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On the occasion of its 30 th anniversary,
the classic gay film deserves another look
1)0.7
art of me is tempted to believe the type of
Instead of the horror and disdain that so many
debate over the last three decades con
other gay men seem to have experienced as
cerning the film The Boys in the Band is a
they viewed the film, I watched in awe at the
unique occurrence in the queer communi
different types of gay men parading in front of
ty. I’m not really sure why I would ever believe
my eyes. (The film follows what happens dur
that. The ultimate reality of our society is that
ing a single evening when a group of nine gay
our perceptions are shaped by our experiences
men get together to celebrate a birthday and
growing up. Based on how we perceive the
are infiltrated by a supposedly straight friend of
world, some of us believe the proverbial glass is
the party’s host.)
either half empty or half full. Given that the
As a young African American male, I was
film is one of my all-time favorite
especially drawn to the fact that the film fea
guilty pleasures, I do tend to think
tured what seemed to me to be a fairly well-
of it in a positive light. But of
adjusted, well-educated, handsome black gay
course there are those who let the
man among the group. There didn’t seem to
negative aspects of the film prevent
me to be anything stereotypical about Bernard.
them from seeing the writing itself
Though one might argue whether Larry and
as a milestone in
American cinema.
M uch of the
controversy
sur
rounding the film
resurfaced recently
when a brand new
print of the film was
released nationally.
Though it has since
BY
breezed
through
RUPERT
Portland via the
KINNARO
Hollywood Theater,
one still has the
opportunity to rent it at larger
video stores.
Mart Crowley wrote the play
This is his present.
Today is Harolds birthday.
The Boys in the Band in 1967—
the summer when, he says, life
“came crashing down” around
his ears. He managed to get his
play to Broadway producers
Richard Barr and C linton
Mart C ro w le y ’s
Wilder, who in turn passed the
work to another popular play
i t 1 4 m I N I t it 1 3 4 N I
wright who had written the
...is not d mused.
Broadway sensation of 1963.
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(The theatrical sensation in
question was Who’s Afraid of Vir
NOW PLAYING L O E W S STATE 1 L O E W S TO W E R EA ST
ginia Woolf ? and, not surprising
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ly, the playwright, Edward
Albee, became interested in
Boys, which has since been— very understand Hank are the models of coupledom, the depic
tion of them dealing with an issue that con
ably—compared to Woolf.)
cerns
gay men even today—to boink or not to
Eventually The Boys in the Band became
boink outside the confines of a committed rela
enough of a hit on Broadway that it was made
tionship— is still impressive some 30 years later.
into a film in 1970. It was directed by William
Even as a teen I was able to look beyond
Friedkin, a little-known director who followed
the heavy handed direction by Friedkin to
Boys with The French Connection, The Exorcist
appreciate Crowley’s writing and his fairly com
and Cruising, which also caused great contro
plex cast of characters. I was too fascinated by
versy in the queer community with its rancid
the “boys” to think of them as unsympathetic,
portrayal of the gay leather scene in New York.
and too engrossed by the story line to find the
There are three popular reactions t® The
film depressing. One would have to be from
Boys in the Band among many gay men. First,
the ostrich school of reality to dismiss the film’s
there is the overwhelming opinion th a t the
negative aspects as an unrealistic portrayal of
film is depressing and it shows gay men in an
what does indeed occur in our community.
unsympathetic light. Secondly, it supports neg
Certainly,
dirty linen doesn’t tend to be pretty,
ative stereotypes. Lastly, the extent to which
but within the context of this film much of it is
the play airs the dirty laundry of "gay male cul
honest.
ture" makes even the most liberal amongst us
The Boys in the Band is a kaleidoscope of gay
squeamish.
wit (by which I mean biting humor at the
The way my perceptions of the film were
expense of others), mystery and melodrama.
formed by my experiences growing up involves
I’ve been impressed with the number of young
my seeing the film the year it was released— as
men who have been able to see the historic
I was in the midst of dealing with my identity
value of such a film instead of viewing it as a
as a young man who was attracted to other
relic of days gone by.
men. I must’ve been about 16, and I remember
For those who have never seen it, I suggest
the almost unexplainable desire 1 had to see
this film, which I knew I wasn’t supposed to see you rent it. For those who have, I suggest you
revisit it. It may not be pretty, but this band
because of my age. I felt like an undercover
nlavs some sobering tunes.
agent who had to sneak into the theater.
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