The Last Gay Word: When Did Gay Movies Stop Sucking?

“Back in the era of Edge of Seventeen or Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss [in 1998], gay movies always seemed to reach a certain number at the box office,” says Dennis Hensley, author of Screening Party, a queer guide to mainstream movies like Jaws and Flashdance. “But then suddenly gay movies weren't doing so well.”

In other words, maybe audiences got tired of the well-trod movie themes of coming out and cute guys in love with the straight best friends and, yes, the spotty production quality of the films themselves. Top-notch competition from cable television in the form of Queer as Folk and Six Feet Under probably wasn't helping either. Gay audiences were still eager to see themselves reflected on screen, but suddenly weren't interested in a movie solely because it was gay.

“The movie that cured me of that was [1995's] Lie Down with Dogs,” say Duralde. “It was so terrible. And I said to myself, ‘I don't have to see every gay film.' We have the right to be picky.”

A few years later, our newfound discrimination is suddenly paying off, big-time. For one thing, the movies just plain look better.

“Low budget movies don't look as low budget as they used to,” says Hensley. “It's digital video. They get a lot more bang for their buck. And because it's cheaper, more people are making movies, which means there can be more of a weeding out process. Not everything gets into the film festivals and video catalogues [these days]. They don't have to take everything that comes along just because there's a cute guy in it.”

There's no doubt in my mind that the movies are better. Along with this year's cinematic junk came solid or outright great films like Quinceañera, Little Miss Sunshine, Go West, Summer Storm, Queens, Kinky Boots, Eating Out, and, coming soon (with incredible buzz), Eating Out 2. High-profile misfires like Rent, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and The Night Listener were at least watchable (and unlike The Matador, didn't downplay the gay content). And while The Conrad Boys is no classic, its 24 year-old year-old director, writer, and star, Justin Lo, is clearly a filmmaker to watch.

Coupled with excellent mainstream break-out films like Brokeback Mountain, Capote, and TransAmerica, you have an absolutely unprecedented year in gay movies.

And then there's Another Gay Movie. Sure, reaction has been mixed (to say the least). But the film definitely proves the gay audience's eagerness for something different, for variety. Sure, it's a raunchy, puerile, often painfully unfunny sex comedy, but it's our raunchy, puerile, often painfully unfunny sex comedy.

Anyway, there's no sign that this gay cinematic renaissance is ending any time soon.

“At this year's Outfest [a gay film festival], I liked or loved everything I saw,” Hensley says. “Maybe I was just lucky, but I don't know.”

And yet, still the stereotype persists: gay movies suck.

The truth is, yes, sometimes gay movies do still suck. But sometimes they're great. And usually they're somewhere in between.

That's the way it is with all movies, of course, which is exactly the way it should also be with ours. And that's the last gay word.

Last Gay Word columnist Brent Hartinger is the author of the gay teen novel, Geography Club, which is currently being adapted for the movies. The sequel, The Order of the Poison Oak, is just out in paperback, and his latest novel, Grand & Humble, is in stores now. Explore "Brent's Brain," his website, at www.brenthartinger.com.