UNDERGRADUATE

unattractive Jewish man in a room full of Christians;
Michael is a self-hating gay man whose sexuality goes
against his religious beliefs; Larry and Hank are the
straight passing gay men in a relationship; Emery is the
effeminate gay men who would never pass for straight;
Bernard is the token black guy; Cowboy is a young
“midnight cowboy” whose sexuality is never said and is
intended to be a gift for the older predatory Harold; and
Alan is the literal and metaphorical “straight man.” The
night starts off well, but after a freak storm, the characters
are forced inside of Michael’s living room, and after the
insensitive Telephone Game, a game where the characters
call their one true love and tell them how they feel, every
character that is not in a committed relationship becomes
unhappy and leaves. Donald, Michael’s friend and ex-lover,
criticizes Michael’s snarky and self-loathing behavior and
Michael breaks down and cries. The movie ends with
Michael going to church while Donald waits downstairs.
Since the film was being adapted from a play written by a
gay author about gay characters many expected a film that
talked about the complexities of being gay and positive
aspects of gay life. Hollywood was not ready or willing
to show that yet and the movie was released to mixed
audiences. Many gays boycotted and criticized the film for
being a weepy drama about stereotypical gay characters
where the only happy characters in the end are the ones
in a monogamous relationship. Only Harold, Larry, and
Alan win the telephone game, and they win because
they are in a relationship with the people they love. The
characters are typical Hollywood tropes of gay men and
follow the “hopeless gay” trope when they are doing the
telephone game. Alan, whose sexuality is questioned by
the gay characters, takes the role of the straight audience
in the film and observes the party instead of participating
in it. He is never there for the major “gay” scenes in the
movie and when he does show up he brings with him
self-analysis and criticism. When the characters are
being introduced and having a fun time outside, Alan is
upstairs in Michael’s room. When he does come down
the stairs, it starts to rain, and they all have to go inside.
Alan’s sexuality is shown, not heard. He is standing when
everyone else is sitting down; he is not in the room when
the gay characters talk about their problems; whatever
the gay characters do, he does the opposite. He is on the
opposite side of the spectrum; he is as straight as they are
gay (Carrithers, 69). Moviegoers do not learn anything
about gay people in the movie; they just look at them
from the same pitiful lens through which they have always
looked at gay people.
On the other side of the argument some saw the movie
as an exploration of Hollywood stereotypes and the
moral dilemmas gay men faced in the 1960s. The movie
is very critical of the superficial “Out and Proud” aspect
of gay liberation because that mostly applied to younger
gay men who would “cruise” for sex and did not really
talk about the issues facing the gay community. The
characters in the movie are middle-aged and are out of
that “cruising” phase and are now looking at how they are
going to survive in society. Gay liberation still had a long
ways to go and discrimination based on sexuality was still
big. Many gay people felt that they were the only people
in the world with an attraction to people of the same
gender, and they still had to deal with the homophobia
they had to deal with as they were growing up. Some were
heavily closeted and were afraid to come out and hated
themselves for their feelings. Michael’s character is an
excellent example of that with his condescending attitude
because while the other characters are okay with their
sexuality, Michael sees it as a “sin.” The stereotypical gay
characters are depressed because their stereotypes would
not allow them to prosper. Emery, the most effeminate, is
not able to pass for straight and has to deal with criticism
from both the gay and straight community for it. Bernard,
the token black friend, not only has to deal with the
homophobia of the black community in the 1960s, which
was going through the Black Power movement, but he also
has to deal with the racism he gets from the white gays.
Harold, similar to Bernard, has to deal with the conflicts
of both cultures. Cowboy is the hypersexual probably
gay character who has to sell himself for money and is
DEPAUL UNIVERSITY
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