no doubt :lol:

Yup. Cause being gay is one big joke.

My goodness. Everything is such an issue. Look, I don't know any of you guys. Live your lives the way you want. That's great. More power to you. I just continue to find the image of a gay cowboy funny. That's all. As suggested earlier, that's no doubt due to those damn Village People. But it's there. Sorry. Jesus, lemme have my laugh. Probably far more often, I find heterosexual people hilarious, for equally goofy reasons. Can we leave the various agendas out of this?

i know what you're saying. when something plays into a stereotype, it can be very funny. for example, i just got back from a trip to the Denver/Littleton Colorado area and could not get over how all the men age 30+ seemed to adhere to a single dress code. it was hilarious. i've never seen so many pairs of pleated khaki dress shorts and polos in my life. and nearly every adult male there had the same haircut too. it was very stepford-esque. like being trapped in a living LL Bean catalogue.

I find bigots hilarious. let's laugh together.

Watched the trailer. I'll probably end up seeing it (though probably not in the theater) mainly because of Ang Lee and Larry McMurtry (screenplay).

I didn't know McMurtry wrote the sceenplay. Cool!

C&P of the Hollywood reporter review:


Screened at the Venice International Film Festival

VENICE, Italy -- Everything you ever imagined about the characters of John Wayne and Montgomery Clift in "Red River" or Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott in "Ride the High Country" is revealed candidly in Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain," an epic Western about forbidden love.

Anne Proulx's 1997 short story in the New Yorker has been masterfully expanded by screenwriters Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana to provide director Lee with his best movie since "Sense and Sensibility" in 1995.

Featuring scenes filmed in the fabulous Canadian Rockies of Alberta and boasting a fine cast topped by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, "Brokeback Mountain" will appeal to moviegoers who enjoy grand filmmaking and poignant love stories, whether gay, hetero or otherwise.

The film, which screened in competition at the Venice International Film Festival, follows two men, Ennis Del Mar (Ledger) and Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal), and their love for each other that in the hide-bound and traditional world of the American West they must keep hidden, fearful not only of scandal but also for their lives.

Ennis and Jack meet in 1963 when they each show up looking for a summer's work herding sheep on Brokeback Mountain, Wyoming, on land owned by no-nonsense rancher Joe Aguirre (Randy Quaid). In order to keep his herd safe, Aguirre is happy to break regulations by requiring one of his men to roam high in the mountains, sleeping rough with no fire, while the other maintains a base camp with a one-man tent throughout the summer and into the fall.

There's nothing romantic about herding huge numbers of four-legged beasts left to range far and wide, and cowboys pretty much have cornered whatever romance there is in rugged outdoor animal husbandry. Riding herd on sheep guaranteed a horseman a hard time in old Westerns, but Ennis and Jack make the most of it, even if their diet is mostly beans.

They don't talk much, but Ennis speaks of being raised by his brother and sister after their parents died in a car crash, and of a woman named Alma he plans to marry. Jack tells of stern parents and working the Texas rodeo circuit. The scenery is breathtakingly gorgeous but their days are hard, with bears and coyotes threatening, and the biting mountain cold, and the two men soon come to rely on each other totally.

One night, Ennis decides to sleep by the fire rather than head off to his lonely post, but in the wee small hours, with the fire dead, he's freezing. Jack yells at him to join him in his tent. A simple human gesture in sleep prompts a frantic coupling that in the cold light of morning each man is quick to dismiss.

The summer ends, and as time goes by Ennis marries Alma (Michelle Williams) and Jack weds Lureen (Anne Hathaway), and they each have kids. The men's shared passion keeps its fire, however, and their affection and need for each other grows. Over the years, they contrive to spend time together back on Brokeback Mountain. Always there is the threat of exposure and the fear it breeds.

Pulitzer Prize-winner McMurtry ("Lonesome Dove") and his recent writing partner Ossana use a large canvas for what is really an intimate story. They develop the secondary characters with great insight and compassion. The women in the lives of Ennis and Jack are given full attention, and the acting, especially by Williams, Hathaway and Kate Mara, as Ennis' daughter Alma at age 19, is deeply affecting.

The fine details of the West are as precise as you would expect from a McMurtry piece, and Lee's adroitness with the excellent cast is on full display, particularly in the brave and moving performances of Ledger and Gyllenhaal.

The dusty towns of Wyoming and Texas are contrasted with the spectacular Canadian Rockies, splendidly filmed by Rodrigo Prieto, and the film benefits enormously from composer Gustavo Santaolalla's melodic and plangent score.

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
A Focus Features and River Road Entertainment presentation
Credits:
Director: Ang Lee
Screenplay: Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana
Based on the short story by: Annie Proulx
Producers: Diana Ossana, James Schamus
Executive producers: William Pohlad, Larry McMurtry, Michael Costigan, Michael Hausman, Alberta Film Entertainment
Director of photography: Rodrigo Prieto
Production designer: Judy Becker
Editors: Geraldine Peroni, Dylan Tichenor
Music: Gustavo Santaolalla
Cast:
Ennis Del Mar: Heath Ledger
Jack Twist: Jake Gyllenhaal
Joe Aguirre: Randy Quaid
Alma: Michelle Williams
Lureen Newsome: Anne Hathaway
Alma Jr., age 19: Kate Mara
Alma Jr., age 13: Cheyenne Hill
Cassie: Linda Cardellini
Monroe: Scott Michael Campbell
Fayette Newsome: Mary Liboiron
L.B. Newsome: Graham Beckel
Randall Malone: David Harbour
Lashawn Malone: Anna Faris
Jack's mother: Roberta Maxwell
John Twist: Peter McRobbie
MPAA rating R
Running time -- 134 minutes

Well, the new Variety review out called it amazing, and almost all reviews hint as Oscar noms for Best Picture as well as Oscar noms for Best Actor for Heath Ledger. As a gay man in his 20s, this is the one movie I am really waiting for this year.

And as a gay man in his 20's, this is one movie I'm more likely to ignore. Should be interesting to see how they market this.

Yes, but you cannot ignore the fact that this is monumental, in that its at least got people talking. I cannot think of one 'Hollywood Gay Romance' flick thats done that in the past, you know. And if you read the book, its unlikely you were not touched by it.

nor I... way cool!

After seeing Gyllenhaal in Proof in a role I didn't really care for and Ledger underact in Brothers Grimm I really hope these two can surprise me in this movie.

Not really monumental considering this isn't a major release and hasn't gotten much publicity yet. I even have friends in the business who haven't heard of this movie. when does it even come out??

Giles, how did you see Proof already? I saw the trailer and was really interested.

digitalfreak, i like your sig. Always can count on Maddy.

You may be right about the lack of publicity but there are still THREE MONTHS before this even gets a limited release in the US. One thing for sure is that box office success is not gonna happen for this. Can you just imagine wholesome Mississippi males paying to see this?

well...yeah but you had originally said:

when the truth is that they're not as of yet. I haven't seen any of the eventual articles talking about how "monumental" it is...etc. I guess it's sorta a big deal in that it's a romantic movie with two gay male lead characters who are played by two pretty sorta-kinda big actors. i mean...it's not like we're talking about Tom Cruise and John Travolta here ;) I guess their agents felt that might hit too close to home.

New review by Movie City News :


Brokeback
Mountain

Directed by Ang Lee
Focus Features




Whoa there, cowboy!

The mystery movie of the awards season this year has not been the Spielberg effort, Munich, which few know much about and is still in production. Thing is, we know the basic subject and we know that if it is good, it will lauded and if it is deadly bad, it will be one of the year’s big disappointments.

The real mystery has been Brokeback Mountain, endless touted as “a gay cowboy movie” that in reality is...

Here is a spoiler warning... because given the way the film has been pitched so far, the reality of what it is will surprise most audiences.

Okay...

Fair warning...

Brokeback Mountain is not really much of a cowboy flick. The gay content of the film is the central issue (pretty much the only issue) in a shockingly conventional love story narrative that just happens to feature two cowboys (at least, both are cowboys early on) and little more that qualifies it as a western, revisionist or otherwise.

Surprisingly, the most recent film it suggests is Neil Jordan’s The End Of The Affair. The lovers belong together, we just know they do, and circumstance stands firmly in their way.

But here is where Brokeback Mountain lost me... the only circumstance that really stands in their way is the fact that the film starts in 1963. Nevermind that Stonewall took place in 1969 and this dusty duo is still whining about their tragic fate into the late 1970s. They are, after all, in the west.

But for me, this dramatic excuse that seems to want to excuse the lack of choice made by these two very strong, very focused men, is a complete copout. If these men want to be together so badly, why not risk it?

The West is, pointedly, the home of Matthew Sheppard and Brandon Teena. The threat of violence, not any of the moral issues of being in a marriage in which there is real love and tenderness or of really considering one's person choices. In fact, I am a little shocked to think back to the idea that sexual preference is, for at least one of the characters, his central driver. The frustration for me as a viewer is that the movie doesn’t have the courage to really examine that issue. We do get the classic “he’s secretly gay, so he makes his wife flip over on her belly” schtick. But is he demanding anal sex? What is it about the male-on-male sexual experience that has so bewitched these men? We don’t know because it’s all too precious to really discuss or even to explore in any meaningful verbal way.

The more I think about the film, the more frustrating it gets. Jake Gylenhaal’s character, when off on his own, comes across a sexually aggressive woman. Great. How does this play into his secret life? Is she a willing partner at first and then turned off by more demands? Does their sex life tail off after she gives birth? Is it good but not enough... bad because it’s a girl? What is he looking for?

Even in the spectacularly chaste Far From Heaven, which is not far from this film in many ways, we have a real sense of the secretly gay husband’s sexuality from more than specific expressions of the sex act. He is business straight and in that era, the sexual expectations of his wife were limited. Here, both men seem to have very sexually willing other halves... yet, that nagging need for something else is always there.

And, damn it, lines like, “You just don’t know how much I need it!” don’t turn the trick.

And the argument that it is still a dangerous world for gay men even in big cities, but especially in rural areas, doesn’t make me feel like the story was well told, but more so that it would have been a real challenge and far more compelling to put this film in modern day. Do you think it is easy for men to come out now? Do you think cowboys like riding with gay counterparts now?

My huge objection to this film is that it answers the questions it chooses to pose with great ease and alacrity. The harder questions are not far from the surface. And if this wasn’t a gay romance, we would expect those questions to be answered.

My God, even after getting a divorce, one of the characters can’t move forward into this life.

The last 15 minutes or so of the film does, in a quiet way, suppose to bring the perspective of the other characters into play... finally! But too little, too late.

The performances are excellent. Both guys do really well, though Ledger’s mouth-shut speech pattern will draw a laugh when imitated at parties. It is another flaw of the film, however, that these are two beautiful men. It is not unusual in movies to have lovers of hyper-real beauty. But it would have been nice to have this sexual relationship – with moments of friendship that are more talked about that dramatized – between two people who had some physical imperfections... even minor ones. I mean, really.

There are a lot of specifics that I won’t go into here. But the big picture is, this is a star-crossed gay lovers movie that doesn’t really examine the urge to be gay, the experience of being gay, or the love between two men that can be in so many ways the same as the love between a man and a woman.

If you are willing to put blinders on to how thin the movie is and if you are into mushy romance, you will probably love it.

If you are one of 60%-plus of Academy members, you won’t be in theater after the first act.

I would be pleased to say this is the kind of movie that is really good but that will freak out older awards voters I would be pleased to say that this is the kind of movies that regular audiences won’t get, but that awards voters will embrace. But alas, it is neither.

It is, at best, well acted and mediocre. I expected more from Ang Lee. I expected to be a little challenged. And I wasn’t. Except by the running time.




- David Poland

Wow. And that's EXACTLY why I have no interest in seeing it. That writer summed up exactly what I thought the movie would be.

I saw a special pre-release screening at the MPAA Office here in DC. Overall it was an okay film, but the I thought Jake was a tad miscast.

**** SPOILERS INCLUDED *********



**** DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU DONT WANT TO KNOW THE ENDING ****


Fan review from LiveJournal after the Telluride screening :


So. Brokeback Mountain.



I really don't even know where to start. This movie blew me away; I am miserable that I can't see it again until it comes out, because it had *so* many layers, and I feel like I only glimpsed the surface. I'm trying to think of intelligent stuff to say and all I can think of is 'OMG SQUEEEEE GO SEE THIS MOVIE NOW.'

But, okay. I'll try.

I want to have Ang Lee's babies for the cinematography alone. I don't think I have ever seen a more loving or *beautiful* tribute to the landscapes of the mountain west, and I still can't believe that not only is Ang Lee not from the mountain west, he's not even from this *country.* Because for me, this movie was absolutely steeped in the culture of this whole area--Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, e.t.c.

And now I go on to ramble about stuff that no one but me cares about, because see, I spent a very substantial part of my childhood in rural Wyoming. My uncle and great-uncle and cousins all live up there, and they're literally cowboys--they owned a ranch up until a few years ago. My family and I used to drive up there as often as every other weekend, and my aunt gave me riding lessons, and up until I got deathly allergic to horses my greatest ambition was to be a cowgirl. And this might make me a bad liberal, but I LOVE cowboys. I love the culture, I love the hats and boots, I love the hick accents. And there is *nothing* sexier than a man riding a horse. NOTHING.

But cowboys are disappearing. Fast. Old west mining and/or ranching towns are getting flocked with tourists and millionaires buying mansions; I know that my uncle stopped ranching years ago because he couldn't afford it, and started a business as a hunting guide for rich guys coming through town. These days it seems like most western towns either struggle with overwhelming poverty, or get turned into wealthy resort towns for celebrity millionaires to come stay for two weeks out of the year and wear cowboy hats and feel rugged. There's a *reason* so many people in Utah, Wyoming, Montana, e.t.c. often feel so resentful of 'big city folks.'*

And I really *got* that message from this film. The tragedy of the west was *right there,* in the way that Ennis and Jack began the movie as real cowboys, spending their lives up in the mountains, and over the course of 20 years they became more and more entrenched in suburban lives they didn't want, trapped in construction and salesman jobs. And yes, this is mostly about the tragedy of them being unable to lead their lives together because of their sexuality, but to me, it also spoke of the desperation in this region at large.

And... yeah. It's interesting, because at the same time that this was definitely a criticism of cowboy culture (those scenes with their wives... *ouch*), it also upheld the romantic aspects of that same culture, and--god, the *beauty* of the mountains. The first half an hour or so of the movie, when Jack and Ennis are at Brokeback that summer was some of the most amazing landscape footage I've ever seen. Just *wow.*

Now. Onto the gay cowboys. *g*

This kind of felt like two movies to me: the first half, that was Jack and Ennis falling in love and getting separated and then having a reunion again four years later. That half was cute and heartwarming and beautiful and squeeful and sexy and had just the right amount of angst. The second half was grim and claustrophobic and fucking *tragic,* and broke my heart, and it was really hard to watch, and omg WAH I want fix-it fic. *sniffle*

So, the first half. God but those guys are beautiful to watch together. They have *chemistry,* and they're both so freaking adorable (Jake Gyllenhaal carries a BABY SHEEP) sometimes, and then so horribly angsty at other times, and... god. I really can't be too coherent about the parts of the movie taking place actually in the mountain, because I'm just reduced to helpless squeeing.

The way they hooked up was utterly perfect. Jack slyly pulling Ennis' arm around him like he's hoping Ennis just won't *notice,* and Ennis pulling away in a panic and then the manly shoving and Jack holding on because he *knows* that Ennis wants this, and god, the SEX... guh. guh, guh, GUH.

(A note on the sex scene, because I know lots of you will be very very curious: yes, there was actual buttsex. They were mostly clothed, and it was shot in a way to be more about the desperation/fear of these guys than about the sexiness. And from what I could tell, they *didn't use lube.* Which kind of ruined things for me, as all I could think of was OOOOOWWWWW POOR JAKE GYLLENHAAL throughout it.)

And then, god, the next scene, with the 'I'm not queer, you know' 'right, me neither', and the scene after THAT, where Ennis comes to the tent so slowly and they don't even *speak* and--GAH. Every single love scene between the two was just *so* well done. I've heard worries that they cut out most of the sex scenes, but--dude, these guys wrestle half-naked together. They cuddle. They have slammed-against-the-wall kisses. They go skinny-dipping together. They're so intimate, and obviously in love even though they never say it, and it's just--it really is perfect, and I wish I could articulate this better, but... yeah.

Their reunion after four years away from each other is already one of my favorite scenes from any movie. That amazing hug and then the up-against-the-wall kiss, and then--GOD--Elma. ELMAAAA. I felt for her *so much* in this scene, and her shock and numbness combined with Ennis' obvious elation, and the way everything he said became a lie now that she knew, it was just--aieeeee. *So* hard to watch, and so brilliant, and heart-achey, and aaauuuuugh. I felt for them all *so much.*

I really, really want fic about Elma. I was relieved that the film focused on her as much as it did, because *not* focusing on her at least a little bit would have been a crime, but... it wasn't enough. I want to see Elma getting on with her own life, I want to see her struggling with her own homophobia and getting past it, I want to see her maybe forgiving Ennis someday, I want to see her maybe having some drunken lesbian experiences because she's given up on men or something. Michelle Williams did a fantastic job with her, and I hope she gets a Supporting Actress Oscar Nom, and--man. ELMA.

Although really, everyone deserves an oscar for this film. How awesome is it to see Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal going from teenie romantic comedies and films like Bubble Boy to *this?* They *completely* proved their acting chops here, and they're absolutely going to blow everyone away when this comes out. (As a sidenote, I cannot WAIT to see the uproar this movie will cause in Texas and Wyoming. *snicker*)

As for the second half... dude. I came into this movie completely unspoiled; my dad had told me that it was going to be sad, but I was thinking 'they break up' sad, not 'one of them DIES' sad. When Ennis got the postcard saying 'deceased,' I just--I didn't believe it. I thought it was a fake-out. And then the phone conversation with Lorraine, and god, the way they let us know it was a hate crime? I was bawling. BAWLING. I was crying on and off from that moment straight through to the ending.

God, the SHIRTS. And the conversations with Jack's parents, and oh oh ENNIS, and the postcard and the music at the end... god. SOMEONE REC ME HAPPY FIC PLZ. *whimper*

Everything in this movie was done with so much love, man, you could tell. Love for the original story, love for the characters, love for the land and the culture. The ending was hard, but it *had* to be that way; a happier ending couldn't have worked. And--yeah, I got nothing. Everyone needs to see this movie. *Everyone.*

I am so gonna write fic.

annnnnnnnnnnnnd i think *that* review will make me permanantly stay away from this. was it written by an 18 year old who just got snuck into his first gay club and is tweaked out on something???

Uh, Cottington, you want to spoilerize that? It sounds like you just pretty much ruined the ending of the movie...

interesting contrast in the reviews. one from an apathetic intellectual, the other from a sentimental young girl. can't say i really identify solely with either perspective. suppose i'll actually have to see the film before deciding how i feel about it.

uhh...don't think that's a girl in the second one...is it??

well you can never be absolutely sure, but she made references to wanting to have ang lee's baby and a desire to be a cowgirl.

:lol: Maybe it's Bonanza Jellybean from "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues".