We’re as tired of saying it as you are of hearing it (trust us), but here we go again: the state of gay visibility in movies is about as bad as it’s ever been.

In last year’s Year in Queer Film roundup, I lamented the lack of gay characters in mainstream film and the notable absence of distributed gay independent movies in the year following Brokeback Mountain (2005). That absence seemed surprising given that the young-cowboys-in-love tragic romance appeared to mark a breakthrough, scoring big both critically and at the box office.

This fall contributor Alonso Duralde revisited the topic, and mainstream publications like Entertainment Weekly weighed in on the fact that although Brokeback was a bona fide gay hit and pop culture sensation, the horizon for mainstream American film was as straight and narrow as ever.

Even the traditional desexualized gay best friends and fairy godfathers had mostly disappeared from our romantic comedies and ensemble films. Had Jack and Ennis proved that mainstream America had turned the corner in terms of accepting gay relationships and non-stereotypical characters, and in effect robbed gay characters of their “hook”? Had Brokeback backfired?

In looking at this year’s gay-themed or gay-interest theatrical releases, the pudding’s proof is none too encouraging. 2007 seemed to be a leap backward, with the bulk of gay inclusion in mainstream films making gay men the butt of sophomoric jokes or using sexuality as a means of further demonizing an already loathsome character.

Butts of the Joke: Mining gay comedy for straight laughs

The biggest gay-themed release of the year (and it pains me to have to write that, believe me) was the criminally unfunny Adam Sandler movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, which hinged on the preposterous central conceit that being gay somehow provides superior spousal benefits than provided by heterosexual marriage. Well, that and the conceit that Jessica Biel would fall in love with Adam Sandler, whether gay or straight … but that’s another story.

While it did seem to have relatively good intentions and while the primary offense of the film was — mostly — not being anti-gay but simply anti-amusing, Chuck & Larry disappointed. But it did open the doors for a lot of discussion.

For the gay community the discussion included whether the chance that some unenlightened straight folks will walk out of the film with a more well rounded view of gay life was enough to excuse the tossed-around anal sex jokes? Is the fact that Sandler’s character publicly denounces the word “fag” at the end of the film enough to counteract when the word is used earlier? And is an ultimate lesson of tolerance enough to excuse an entire comedy based on cheap gay potshots? Most agreed that while Chuck & Larry was no Cruising (1980), it certainly wasn’t a home run, either.

If anything, Chuck & Larry set the tone that would dominate the year when it came to gay representation in mainstream film: gays are funny and are here for everyone else to laugh at, at least when they’re not busy being disgusted by them.