Brokeback Mountain

[Penelope]

Film spurs culture of gay cowboy jokes
By Susan Wloszczyna, USA TODAY
"I wish I knew how to quit you" is the new "Show me the money."

Gay cowboys are now the new penguins.

Movie poster spoofs featuring every male couple from cartoon hero He-Man and foe Skeletor (Grayskull Mountain) to lobbyist Jack Abramoff and Rep. Tom DeLay (in Kickback Mountain) litter the Internet.

Against all odds, a Western romance about two men, Brokeback Mountain, has corralled the cultural zeitgeist, making it safe for our national funny bone to come out of the closet. (Related story: A sampling of Brokeback humor)

Just as Ennis can't forsake secret squeeze Jack in the critically praised love story, the avalanche of jokes, parodies and quips inspired by the winner of four Golden Globes shows no signs of abating almost seven weeks after opening in theaters.

As the film about an on-and-off affair over two decades between a pair of sheep wranglers continues its cross-country drive (the number of screens almost doubled last weekend to 1,190) on the way to predicted Oscar glory, mirth meisters at Late Showwith David Letterman, highbrow magazine The New Yorker and even American Idol just can't quit the Brokeback wisecrack habit.

•On the Dec. 13 edition of CBS' Late Show, Letterman's "Top 10 Signs You Are a Gay Cowboy" listed this chuckle at No. 5: "Native Americans refer to you as Dances With Men."

•In an issue early this month, a New Yorker cartoon showed a pajamas-clad man working on a laptop in bed, testily responding to his male partner, in long johns and cowboy hat, as he offers him a similar chapeau: "And what if I don't want to be Jack or Ennis?"

•Last week, when TV writers inquired about any Idol rule changes in light of Paula Abdul's alleged fraternizing with a contestant, Randy Jackson joked he could no longer touch fellow judge Simon Cowell, imploring, "How do I quit you, Simon?"

•Midway through designer Valentino's fashion show last week in Milan, two cowboy models decked out in denim, cowboy hats and leather jackets strolled down the runway, hand in hand.

•This past Sunday, hip comic strip The Boondocks, which dedicated a week's worth of panels to the movie in December, inaugurated a bold new adjective: brokeback. As in, your man-bag is so brokeback.

•Even President Bush drew titters, perhaps unintentionally, on Monday while at the campus of Kansas State University when a student asked his opinion of Brokeback Mountain.

"I haven't seen it," replied the owner of a Texas ranch. "I'd be glad to talk about ranching, but I haven't seen the movie." The audience laughed before he added, "I've heard about it."

So what's so funny?

"It's irresistible," says Bruce Vilanch, gay actor (Broadway's Hairspray) and veteran comedy writer for the annual Oscar telecast who will be supplying host Jon Stewart with some choice Brokeback comebacks. "Not only is it the first mainstream gay love story in a long time, it's between two cowboys. What greater American icons are there than gay men and cowboys? When you mix the two, it's a stereotype too good to pass by."

The fact that late-night TV chatters can't help but rib the low-budget art film (last week, the Brokeback-obsessed Jay Leno dragged out a boa-draped equine mannequin modeling a "gay cowboy saddle," complete with hair-dryer holster) has pushed Brokeback from art-house enclaves into the mid-America mainstream.

"At first, the reaction was, 'Oh, they messed around with John Wayne,' " Vilanch says. "Now we are comfortable with it."

Lesbian comic Kate Clinton, who claims homosexuals are mandated to see Brokeback ("We get our gay card punched on the way out"), understands the temptation to mock a tragic tale of forbidden passion that moves audiences to torrents of tears but rarely giggle fits.

"It's such a primal American archetype. It's the westward ho — and we all know her. To go against such an icon makes it funnier and more transgressive."

Now it's a must-see for curious hetero audiences, too, and not just coastal city slickers, but folks in Little Rock and Fort Worth. "They want to be homo-hip and know what is going on," Clinton says. "As Mae West said, 'It's better to be looked over than overlooked.' "

No one is laughing harder than Brokeback director Ang Lee and producer James Schamus, who have been hearing the jokes ever since production on the film was announced.

"It's essentially flattering," Schamus says. As for gags that cross the line, "it says more about those making the jokes than about the movie."

Their favorite spoof is a winking New York Times op-ed piece by Larry David, the comic curmudgeon of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, inspired by the likes of Fox News host Bill O'Reilly and his admission that he was "afraid" to see Brokeback Mountain.

David took potshots at straight-guy jitters by explaining why he had no intention of watching Marlboro men fall in love. "If two cowboys, male icons who are 100% all man, can succumb," he wrote, "what chance do I have, half- to a quarter of a man, depending on whom I'm with at that time?"

Says Schamus, "The highlight of the Golden Globes was bumping into Larry David. We worship that guy. I attempted to kiss his hand, but I had to maintain my dignity."

Beyond the box-office boost, such attention also bodes well for Brokeback's Oscar chances in a year where heavy issue-centric contenders reign. Heard any good Munich jokes lately? Didn't think so.

As Vilanch says of Brokeback, "It's not the highest grosser, but it has tremendous visibility."

Not everyone is amused, however, especially conservative commentators and groups. After the Golden Globes, where Capote, a biopic about a gay author, and Transamerica, about a man undergoing a gender change, also took major honors, the Concerned Women for America expressed outrage over Hollywood spreading its sexual agenda.

Then there's Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller, who refused to show Brokeback Mountain at his theater complex in a Salt Lake City suburb. "When Larry Miller pulled it, he won the Oscar for it," Vilanch says. "It didn't have any effect on the film and only made it stronger."

Time magazine predicts that Brokeback, which has taken in $42 million as of this week, could easily hit $100 million between Tuesday's Academy Awards nominations and the ceremony March 5.

Some of the humor also reeks of an anti-gay sentiment that otherwise would be verboten. San Antonio TV anchor Chris Marrou learned that the hard way when he followed a report on Reese Witherspoon's win at the People's Choice Awards with this offhand quip: "Why didn't they just give one of those guys from Brokeback Mountain best actress?"

Complaints were registered and apologies made.

Yet, for the most part, Brokeback's rise as a rich source of hilarity has been a positive sign, according to Neil Guiliano, president of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. "When a person or a piece of artistic work reaches a certain level of acceptability, it's OK to joke about it. The whole buzz is this is a great movie."

Besides, as Clinton observes, "I don't think gays are so precious that a few homophobic jokes can take us down."

And, on the plus side, "I see great drag shows coming this year. Just imagine 'Climb Every Brokeback Mountain.' "

[The Original BJ]

The professor and guest lecturer were astonished.

so, does this mean that they both haven't seen it or have they?

Oh no, THEY had seen it. But they were surprised at the fact that the overwhelming majority of the twentysomethings in their class, half of them men, very few of them film students, had seen this movie. I don't think they assumed Brokeback would be the next must-see movie for the college crowd, but lo and behold . . .

[VanHelsing]

The professor and guest lecturer were astonished.

so, does this mean that they both haven't seen it or have they?

[The Original BJ]

In my university class last evening (NOT a film class), our discussion on sexuality segued into a discussion on Brokeback Mountain. When my professor asked who had seen the film, nearly the entire class of over 250 raised their hands. The professor and guest lecturer were astonished.

[OscarGuy]

This could very well be the film to define an entire generation.

[Sonic Youth]

I'm no expert, so I can't say. But many experts are saying it could exceed MDBs box office total.

Here's the thing. I still can't wrap my head around the notion that this gay love story, with scenes of physical passion not implied with polite discretion but on-screen, is going to be so successful, both financially and with the Academy Awards. I mean, I know it will. All the signs are there, that it's going to clean up at the Oscars. And it's already Focus' most successful film and it doesn't look like it's stopping anytime soon. I'm just amazed that Brokeback is crossing all these hurdles. Either I underestimated the industry, or I underestimated the American movie-goer, or I underestimated human nature. But I didn't foresee this level of success. Or, to put it another way, this level of acceptance. Did anybody?

[Franz Ferdinand]

Sonic, would it be fair to assume Brokeback might end up with a significantly larger total than M$B's $100M? It already has a huge headstart, and it nearly ubiquitous in the current entertainment atmosphere, not to mention certain Oscar glory which guarantees huge box office for any film, AND is still not expanded as wide as it can be (it'll only be in 1,900 theatres on Friday). Funny how people were anxious to hope Brokeback would gross $100M. I estimate its total can rise up to $150M, which would be a huge victory.

[Sonic Youth]

I looked up the box office number for the Jan. 21st-23rd weekend of last year, 2005. At this same time last year, Million Dollar Baby had made only a little over $8 million dollars in box office. That's it. (Albeit, this was before any significant theater expansion.) Brokeback has already made over $40 million.

[Franz Ferdinand]

The article doesn't really give the flavor of Bush's response. Check out the clip to see our emotionally mature president at work here

That's perfect. I've seen enough of Bush to imagine how he actually said those things, and the actual thing was spot on. Bumbling, hard thinking, classic Bush. Anybody else gonna miss these moments in three years?

[Big Magilla]

We all know "Bush Is Bad" as the off-Broadway musical tells us. I found this link from the yahoo article much more interesting:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1151805,00.html

[danfrank]

The article doesn't really give the flavor of Bush's response. Check out the clip to see our emotionally mature president at work here

[Franz Ferdinand]

This is short but entertaining.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tm....ountain

[OscarGuy]

Who wouldn't? He's yummy.

[filmgabber]

Jake Lick-him-all

just wondering, why do you nickname him as such?

Private message me and I'll tell you.



Edited By filmgabber on 1137994842

[VanHelsing]

Jake Lick-him-all

just wondering, why do you nickname him as such?