Rachel Dratch on lazy "SNL" gay jokes and the gay groaner in "My Life in Ruins"

There's an interesting new interview in The Advocate with funnywoman Rachel Dratch about the just-out-on-DVD Spring Breakdown (which the film's out director Ryan Shiraki calls a "gay acid trip"). The talk turns to her new film, the Nia Vardolos vehicle My Life in Ruins, and one scene in particular involving an "Entry in rear" t-shirt and "lecherous gay men" that is sure to ruffle some feathers:

Totally cringe-worthy! I was horrified when I saw that. But here’s the inside scoop: I know that Nia fought tooth and nail to get rid of that part. She’s upset about that. I saw it at the Tribeca Film Festival, and that’s the scene I was talking about the next day. I was like, "Oh, my God, I'm going to have to warn all my gay friends." On the page it was kind of bad, but those predatory slow-motion shots of the guys licking their lips were just horrifying. So I don't condone that moment.

When asked about the difficulties of writing a non-offensive gay joke, Rachel opens up about a Saturday Night Live trade secret (which has always been glaringly obvious):

Just like a joke based on race, it really depends on each individual joke, scenario, and person telling it. One of the faults of SNL that we were well aware of while I was on the show is that we often just went to a gay joke as a lazy, poorly crafted punch line. But a gay joke could be funny if it wasn't lazy and it had some real wit to it.

Hmm ... well, I'm glad someone from SNL has finally come clean. Rachel also talks about her well-received guest spot on Ugly Betty (and whether she might return), whether she'll ever go back to Saturday Night Live, and whether Debbie Downer will get a chance to "bring the room down" on the big screen.