Best. Gay. Week. Ever. (March 20, 2009)

They’re fun to watch because the participants are clearly having fun and not bogged down in some of the squabbling we’ve seen from some of the sibling teams. I particularly enjoy watching Luke who is not only adorable but rolls his eyes at his mother in a way that makes him all the more real and relatable. His eyes may roll, but it’s clear how much love he and his mother have for one another, and their sign language communication highlights how uncannily in sync they are with their racing strategy.

What’s significant about this to me is that, as with the gay couples of previous seasons, these teams are contrasting a pervasive conception about gay familial relationships: the notion that coming out inevitably sparks tension and tears families apart. There’s of course good reason for this, given how often gay people are in fact cruelly ostracized by their families. But that’s hardly always the case, and pop culture hasn’t done much of a job of demonstrating more hopeful scenarios.

I’m hoping Mel and Mike and Margaret and Luke will make it to the very end (and from how they’ve been playing so far, there’s a good chance they might). But no matter who crosses that final finish line, having their example on TV means we’ve already won something.

FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE: MOVIES

Paul Rudd (left) "bromances" Jason Segel in I Love You, Man

The big movie opening this weekend of gayish appeal is, of course, I Love You, Man. I have to admit I was relieved to read Brian’s positive review, because I wasn’t exactly thrilled by what I saw in the trailer. I think if this had been a couple of years ago, I might initially have been more interested. But truth be told, I’m officially sick to death of the whole “bromance” thing.

And maybe I’m a bit overly sensitive (okay, I know I’m overly sensitive) — and I know that a lot of these bromantic scenarios don’t come from a place of overt hostility to us gays — but I can’t help but think we’re still being made fun of on a certain level.

Bromance, after all, is typically played for laughs, and often the entire basis for the humor in these scenes is that men showing any form of affection toward one another is inherently something to laugh at. So when I see these scenes and hear the crowd around me snigger, I’m reminded again of just how diminished my relationship with my partner is in the eyes of the culture at large. 

They don’t hate us, but they also see us as a joke.

Fortunately, from what Brian says in his review, it sounds like I Love You, Man manages to move beyond the typical gags and get to something more sincere. So I’m willing to give it a benefit of a doubt and check it out for myself. Which is a relief because I’d hate to have to miss out on a new movie with Jason Segel and Paul Rudd.

Also opening this weekend, Duplicity, which stars Clive Owen in sexy/funny mode rather than sexy/sourpuss mode. And I do love me Clive when he’s sexy/funny (see series finale of Extras).

Also opening, Knowing, one of those sub-B-level movies where Nicolas Cage seems confused about what he’s doing there. I’d totally dismiss this one, except I just found out it’s from the same director as Dark City, which was freaking cool.

Next page! McKellen treads the boards and Cibrian doffs his shirt — again.