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Occasionally there comes a time when I just want to watch an LGBT film that doesn't ruthlessly tear out my heart and make me want to cry at the unfairness of the world – don't get me wrong, films like Pariah (which Patrick reviewed here) and Prayers For Bobby, to name just two, are fantastic, but sometimes I just want to watch a film that’s as gay as springtime just to see QUILTBAG characters being represented and not having to deal with so much homophobia and bigotry. Sometimes I just want QUILTBAG characters to catch a break. If you have a similar need for happy QUILTBAG-related films, then I have two films that might be just for you.
Both are in the romantic comedy genre. Yes, yes, I know, it’s cheesy as hell and sometimes makes you want to laugh at the clichés, but I think that there actually needs to be more QUILTBAG films in this category. Romcoms are clichéd – generally it’s possible to just look at them and say “yup, I know what’s going to happen here”. I would say that, if there were more LGBT romantic comedies, it would be a step towards making non-heteronormative relationships more widely acknowledged in the media
The first film is called “Imagine Me and You” and follows the marriage of Rachel to her long time best friend and lover, Heck. During the wedding reception Rachel strikes up a new friendship with Luce – the florist providing the flowers. Originally Rachel intends to set up Luce with her husband’s friend Cooper (the film’s eternal bachelor), but then finds out that Luce is a lesbian.
Rachel (quite rightly) accepts this, and soon the two become very good friends. However, after a while Rachel realises something that could be devastating to her fledgling marriage - she may just be in love with Luce!
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| Piper Perabo and Lena Headey play Rachel and Luce in the film (S) |
The film is funny and lighthearted for most of the time, and I thought it dealt with the issues that the characters faced excellently. I would suggest this film if you're looking for a bit of a relief from darker films - it's not the greatest film on earth, but it handles the marriage problems in a surprisingly benign manner (I confess that when I first read the summary of the film I was worried it might say things like "look at how these people are destroying marriage".) It was an interesting take on whether soul mates exist (say hello to the cliché, here) and the fact that while you can love someone very deeply, enough to marry them, you may not be in love with them. Here is the trailer for the film:
The second film is “I Love You Phillip Morris”, based on the (unbelievably) true story of Steven Jay Russell. It involves a few embellishments that aren’t true – Steven in the film is married, and after a car crash decides that life is too short and it's time for him to accept himself and accept that he is gay. The film stays with real life events for some time - Steven is jailed and meets Phillip Morris in prison. As the title suggests, he falls in love with him, and then continues to con people in various ways to be moved to the same cell as Phillip after he is moved to a different prison, to change his records, and ultimately to escape from prison. He then returns, posing as Morris' lawyer, and breaks him out as well.
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| Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor play Russell and Morris (S) |
The story is hilarious and moving, and the lengths that Steven is willing to go to escape and stay with Phillip really made me wonder - "wow, did he really get away with that?". The answer is yes, apparently - all of the escapes and frauds in the film were actually done by Steven in real life, and he actually did more than the film included (including, as just one example, feigning a heart attack after being caught, being transferred to hospital and put under the guard of several FBI agents, and then - while they're guarding him, mind - phoning one of the agents posing as another FBI agent and successfully convincing them that he was no longer a wanted man). As an added plus, the film really was a great example of that most elusive of media unicorns: a gay relationship existing in a film but not actually being the focus of the film.
In real life, Steven Jay Russell is now serving one hundred and forty years for his fraudulent scams and repeated escapes from prison. Phillip Morris was released from prison in 2006. In the film, events are different - and unfortunately I can't spoil it for you. You'll just have to watch it! Here is the trailer for it:
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