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Something got the better of him. What was it? Where did his words come from? Can someone who isn't homophobic write something so obviously homophobic accidentally?

Apparently, the answer is yes.

I think it's one of the greatest mysteries of human behavior that some people who aren't gay repeatedly demonstrate that they think about gay sex more than people who are gay, but vehemently deny it. And it's just as mysterious that a few of those folks allow their imaginations to roam from the bedroom into the wild, onto farms and prairies where…well, you get the picture.

I'm no shrink, but it appears someone's subconscious is working overtime.

Jack — a sexual predator? That's harsh. But, more importantly, it's not true. So why would Shalit say it? Why did Brokeback provoke Shalit to use words like “predator” and “coax,” but American Beauty, for example, didn't?

When reviewing American Beauty in 1999, Shalit wasn't moved to reduce the film
to one base conclusion — he didn't say that it's about a sexual predator
(um, pedophile?) who masturbates in the shower. On the contrary, he said, “Miss Bening and Kevin Spacey drill their characters into our brains, and the powerful performances of the three youths … have an electrifying impact on these family conflicts: rebellion, lust, cruelty, sexual repression, spousal arousal, frustration, rage and bizarre eccentricity."

Shalit never even mentioned the word conflict in his review of Brokeback, although there certainly is conflict. He didn't use other applicable words, such as intimate, emotional, passionate, ache, longing or taboo, either. He did, however, say or refer to the sheep six times in his review— six ! But he never, ever uttered the word “love.” Not once.

Interesting? Absolutely! But it's also just plain fucked up. How could Shalit ignore the love in a love story?

Shalit reduced a fine movie to high-school fodder, going where any 16-year-old boy would go when talking about gay cowboys in the bush. Only Shalit's not 16. And that's just one more reason why I'm insulted, yet intrigued, by his frat-house analysis and innuendo. Had the film been featured at the South Park Film Festival, Stan and Cartman couldn't have offered a more immature and unenlightening review. I feel cheated by what amounts to a sophomoric, locker room critique, peppered by cutesy puns.

If Shalit, a film critic with years of experience, a man who loves and respects his gay son, chooses to stress the sex and the sheep in Brokeback Mountain and ignore the love of Ennis and Jack, what hope do we have that the average movie-goer will see beyond the sex — real or implied?

It's important to call Shalit on this, even while giving him the benefit of doubt, because as Hollywood opens its doors to more gay and lesbian themed film projects.
I don't want him or other reviewers – intentionally or unintentionally — going down a path that ultimately leads to Old MacDonald's Predatory Sex Farm.

While it's unlikely that any lesbian-themed projects to come our way will provoke similar reviews — since just about everyone wants to fuck a lesbian these days, critics might want to remember that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, sheep are just sheep, and a gay love story is just a gay love story.

Shalit is, like any reviewer, entitled to his opinion. That's what he's paid for; that's what we expect from him. He doesn't have to like a movie, of course, but he does have to critique the sum of its parts, even if there are parts he doesn't like or approve of. Unfortunately, he didn't do that with Brokeback. He didn't critique what's being praised as a groundbreaking movie— he took one scene to an ugly place it doesn't deserve to go.

POSTSCRIPT: GLAAD has received a statement from Gene Shalit in response to their complaint, in which he says, "In describing the behavior of "Jack" I used words ("sexual predator") that I now discover have angered, agitated, and hurt many people. I did not intend to use a word that many in the gay community consider incendiary. . . . I certainly had no intention of casting aspersions on anyone in the gay community or on the community itself. I regret any emotional hurt that may have resulted from my review of 'Brokeback Mountain.' "

Kim Ficera is the author of Sex, Lies and Stereotypes: An Unonventional Life Uncensored. Email her at kim@kimficera.com .

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