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Best. Gay. Week. Ever.
by Michael Jensen

A weekly column highlighting news about gay and bisexual men in pop culture.

Friday, July 14, 2006 (page 3)
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ENOUGH OF THE INNUENDO, THE “HOMOEROTICISM”, AND BEING BI IN NAME ONLY CRAP
Blame Rescue Me if you want, but I'm sick and tired of being “teased” with gay characters and storylines that are gay in name only. It's bad enough that the number of scripted gay characters on network television is falling, but I'm noticing a trend of gay storylines and characters that are minor at best and non-existent at worse. Rescue Me recently promoted a gay storyline that turned out to just be the writers' idea of having fun with one of the actors. The storyline has been ridiculous to say the least.

The premiere of NBC's upcoming Heroes has a minor gay character (a male cheerleader), but it's never stated he's gay. I guess the fact he's a male cheerleader says it all. Gosh, I can hardly wait to see how that scintillating storyline unfolds. (True, series creator Tim Kring wants to eventually introduce a different gay character as a series regular, but given the way these things seem to unfold, I ain't holding my breath.)

Via Ask Ausiello, Nip/Tuck has touted an upcoming “homoerotic” encounter between Mario Lopez and Christian Troy. It turns out to be nothing more than Christian coveting Mario's perfect physique, but why not spin it as homoerotic to get the gays to tune in? The there is Richard Chamberlain's upcoming appearance on Nip/Tuck as a gay man, but Chamberlain says he only has one scene. However, it's a “really good scene”. Gee, thanks.

It's not just television either. Last night I watched Pierce Brosnan's The Matador. Brosnan plays a bisexual assassin who, as far as I can tell is bisexual in name only. The movie opens with Brosnan in bed with a woman, later we see him having sex with a different woman, coming on to yet another woman, and then eyeing a group of underage teenage girls. How do we know he's bisexual? He makes reference to a sexual act with men at one point. Yeah, not. That makes him about as bisexual as the female college sophomore who gets drunk and kisses another girl.

The Matador didn't get particularly good reviews and the only reason I saw it was out of curiosity as to how bisexual Brosnan's character would be. I want my money back. The Matador is hardly the only movie or television show to employ this trick. Usually, the only reason the bisexual part is even included is to make the character even more creepy and sinister when they turn out to be the serial killer (see Bruno Campos ' bisexual surgeon on Nip/Tuck).

If you want to see a good movie with actual gay characters, I recommend Imagine Me and You, a British flick just out on DVD. Yes, it's about two lesbians, but it's a sweet, well told story that doesn't tease and not deliver.

Also out July 18th for the first time on DVD is a special edition of An Early Frost. Frost was the groundbreaking 1985 television movie starring Aidan Quinn, Gena Rowlands, and Ben Gazzara about a young man dying from AIDS. The DVD comes with commentary by Aidan Quinn, as well as writers Ron Cowan and Dan Lipman. Be sure to check out our review of it next week.

Also coming out on the 18th is Queer Duck, an animated movie that started off as an internet sensation several years ago. The movie also airs on Logo Sunday night at 10 PM .

FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE
Sunday night, the Independent Film Channel debuts Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema. Pop over to AfterEllen.com for a review of the movie.

Bravo launches its newest--and very queer friendly--reality show Work Out on Wednesday. Set in an Los Angeles health club run by out lesbian Jackie Warner, the show follows the ups and downs as the club tries to make it in the competitive world of Southern California gyms. Besides Jackie, the show features two gay men, Doug and Jesse, who are easy on the eyes and quite personable. Jesse doesn't show up until episode two, but when he does sparks fly with one of the straight trainers. You'll have to tune in to see what kind of sparks.

Comedy Central is back with new episodes of Reno 911. Also on Comedy Central is the much talked about but only seen once South Park episode about Tom Cruise. Looks like Comedy Central finally grew a pair. Don't forget to keep up with Marcellas on Big Brother All Stars and Kayne on Project Runway.

Now I'll shut up so you can have the BEST.GAY.WEEK.EVER!

That's it for this week! Check back next Friday for a new installment of Best. Gay. Week. Ever., or read previous installments here.

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