To get one thing out of the way: I am a gay man and this review reflects that.
I really wanted to like this movie. I hadn't seen the trailer but I had read the description prior to accepting my friend's invitation to go see it. With Bill Nighy and Imelda Staunton in it, what can go wrong? A lot, actually.
This is yet another gay themed movie written, produced, directed and acted by straight people for straight people. And that is the seed of all that's wrong with this movie. It makes no attempt to stay true to the original spirit of the facts nor does it try to portray realistic characters; instead, it takes all the narrative license to make this movie enjoyable by liberal straight people just to have something good to feel about themselves.
Argument number #1: how the majority of the women in the mining town get won over by the gays. During a council meeting, the conversation goes something like this: Woman A says "We don't want no gays in our little town". Woman B replies: "They are helping us raise money, they will be our guests". Woman A: "Oh, OK". The movie massively plays the stereotype that women naturally accept gays as their BFFs - regardless of whether it's 2014 or 1984 - and that is seen across the whole movie. Argument #2: how the majority of the men in the mining town get won over by the gays. During one of their first nights in the mining town, the most flamboyant gay asks the local band to play the gayest disco track to which he starts dancing like there's no tomorrow. The women scream in marvel, and the local straight men find a reason to befriend the gays: learn dancing tricks in order to get in the pants of more ladies. After that, it gets excruciatingly painful to watch. One stereotype after another paraded with nonchalance.
When I got home, I read more about the "real facts" on which the movie is supposedly based. The primary reason why the gays started to adhere to the miners' cause was purely political. The character of Mark Ashton, the young bloke who comes up with this idea, was a communist sympathizer; supporting the miners would have gained more visibility to the gays not to mention a probable ally in the miners' unions. This is only very briefly mentioned in the movie and, as a result, it never really explains LGSM's sudden interest in the miners' problems nor the pathos with which they raised the money.
After thinking Brokeback Mountain is the worst gay themed movie, this one tops that list!
I really wanted to like this movie. I hadn't seen the trailer but I had read the description prior to accepting my friend's invitation to go see it. With Bill Nighy and Imelda Staunton in it, what can go wrong? A lot, actually.
This is yet another gay themed movie written, produced, directed and acted by straight people for straight people. And that is the seed of all that's wrong with this movie. It makes no attempt to stay true to the original spirit of the facts nor does it try to portray realistic characters; instead, it takes all the narrative license to make this movie enjoyable by liberal straight people just to have something good to feel about themselves.
Argument number #1: how the majority of the women in the mining town get won over by the gays. During a council meeting, the conversation goes something like this: Woman A says "We don't want no gays in our little town". Woman B replies: "They are helping us raise money, they will be our guests". Woman A: "Oh, OK". The movie massively plays the stereotype that women naturally accept gays as their BFFs - regardless of whether it's 2014 or 1984 - and that is seen across the whole movie. Argument #2: how the majority of the men in the mining town get won over by the gays. During one of their first nights in the mining town, the most flamboyant gay asks the local band to play the gayest disco track to which he starts dancing like there's no tomorrow. The women scream in marvel, and the local straight men find a reason to befriend the gays: learn dancing tricks in order to get in the pants of more ladies. After that, it gets excruciatingly painful to watch. One stereotype after another paraded with nonchalance.
When I got home, I read more about the "real facts" on which the movie is supposedly based. The primary reason why the gays started to adhere to the miners' cause was purely political. The character of Mark Ashton, the young bloke who comes up with this idea, was a communist sympathizer; supporting the miners would have gained more visibility to the gays not to mention a probable ally in the miners' unions. This is only very briefly mentioned in the movie and, as a result, it never really explains LGSM's sudden interest in the miners' problems nor the pathos with which they raised the money.
After thinking Brokeback Mountain is the worst gay themed movie, this one tops that list!