'Eles' Se Divertem

So two guys try to convince the army that they are gay to avoid being sent off to war. Of course, they decide they have to move in together, next door to the queeny landlord. Michael Greer should have received SOME award for this work. Lawrence Casey and Christopher Riordan were pretty much just hired to spend the movie with their shirts off. Kevin Coughlin and his big blue eyes do a great job in a very believe-able role. Watch out - that drag queen at the party is the butchest one in the flick. On the DVD from Dark Sky Films, there is a funny bonus interview with director Bruce Kessler. The big difference between this film and ones like "Chuck & Larry" or "Partners" is that this one treats the actual gays living in their natural habitat with a lot of respect, albeit with some stereotypes (the pink, the nudes, the ascots). I understand... at that time, that's how you knew who was gay and who was not. Fun for the most part. They spend so much time worrying about getting caught by their family, friends, or the army, that its a little more serious than it needs to be. Also some frontal female nudity and butt shots. Hats off to the actors for having the guts to make it.

I saw this via YouTube May 12, 2018. Not great, but also not as bad as some people say. It's a mildly diverting farce offering comedic bits of average cleverness that must have seemed more clever in 1969. "Stereotype" cannot begin to capture the degree of subtlety on offer here. Michael Greer's portrayal of the guys' landlord, Malcolm, just seems crazy today, but everyone else in the movie, whether straight or gay, male or female, old or young, civilian or military, is similarly broadbrushed. A farce will do that. The story ingredients combine the response of Vietnam era young men facing the military draft with the status of gay people as not "normal". This farcical recipe had the misfortune of being overtaken by events only a few years later. Centuries old customs and understandings, thought permanent without even having to think about them, changed very fast. The movie was released in the year of Stonewall. The draft ended January 1, 1973, the United States' involvement in the Vietnam war a few weeks after that. Later that year the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its catalogue of mental disorders. Gone in less than four years was the movie's gay vs. "normal" dialectic . Gone as well was the story's premise of a military draft. The focus of conflict between gays and the military shifted to that of barring gays wanting to serve in the armed forces. There is a limit to how much blame attaches to making what was at the time, strangely enough, a mainstream, financially successful R-rated movie. It's hard enough to make any movie, let alone one that can anticipate sudden changes in what plausibly appeared at the time of filming to be the established patterns of life, law, and thinking, however much things needed to change. And did.

If you view this movie based on modern terms you will find it incredibly homophobic.

If you look at it framed in 1960s American upper middle class society, it gives you an idea of how people looked at gays.

This movie was made during a time where homosexuality was still illegal in many states.

If you ignore the dated ideas and over the top camp, it's an interesting look at the time.

I find the clothes and styles to be really cool.

This little movie, from the end of the 1960s, is perhaps one of the finest "gay" films ever made. It certainly ranks among my Top Five favorites of the genre. Two straight guys wanting to avoid the draft for Vietnam, decide to play gay. Seems like a silly idea for a movie, and it is, but despite the premise and the usual stereotypes (typical of the period) it really is harmless and lots of fun.

The two lead male actors are fine, and their female counterparts do quite well too. The star of this show, however, is Michael Greer, who is superb as the "gay landlord". His character is pretty much an extreme stereotype, but so what? He plays it to perfection, and is probably the most interesting character in the whole film. The scene where he accuses an older woman of trampling his flower bed is the singular most funny scene in the whole movie, and it's all because of his delivery. Other nifty aspects about this film: the the 60s views of a gay bar (with the Tom of Finland-esque drawings along the walls), the views of L.A. from the time, and the really dated fashions/styles.

A fun movie, definitely worth a look if you like "gay" films as a genre, or just amusing "cult" type films.

No, it's not the most right-on of movies, but it could have been so much worse. Michael Greer fought very hard with the producers and directors to soften the worst edges of stereotyping in Malcolm, and I think he injected a teensy-weensy bit of realism. Greer, who also played Queenie in 'Fortune and Men's Eyes', was, rare for the time, an out gay actor and his honesty and his activism should be acknowledged. Given his talent, he sacrificed a much more lucrative Hollywood career because he wouldn't 'tone it down' (ie. pretend).

Incidentally, Keith Howes 'Broadcasting It' says that this was the first film ever to be turned down by the BBC on the grounds that it was offensive to homosexuals, but no more details than that. Has anyone heard of this, and do they have any idea of when the BBC became so solicitous of our feelings?