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So who are the Brokeaholics? Dave says they come from all walks of life, straight and
gay, male and female. Dave estimates somewhere between a quarter and a third of his members are straight women. And they are some of the most passionate about the movie. One of them, Cara, says she believes women respond so strongly to Brokeback Mountain because “I don't think I've ever seen so many men discussing their feelings and their lives so openly. In my experience, straight men have a much harder time expressing emotion; in general, they're more into purely intellectual analysis and don't talk about how a movie made them feel.”

And, to the chagrin of straight men everywhere, straight women really like the idea of men talking about how they feel.

Of course, that's not the only reason for straight women's fervent interest. Patty, another straight female Brokeaholic says about the movies grip on her, “I guess the fact that there is so much tragic loss, everywhere, that it seems so true and real to me. This sense of loneliness, and love never realized really grabbed me, and the dumb thing won't let me go!”

Nor does it hurt that the Jake and Heath are so easy on the ladies' eyes. As for watching the two men be intimate together? “That's smokin' hot,” says Cara .

Some straight women on Dave 's site have been so taken by Brokeback they have crossed state lines for the chance to see it. They're not just seeing it once, either. Like teenage girls did for Titanic, straight women are seeing the movie two, three, even five times.

For all of the movie's effect on straight women, its greatest impact may be on gay men. Says Brokeaholic Greg Smith, “The movie is mine and you can't have it! I'm serious about that. I get to conjure it up when I'm happy, or sad, or just want to disappear for an afternoon. Nothing can change that.” He is hardly the only gay man to feel this way. Many gay men see Brokeback Mountain as our movie. It's also a validation of all the pain a homophobic society has inflicted on our community. And the critical acclaim and box office success of Brokeback serves as an acknowledgment by straight people that they, too, finally get it after seeing the movie.

But for some people the film's impact goes deeper yet. It's not an exaggeration to say seeing the movie has changed their lives. One of the discussion forums on Dave's site is called the Brokeback Mountain Fever Support Group. The initial posts are joke-y, but gradually they grow more earnest as people talk about the grip the movie exerts on their psyches, or even how it has affected them in their daily lives.

“I have been on again and off again numb for a month since I saw my first screening of this and still find myself tearing up at any and all moments of the day,” reads one such post. Another man says, “While I'd like to say that this story—book and film—has affected me in a profoundly positive way, the bitter truth is that it had wounded me. It's triggered some major depression.” Clearly, the movie resonates with people if not necessarily in a good way.

Other changes have been for the better. “I don't want to be Ennis with nothing but a couple of shirts and a postcard from the best day's of his life,” writes one man. He then relates how he finally asked a friend out on a date and has since joined a dating service. Others on the site recount similar reevaluations of their lives, including one fellow who describes Brokeback as having caused “tectonic plate shifts emotionally.”

It's doubtful anyone ever said that about The Wedding Singer.

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