Veteran Straight Directors Whose Work Has Improved Gay Visibilty (And Some Whose Hasn't)

Paul Verhoeven

Given Verhoeven's 1980 drama Spetters and 1992's Basic Instinct, his inclusion here might seem out-of-place and indeed, it was subject to much debate. After all, his Sharon Stone drama did raise the ire of gay rights groups offended by the portrayal of yet another bisexual killer. And Spetters has been seen as very homophobic by some, yet quite the opposite by others.

Spetters is a Dutch coming-of-age flick set against the backdrop of competitive motor cross racing. It is dark and violent and controversial because the film's most homophobic character turns out to be gay, something he admits only after being violently gang raped. Nor is that violence the only incident related to same-sex sexuality that occurs. The fact that the character does come to terms with being gay is a triumph for this complex portrayal, but for some viewers that wasn't enough to override the fact he accepted being gay after his rape.

Verhoeven's The 4th Man is a stylized homoerotic thriller about an alcoholic gay writer who becomes fixated on a handsome young man. It turns out that the young man is the boyfriend of a woman whose three husbands have died mysteriously. Plagued by dreams with heavy religious overtones, the writer wonders if he or the woman's boyfriend will meet the same fate as the other men (becoming the titular fourth man to be murdered) . The film boasts an unforgettable male-male kiss in a crypt, as well as an audacious scene in which the hero pulls the underwear off a flesh-and-blood Jesus (fully crucified) in a church.

Both Spetters and The 4th Man were made in Verhoeven's homeland of the Netherlands , but his sensibilities have surfaced in his Hollywood films as well. While his campy flick Showgirls has been cited as one of the worst movies ever made, it does feature gay supporting characters and has a devout gay following.

Verhoeven also included gay characters in his 1985 film Flesh + Blood and has said the gay characters in this film are the only characters who sincerely care about themselves and each other.

Billy Wilder

Billy Wilder left an indelible mark on the film landscape with a number of films that went on to become gay rites of passage. His portrait of delusional and all-but-forgotten comeback queen Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) in Sunset Boulevard resonates some 57 years later for any gay man over a certain age who feels invisible within his community.

Gay icon Marilyn Monroe was employed to best effect in two different Wilder romps, but it was her role alongside cross-dressing Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in Some Like It Hot that many consider to be her best work. Aside from being brilliantly funny, the film also boasts some surprisingly gay-friendly elements, including Lemmon's pursuit by a rich, older man who in the end isn't the least bit bothered that his lady is actually a man. The film's closing line, "Nobody's perfect," could very well have been the boldest pro-gay statement ever to have been spoken in an American film at the time.

The film also acts as a keen allegory about the dangers of presenting a certain side for public consumption while secretly pining for the love that dares not speak its name.

Five Who Just Don't Get It

Michael Bay

Michael Bay is best known for directing such testosterone-laden popcorn movies as Armageddon and Pearl Harbor, but a very strong anti-gay streak could also be listed among his filmmaking credits.

The Rock (with Nicolas Cage and Sean Connery) includes a plotline about Alcatraz being overtaken by terrorists. While it would have been nice if a film set in San Francisco featured one gay cop or good guy, gay filmgoers instead get Anthony Clark as a stereotypical hotel hairdresser who is treated as a tired punch line.

Bay's buddy movie sequel Bad Boys II really wanted us to know that Will Smith and Martin Lawrence weren't those kinds of buddies. While under the influence and doing the whole "I love you, man" thing, they immediately need to qualify that it's not in that way.

Additionally, a case of mistaken gay identity stems from Lawrence's character getting shot in the buttocks and a subsequent conversation (recorded by a store surveillance camera) in which Lawrence tells Smith, "it hurt going in." Cut to the shocked store owner reacting with disgust; it's surprising he didn't round up a group of torch-wielding villagers to drive them from the store.

Bay's sci-fi misfire The Island had yet another case of mistaken sexuality, when Ewan McGregor and Steve Buscemi are overheard deep in conversation in a bathroom, leading to the obvious conclusion that they were up to some sort of gaiety. Time will only tell if Bay continues the stereotyping trend in this summer's Transformers.