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Can we stop kidding ourselves, folks? By a show of hands, does anyone think either Heath Ledger or Jake Gyllenhaal are risking anything by portraying gay cowboys in the movie Brokeback Mountain? When I got this issue of Entertainment Weekly in my mailbox, I almost puked.
I’ve been trying to come to grips with this whole “risking everything” idea that every discussion of the movie engenders. There’s almost a talking-point style assessment that this movie could be the end of the road for either one of these guys. I have to laugh at such assertions simply because the attitude of the country, and particularly the attitude of Hollywood, don’t seem to back up the idea.
Brokeback Mountain is but one of the numerous fall movies revolving around gay characters. What makes it so potentially groundbreaking, though, is that it has become something of a cinematic oxymoron: an unapologetically sexual love story between two men with a real shot at breaking out of art houses and into the mainstream. A kind of Romeo and Romeo on horseback, this tale of star-crossed love has generated rapturous buzz ever since it snagged the top award at the Venice film festival and took the Toronto film festival by storm. While it’s not the first gay-themed Oscar hopeful (Philadelphia racked up a Best Actor award for Tom Hanks), Brokeback defies the familiar stereotypes of what it means to be gay on screen (no one has AIDS or an affinity for interior decorating) and doesn’t cheat when it comes to the love scenes.
They kiss. They have sex. They cuddle. Oh my! Not so long ago, it would have been considered career suicide for a major male movie star to get hot and heavy with a man on screen. And in this climate of cultural conservatism, when elections can hinge on the demonization of [tag]gay[/tag] marriage, Brokeback represents a huge gamble for everyone involved. Lee came to the project having cashed in some of his clout after his last project, The Hulk, failed to connect with critics or audiences. And nobody has more on the line than Ledger and Gyllenhaal, who risk alienating a huge portion of their core fan base — young men — by being perceived as soft or, as Ahnuld might say, girlymen.
Are you paying attention here, folks? They risk alienating their young male audience. How many young males even care about [tag]Jake Gyllenhaal[/tag]? (Now his sister Maggie, that’s another story, but I digress…) Chances are if a young man is that obsessive about him, this movie isn’t a turn off, but a reprieve. Wouldn’t you agree?
Then, there’s [tag]Heath Ledger[/tag]. Has he been in anything you cared about in the last 4 years? Not me. And therein lies my point.
If [tag]Brokeback Mountain[/tag] does anything, it’ll get people to pay attention to two “stars” who arguably have nothing going for them, and will get them Oscar nods (you know the Oscar formula; if you play a gay man, a retarded person, or famous dead person, you’re automatically nominated), buzz the size of which they couldn’t imagine, as opposed to the nothing that is their reputation now.
So, I ask again, where’s the risk?
The movie will be well received, regardless of how good it is because it is, at its heart, a liberal wet dream. The complete retelling of an american institution and shattering of an american “legend.” Cowboys were seen as manly men throughout our history. Tough gritty dirty cussin’ cigarette-rollin’ men. Two gay cowboys is an automatic opposition to the picture most people have of cowboys, so that in itself will get them an award.
Next the boys will be doing AIDS benefits, be pinups in gay homes, and role models for all gay youths.
Again, I ask, where’s the risk?
The only “risk” involved here, is that two relatively obscure and unimportant actors might get some buzz, a few awards, and be welcomed in San Francisco as heroes. If that’s a risk, then so be it.
It’s not like either one of them are rolling on great careers right now, anyway.