Making Love

I don't understand the number of reviews that refer to this movie as being "ahead of its time." The time was clearly right for this movie. By 1980 the gay and lesbian community had finally become fed up with movies portrayal of homosexuals as either the predatory lesbian or the flamboyant faggot who best case ended up alone and bitter at the end of the movie or worst case ended up dead. When scripts for "Cruising" and "Windows" were leaked to the gay and lesbian community (with their depiction of gay men and lesbians as the underbelly of society, stalkers, and murders) there were attempts to disrupt location shoots and when the movies opened there were protests and boycotts (with posters saying "Stop Cruising" and "Close Windows"). I have to believe that this sent some sort of message to the studios, because two years later, 1982, "Making Love" was released (along with "Personal Best").

Though I don't believe this movie was ahead of its time, I do believe it to be groundbreaking. Prior to 1982 positive depictions of gay men and lesbians in film were either rare, covert, or nonexistent. 1980's "Happy Birthday, Gemini" was a positive (though not really well done) coming out comedy, but completely devoid of any even remotely sexual physical contact. What made "Making Love" (and "Personal Best") unique was not just that that they dealt with gay/lesbian subject matter in a more positive way, but that the characters actually had sex. After decades of heterosexual sex being portrayed as everything from curtains blowing in the wind to anal sex with butter in "Last Tango in Paris," this was the first time homosexuality in mainstream film was anything more than theoretical (though sex between Ontkean and Hamlin was portrayed more as a rolling around wrestling match than as the title "making love").

This film is flawed, it is soap opera like and melodramatic, and the documentary style talking to the camera scenes don't really work. But, there is no denying that it is a big step forward from the films of just two years before. It is a step that got us to the point where there now are characters in film who just happen to be gay and lesbian, because in society there are people who happen to be gay and lesbian. Even though it might not be a great film, it is an important film.

A few final comments about the actors. First, I never understood the common wisdom that "playing gay" would kill a career. If "Clash of the Titans" didn't kill Harry Hamlin's career nothing could. Second, I've always been disappointed in Kate Jackson's career. She became a TV star in an era where the crossover from TV to movies was difficult. Then she was unable to do "Kramer" because of "Charlie's Angles" obligations. Then she did this movie and her performance was ignored because it's not the sort of film that the Academy is going to recognize (and ironically she would have been up against Streep had she been nominated). I wish her better things than another "Satan's School for Girls" sequel.

I saw this when it first came out. I was 20. I had never seen a film about gay men before - except Boys in the Band - on late nite TV. That film scared me. This one made me feel good and positive about myself. It is warm and sad and happy and realistic. (well if we were all successful LA tyes, anyway) Credit goes to Ontkean and Hamlin for taking on these roles at the time. Jackson is terrific. She has a scene in the phone with her estranged father that makes you realize why she was first choice for Joanna Kramer in Kramer vs Kramer. Wish this would come out on dvd.

I love how people so eagerly show their prejudice by calling movies like this "gay propaganda." If anything, these folks do us a favor by exposing themselves so that those of us with brains in our heads can steer clear of them.

If the purpose of this movie was to send a message, then that message was obviously this: Trust what's in your heart, and be true to yourself and the ones you love.

Would love to see this little gem released onto DVD, maybe with some commentary. Playing a gay role in a motion picture required much more bravery from an actor in 1982 than it does today. It would be interesting to hear Michael Ontkean and Harry Hamlin give their perspective on this.

I saw this in its first limited release, in New York City with a group of gay friends, in February of 1982, on a Saturday night. The picture had been out for about a week, and everyone, I thought, knew what it was about. We saw it in a major East Side theater, the only one where it was being shown as I remember.

Well, I was mistaken about the "informed" audience! This mixed, supposedly knowledgeable New York audience nearly rioted at the first on-screen kiss, discreetly photographed, in a darkened, shadowy corner of a room, in a long shot! The gays (including my group) were cheering and applauding, the older, presumably straight folks were screaming things like "How revolting!" and "Oh, my God!" as they bolted from the theater. This only increased at the second kiss, in close-up, a few moments later. I was never more astonished in my life!

I just saw this again, after a long time. Dated though it is, I still felt the message was clear: be true to yourself. The final ironic shot says it all.

I remember hearing about this film long before it came out. Living in a small eastern Ontario town in Canada in 1982 (a town with an army base no less) I thought that as much as I wanted to, my chances of seeing this film were pretty slim unless I could somehow make it to a big city. Finally, I lucked out and the film did come to our town as part of a double-bill along with Neil Simon's "I Ought To Be In Pictures". I remember watching as this movie (the second feature) started, and silence descended upon the entire theatre. You could have heard a pin drop. As the movie progressed and we got to the scene where Zack and Bart lovingly kiss for the first time there was pandemonium in the theatre. It seemed like half the audience got up. People were yelling abusive epithets at the screen and storming out of the theatre in droves. As a young man on the brink of committing suicide because of feelings I didn't understand and had no relation to -- this movie saved my life. For the first time in my life, after watching this film, I could identify with someone else, and I knew there were other people like me in this world. I thought then, and I think now, twenty-two years later, that all the people involved with this film took tremendous chances and showed great courage in seeing to it this movie was made.

Say what you will about the soap opera type plot, and making the movie more palatable for mainstream tastes, the fact remains that this was in its time a ground-breaking film. I know many other people who have been profoundly touched by this film. Several years ago I ran a group for gay men in various stages of coming out. One night I showed them my own personal copy of this film. Nearly all who were viewing it for the first time were still totally mesmerized and awed by the courage shown by all involved with this film, particularly Harry Hamlin and Michael Ontkean. Both of these actors were already popular established actors at the time this film was made, and both of them took tremendous risks with their careers by taking these parts. For a movie to actually show two men in a loving relationship, and to actually show two men kiss each other on the lips was amazingly brave. As was pointed out elsewhere on this board Tom Hanks and Antonio Banderas would not even kiss in the 'critically acclaimed' "Philadelphia", and that was many years later. Kate Jackson was fresh off "Charlie's Angels" when she took the part of Claire. Kate did a wonderful job in this film, and held her own against two powerful actors. Her powerful speech to her husband after he comes out to her gave many women the words to say to their husbands.

All of these years later I don't think there is a finer 'coming out' film than "Making Love"!