John Stamos Plays Gay on "Wedding Wars"

General Hospital. Full House. ER. These shows have little in common, except that each has given John Stamos a chance to endear himself to a different group of fans. You have to give the guy credit — by choosing to appear on shows that have staying power, he has remained in the public eye for more than two decades. Gay fans will agree that if one's eye should remain fixed on any celebrity for that long, Stamos isn't a bad pick. In addition to keeping hearts throbbing all the while, he's earned his status as a “good” celebrity: He's funny, affable and perhaps most surprisingly, humble.

Stamos' tendency to pick the right projects has most recently landed him the lead role in Wedding Wars, a made-for-TV movie that will air on A&E on Dec. 11. Stamos stars as Shel, a gay party planner who gets his professional break when his brother, Ben (Eric Dane), decides to wed the daughter of a gubernatorial candidate in Maine. However, when dear old dad (James Brolin) speaks out against gay marriage, Shel goes on strike, rallying behind him the various gay professionals in the state — and eventually, the nation as well.

Wedding Wars treads the line between romance, screwball comedy and family drama. What is perhaps most important about Wedding Wars, however, is that it features a TV icon who is once again at the top of his game — he is, after all, the newest hunky doctor to wield a scalpel on ER — playing a gay man in a film that takes a very clear stance in favor of same-sex marriage. Sure, we live in an age when Brokeback Mountain proved a gay romance can generate box office bucks, but the issue is nonetheless still volatile throughout the country. Stamos' track record, however, indicates that this film could become a success — and in the process take a potentially divisive political movement and match it with a familiar face that the typical TV viewer can relate to.

“You know, there's a certain audience who will watch it and love it,” Stamos told us. “And there's a certain audience that will be tough to get them to tune in. It's important they do it and have someone like me [to] stay with and trust me to take them on this journey.”

That's what it boils down to: “Someone like me.” Few actors enjoy the popularity that has allowed Stamos to posit that he might just be able to draw in those who are sitting on the fence about gay marriage. Upon being asked to clarify the statement, however, the actor immediately downplayed his status. “I didn't mean it like I'm the only guy who can do something like this,” he said. “It just might be a little easier for people who wouldn't want to see this movie. … I guess it makes me happy that people will hopefully want to watch me.”