"Milk" is not a Comedy!

[meegbear]

One of my biggest regrets with "Brokeback Mountain" is that I did not speak out as we allowed this work of art to become a national joke. Not only did our straight friends mock it with one liners and parodies but, the LGBT community was first in line to make a joke out of a movie that had a powerful message for all to hear. It was a movie about love, the destruction of the closet, gay-bashing and the definitions of masculinity. Unfortunately, most missed these powerful messages as we watched clip after clip on "YouTube" of different, humorous (yes, they were funny) versions of "Brokeback Mountain".

Oprah spent time interviewing Ledger and Gyllenhaal about kissing each other more than she did about the message. No one protested.

The result of this was that we laughed "Brokeback Mountain" right out of an Academy Award. Please lets not allow the same thing to happen to "Milk" this year.

"Milk" is a movie about our history, our heroes, our struggle and the power of one individual to create change. The movie is a universal story to inspire and give hope to everyone. The movie depicts how hatred can lead to assassination of not only, Supervisor Harvey Milk, but also Mayor George Moscone, because of their ideas and courage. There is nothing funny about this powerful and well done drama.

So what did David Letterman and James Franco talk about on the Letterman show the other evening. Almost the entire interview was about Franco and Penn kissing. Letterman even left the impression of "ugh" when they talked about two men sharing an intimate moment. This is not acceptable from Letterman and GLAAD should be all over it. Also the producers of "Milk" should better brief their stars, like Franco, about not falling into the "Brokeback Mountain" trap. Franco's response should have been to Letterman, "This is not a comedy. It tells the story of an assassinated leader of a civil rights movement and the epic struggle for freedom." Trust me, that would have ended the discussion of kissing.

If this kind of treatment of "Milk" continues, we will once again lose the powerful message of an amazing film, lose the awards and lose our history.

It is not too late to speak out. (You can click th link below to see a YouTube clip of the Letterman segment)

http://www.davidmixner.com/2008/11/milk-is-not-a-comedy.html#more

[Pab Sungenis]

1. "Brokeback Mountain" became a joke because it was a piece of shit.

Corny dialogue, wooden acting, and a story with plot holes you could drive Sarah Palin's ego through. It was an amazingly crappy movie.

Hopefully, "Milk" will turn out better. It's already a much better story, more compelling for being true, and if the film is good, it won't become the national joke that "Brokeback" became.

[tbyg52]

4. Thank you for the validation. I tried so hard to finish watching it, but I was just bored.

I'm really looking forward to "Milk."

[Pab Sungenis]

9. What really didn't help Brokeback Mountain

was the "Lawnmower Man" effect: taking a short story and trying to make a two hour film out of it. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

[LostinVA]

5. Your opinion -- I found it very moving, well-acted, and well-written

I still find it so.

[intheflow]

15. I agree with you for the most part.

But Anne Hathaway sucked in it (really the only thing I've ever seen with her where she couldn't seem to get a hold of her character), as did Linda Cardellini, but neither of those characters were really fleshed out in Proulx's story. (Cardellini's character wasn't mentioned in the story except for a throw-away line that noted Ennis half-heartedly dated a waitress for a little while, she didn't even have a name.) However, Hathaway and Cardellini's combined time in the film couldn't have been more than 10 minutes, and the rest of the film was just breathtaking: acting, directing, videography, and script. By far one of the best short-story adaptations I have ever seen on film.

And of course Heath Ledger was at his absolute sexiest, so how can that be bad, ever? :)

[Maven]

6. ?

No it wasn't.

What movie were you watching?

[Pab Sungenis]

10. "Brokeback Mountain."

Too many people give "Brokeback" a pass because it was a gay movie with a gay story starring big Hollywood types. They're willing to overlook the crappitude of the film just because "real" gay portrayals are so hard to come buy in modern cinema.

It may have been good for a "gay" movie, but as a movie on its own merits, it was crap. And I used to own a movie theater so I know crap when I see it.

[Maven]

12. Well, I disagree with your assessment

and I don't give movies a break just because they have gay storylines.

I thought it was brilliantly conceived by Ang Lee and Heath Ledger should have won the Oscar for it.

[donco6]

16. I thought it was great.

And I usually hate dramas. And most "gay" movies.

[TechBear_Seattle]

14. I disagree, because I've known men in that very situation

I grew up in southern Arizona, and came out in the early 80s when the movie was moving towards its climax. I've known men who actually lived that movie. It was difficult for me to watch, but only because the fine acting and well written screen play were so close to reality.

Also, keep in mind that the movie was based on a short-short story by Annie Proulx. If you've ever read any of her work, you will know that she has a very spare writing style and typically uses a lower working class rural western dialect. The movie was very true to the story in its use of dialect and spare dialog, which I think was part of what made the movie so powerful.

[Parche]

2. Documentary

I saw the documentary years ago, and it still is vivid and sad :cry: :cry:
I dont know when I will watch this film, but it does look good.



Of course a 'Broke back Mountain' scenario with Franco would not be all that bad....:shrug: :hi:

[NMMNG]

3. My wife and I were extras in it

It is most definitely not a comedy.

[sshan2525]

7. I've heard that the advance word on "Milk" is not good...

But I'll have to read the reviews when it comes out to decide if I'll see it or not.

[tbyg52]

8. I don't know about the Corpo media, but In These Times said it was wonderful. nt

[bluedawg12]

11. Agree, if Franco is going to do the "brave" thing as an actor

and portray a gay person, then, when faced with a talk show host's own discomfort with the topic, he should be prepared to remind people that the story is not about "gay's kissing," and NOT tolerate the 5th grader reaction, "Ugh" or "eeewww."

Well this is what comes of str8's acting and discussing gay life - it can become surreal.

[mondo joe]

13. I don't think that's why Brokeback didn't get the Academy Award. It was a serious

and difficult film that lost to a cheesy manipulative flick that was more satisfying to a lot of viewers.

[bluedawg12]

17. "If a bullet should enter my brain, let the bullet destroy every closet door".

-Harvey Milk.

[Toasterlad]

18. Apples and Oranges

Brokeback became a joke because it featured an extremely masculine archetype - the cowboy - in a homosexual context. It pushed comfort levels all across America, most of which, in the infamous words of Homer Simpson, like "their beer cold, their TV loud, and their homosexuals fa-laming." Consequently, it inspired immature reactions in just about everybody.

Milk seems an entirely different kind of movie, and while there is bound to be SOME joking, I wouldn't think the context of the film would lend itself to the same kind of knee-jerk, juvenile response. Plus, it's got Oscar-bait written all over it, and would, in fact, have to suck terribly to avoid winning at least Best Actor and Best Picture, partly as a nod for the Academy passing on Brokeback, and partly as part of the backlash from Prop 8.

You heard it hear first.

[tavalon]

19. Brokeback Mountain a joke?!

No, it's a fabulous movie. Didn't it win all sorts of awards?