If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It.

'brokeback mountain.' the gay cowboy film. most oscar nominations of any other movie this year. best actor. supporting actor. supporting actress. director. picture. adapted screenplay. all of the country is a-buzz. theatres refusing to show it. limited release in certain cities. the cast on 'oprah.' 'ellen.' on the covers of every single magazine that graces a magazine stand.

and now i have to ask. what the fcuk am i missing???

***do not read any further if you have not seen one of this years nominated films***

i was all excited about the release of this movie. sexy jake and ok heath gettin' it on. lips locking. hips thrusting. and it is being released early in the gawd-awful red state i reside in!!! what more could i ask for?!?! the boyfriend and i, along with another couple who are friends of ours, went to dinner before hand and then off to see the movie. of course, the theatre was filled with fellow homos and hags with their boyfriends all waiting in anticipation for 'the greatest film in history' to begin. the lights dimmed and excitement began to run through my body. you would have thought i was in one of 'those' kind of theatres. throughout the movie, i scanned the audience for reactions to what was happening on the screen. why? cause i did not see the big fcuking deal about what i was watching!!!

first of all, the story was not anything i haven't seen before. two star-crossed lovers who cannot be together for some life-altering reason. perhaps you've all heard of a little story written back in the 1600s by the name of 'romeo & juliet.' only difference here is it involves 2 men (which in shakespearen times all the roles were played by men anyway) and it takes place in wyoming. or one of those other boxed-shaped-squared-states who kill homos. love, marriage, sex, can't be together. blah, blah, blah.

and talk about no character development. at least in 'r&j' we get to learn how much of a sap romeo is and how far both teens are willing to go for love. here we have 2 men on a mountain, for what i thought was only 2 or 3 days, in a tent going to town after a night of drinking. granted for gay men, 2 or 3 days is like waiting a lifetime before playing 'find the canoli.' turns out they were actually on the mountain for an entire summer. i wish i could fast forward through time like that sometimes.

i also spent half the movie trying to figure out what heath ledger was saying. one would think that he was the bottom, still clenching in pain from have jake rammed way up his poop shoot. i have been all over this country, from one coast to the other, and never have i had that much trouble trying to figure out what some country bumpkin was saying.

and the ending?!? come on. couldn't they come up with anything better than death as a result to a hate crime?!?! did i just spoil it for you? can't say i didn't warn you. hate crimes are nothing new in the gay community. unfortunately, they still exist today. heard about the guy in massachusetts who entered a gay bar with a hatchet? mhmm. they still exist. how about a movie that ends with the 2 gay characters ending up together despite society's prejudices and living happily ever after?! there's something we don't see everyday. and i am talking about 2 men, not women. 2 women even remain friends after the relationship 'goes south.'

i was able to see the cast on 'oprah.' apparently, this script has been bouncing around hollywood for quiet some time. no one would touch it. in my opinion it's not because it was labeled 'the gay cowboy movie' (come on, there are tons of gay cowboys. just watch logo every now and then) but because it is nothing new. and jake. loosen up when talking about the 'gay thing.' being all uptight only makes us think even more that you suck cock.

i have friends who said they were unable to sleep the night they saw this film because they were moved so much. did i miss something? moved? yeah, i was moved. to ask for my money back. to write heath ledger and ask what the fcuk his lines were.

i have talked to many people across the country who have seen this film. i have heard the controversy it has caused. and i have thought about it. i spoke with a close friend of mine who has been surrounded by gay people her whole life. she lives down south and felt the same way i did about the film. she has a friend in connecticut who was extremely moved. my friend said something to me which made complete sense. 'reaction to this film has a lot to do with where the person viewing it is located geographically. and what their experiences with the gay community consist of.' with those 2 sentences it all clicked for me. makes perfect sense.

still puzzles me why people like oprah were so moved. surely being in chicago she's seen her share of gay people. sh*t. maybe she's even been to 'sidetracks' on a sunday afternoon for showtunes. one could dream.

guess it all boils down to experiences. experiences with the gay community. and experiences with love and relationships. guess that's why 'r&j' confused me also.