie has to be serious or have "a message." Nor do lgbt movie characters have to be virtuous . There is nothing wrong with a little crass humor every now and then.

I personally believe that there is a thin line between offensiveness and crass humor and this movie doesn't cross that line.

Barely, that is:




Past Know Your LGBT History Posts:


Know Your LGBT History - My Beautiful Laundrette

Know Your LGBT History - The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Know Your LGBT History - I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry

Know Your LGBT History - The Gay Deceivers

 Know Your LGBT History - Reflections in a Golden Eye

Know Your LGBT History - Dynasty

 Know Your LGBT History - Milk

 Know Your LGBT History - Black Shampoo

Know Your LGBT History - Never Too Young To Die

 Know Your LGBT History - All About Eve

Know Your LGBT History - Hotel

Know Your LGBT History - The Streets of San Francisco

Know Your LGBT History - Two looks at transgender characters in films

Know Your LGBT History - Flawless

Know Your LGBT History - Mahogany

Know Your LGBT History - Beverly Hills Cop

Know Your LGBT History - Some Like It Hot

Know Your LGBT History - Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia 

Know Your LGBT History - Dirty Laundry

Know Your LGBT History - The Willie Witch Project

Know Your LGBT History - Spartacus

Know Your LGBT History - Caged

Know Your LGBT History - The Birdcage

Know Your LGBT History - Maude

Know Your LGBT History - That Certain Summer

Know Your LGBT History - Boat Trip

Know Your LGBT History - Staircase

Know Your LGBT History - Beautiful Thing

Know Your LGBT History - Armed and Dangerous

Know Your LGBT History - The Proud Family

Know Your LGBT History - Suddenly Last Summer

Know Your LGBT History - Gay TV Now

Know Your LGBT History - Stewardess School

Know Your LGBT History - Up the Academy

Know Your LGBT History - Don't be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood

Know Your LGBT History - A Different Story

Know Your LGBT History - Victim

Know Your LGBT History - The Color Purple

Know Your LGBT History - Making Love

Know Your LGBT History - A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge

Know Your LGBT History - Noah's Arc

Know Your LGBT History - Ode to Billy Joe

Know Your LGBT History - Adorable Adrian Adonis

Know Your LGBT History - The Night Strangler

Know Your LGBT History - All in the Family

Know Your LGBT History - Tongues Untied

Know Your LGBT History - The Celluloid Closet

Know Your LGBT History - Querelle

Know Your LGBT History - Theatre of Blood

Know Your LGBT History - Strange Fruit

Know Your LGBT History - Designing Women

Know Your LGBT History - The Children's Hour

Know Your LGBT History - Sylvester

Know Your LGBT History - Once Bitten

Know Your LGBT History - The Boys in the Band

Know Your LGBT History - Christopher Morley, the crossdressing assassin

Know Your LGBT History - Midnight Cowboy

Know Your LGBT History - Dracula's Daughter

Know Your LGBT History - Blacula

Know Your LGBT History - 3 Strikes

Know Your LGBT History - Paris Is Burning

Know Your LGBT History - The Women

Know your LGBT History - Soul Plane

Know Your LGBT History - The Player's Club

Special Know Your LGBT History - Fame

Know Your LGBT History - Welcome Home, Bobby

Know Your LGBT History - Barney Miller

Know your lgbt history - The Jerry Springer Show

Know your lgbt history - Martin Lawrence and that 'gay guy' on his show

Know your lgbt history - The Ricki Lake Show

Know your lgbt history - Which Way Is Up

Know your lgbt history - Gays in Primetime Soaps

Know your lgbt history - Boys Beware

Know your lgbt history - The Boondocks

Know your lgbt history - Mannequin

Know your lgbt history - The Warriors

Know Your LGBT History - New York Undercover

Know Your LGBT History - Low Down Dirty Shame

Know Your LGBT History - Fortune and Men's Eyes

Know your lgbt history - California Suite

Know your lgbt history - Taxi (Elaine's Strange Triangle)

Know your lgbt history - Come Back Charleston Blue

Know your lgbt history - James Bond goes gay

Know your lgbt history - Windows

Know your lgbt history - To Wong Foo and Priscilla

Know your lgbt history - Blazing Saddles

Know your lgbt history - Sanford and Son

Know your lgbt history - In Living Color

Know your lgbt history - Cleopatra Jones and her lesbian drug lords

Know your lgbt history - Norman, Is That You?

Know your lgbt history - The 'Exotic' Adrian Street

Know your lgbt history - The Choirboys

Know your lgbt history - Eddie Murphy

Know your lgbt history - The Killing of Sister George

Know your lgbt history - Hanna-Barbera cartoons pushes the 'gay agenda

'Know your lgbt history - Cruising

Know your lgbt history - Foxy Brown and Cleopatra Jones

Know your lgbt history - I Got Da Hook Up

Know your lgbt history - Fright Night

Know your lgbt history - Flowers of Evil

The Jeffersons and the transgender community 



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4 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh my... our opinions couldn't be more different. I wasn't offended by the presentation of the gay characters or anything - although I think an interesting discussion could be based upon whether or not a "gay" movie copying lame gags from a "straight" movie should even be considered a gay movie in the first place.

However, the lack of any other redeeming values (lack of humor or other entertainment value) is why I don't like it.

If I wanted a light frothy comedy minus any serious message I would prefer The Opposite of Sex In and Out Priscilla Queen of the Desert Hedwig and the Angry Inch or well, nearly anything else.

Prospero said...

The most offensive thing about this movie is how bad it is. I'm all for exposing, exploiting and making fun of stereotypes, as long as it is done so in an actually funny way.

"Another Gay Movie" is just stupid: badly written, poorly acted and without a single shred of anything that approaches funny, it belongs on the list of "Gay Disappointments" rather than "Gay Triumphs."

Donny D. said...

I agree with everything The Red 9 and Prospero just said, plus the first paragraph of Alvin's review. We HAVE come a long way if gay-themed movies are so common that someone would be able to get something like this made. It reminds me of Bella Abzug's remark about sexual equality being achieved when a female schlemiel, and not just an exceptionally able woman, can rise socially. The movie is the creation of shlemiels, if smirky, faux-clever ones, and is nothing exceptional. Its drab, mediocre ordinariness is the remarkable thing about it as a gay movie.

And don't get me started on how inanely stupid the whole plot was. Four gay highschool boys are close friends, and they wouldn't have put it in each other if they wanted it that bad???

Jarred said...

In many ways, I liked this movie. I own a copy and I'll still occasionally toss it in the DVD (well, Blu-Ray) player for a quick laugh.

But it wasn't a fantastic movie, and I think they hurt themselves in a lot of ways. For starters, I think they tried too hard to make the "gay version of American Pie." The problem is, they went about it by trying to mimic the same exact gags as were done in "American Pie." (Hello? The scene with the apple pie has been done. Replacing the apple pie with a quiche doesn't suddenly make it a new, equally funny gag.) They would have done so much better if they had come up with more original ideas in the same spirit instead.

Then there's also the fact that it failed to do the one thing that made me love "American Pie" (and loathe most of its sequels): they didn't allow the characters to grow or evolve. What makes "American Pie" so great is that by the end of the movie, (most of) the heroes have come to see their obsession with sex for what it is, to the point where Jim storms away from his friends to go spend time with his band-geek date because "at least she has something else to talk about." I didn't see that kind of growth with the "Another Gay Movie" characters.

Oh, and Donny, I can actually believe that four teenage gay boys wouldn't consider having sex with each other, no matter how sexually frustrated they are. I've seen that sort of thing in real life.