Continuing with my "gay film festival" on Netflix this week, this is at least the third film of this genre that goes nowhere fast. The film is set in modern day South Carolina in a large, urban town. It concentrates on one particular congregation and the issues (mainly of a homosexual nature) that affect them, albeit in the closet. It claims to center on three high school seniors and the requisite angst of maturation. A lot is evident from the beginning, namely who is gay and who isn't. The boy of the trio of friends is one of those that everyone probably knows or at least suspects is gay; his mannerisms etc. give him away as does the "clue" that you can find these types in drama class, i.e. theater. In no time at all you figure that their drama/music director at church is gay too, although he has a voluptuous wife and a couple of kids. I get the idea that he was always gay and got married, etc. to try to fix it; I even suspect that may have gone through some kind of "conversion therapy." His wife knows it too and just how this marriage will survive is not much of a guess. Will he wait until the kids are grown? Will the wife finally confront him? The guy practically molests his teen-aged charge in the kid's own bedroom while a party goes on downstairs to give him an expensive gift. He obviously has a crush on the boy and the pent-up kid goes for it and then we think feels remorse. We think. Then there is the kid's single father who, as in a couple of films I have seen, is quite supportive of his son. I get the feeling that father is gay too and I think his son thinks so too. How we know the father knows is left a mystery except that a younger male sibling finds "material" on his brother's computer that spilled the beans and blabs to dad. Dad's reaction was apparently that it would take time for him to adjust to his older brother's gayness. The kid, however, never seems to troubled by everybody knowing he is gay and manages to smirk his way through the movie which is supposed to be so fraught with worry and indecision. This is a large town and we must assume many gays (the kids managed to take their adult atheist friend to a gay bar) who gets a phone number from a woman while boy makes out on the dance floor and nobody in the party seems to mind at all. I mean, how worried were they? Then the closeted church director ends up stalking the kid again and confesses that he too, thinks he is gay, and cries about it. In fact they both hug and cry about it. Why they did not end up in bed is beyond me. Then, you have the two girls who one would swear were closeted lesbians themselves but surprise! One turns out to admit to the others that she no longer believes in God but no big deal; we still think you are super. The other girl, who we are led to believe has a major crush on he BFF end up being the most devout and hooks up with a cute guy from college and we assume will lead a Christian life. At one point she has lunch with another woman - who - we don't know - but this woman professes her love for Christ and says she wants to go into ministry but the church frowns on women ministers. The younger girl lays her out for it and tell s her that is she wants to cherry pick from the Bible, then what good is the Bible? Very powerful and a welcomed moment in the film. Finally, someone with the courage to speak of for the faith. There is also a throwaway involving a young couple up for the position of youth pastor. At one point the frustrated wife of the closeted music director makes a play for the young youth pastor, who is so inexperienced, he really does not know how to handle the situation. he does not get the job.
In the end, the kids go off to their respective colleges, the boy and lost-her-faith girl to New York City. At Christmas Break they all come home. Boy's father asks if he has "met anyone"? The boy giddily says there might be one guy to which his father replies, that is real fine son. That father is gay!!!
As in may films with a Christian backdrop, this one too leaves you feeling that they find a way to marvelously blend their "faith" with their homosexuality - God is a kind God; God made me this way; God loves us all, etc. so people need to stop judging. Yawn. Who is judging? I see no evidence that the "whole town" would not have found out the kid was gay and yet, I saw no pushback or worry on the kid's face at all He grins through it all. The idea that in this day and age of gay liberation, that a teenager in a large town would not feel at home with his gayness is baffling. These kids have the internet and all and laws against bullying etc. There is a vast network of support for these kids and we are constantly told that their generation could care less. But this is a bout a religion and once again it is handled in a oh well, God will understand mode. And again, why are fathers portrayed now as more understanding than mothers when their boys come out? I think that is propaganda or wishful thinking on he part of these writers. I hate it.
In the end, the kids go off to their respective colleges, the boy and lost-her-faith girl to New York City. At Christmas Break they all come home. Boy's father asks if he has "met anyone"? The boy giddily says there might be one guy to which his father replies, that is real fine son. That father is gay!!!
As in may films with a Christian backdrop, this one too leaves you feeling that they find a way to marvelously blend their "faith" with their homosexuality - God is a kind God; God made me this way; God loves us all, etc. so people need to stop judging. Yawn. Who is judging? I see no evidence that the "whole town" would not have found out the kid was gay and yet, I saw no pushback or worry on the kid's face at all He grins through it all. The idea that in this day and age of gay liberation, that a teenager in a large town would not feel at home with his gayness is baffling. These kids have the internet and all and laws against bullying etc. There is a vast network of support for these kids and we are constantly told that their generation could care less. But this is a bout a religion and once again it is handled in a oh well, God will understand mode. And again, why are fathers portrayed now as more understanding than mothers when their boys come out? I think that is propaganda or wishful thinking on he part of these writers. I hate it.