# can anyone recommend a feature film that deals with the subject of gay marriage? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 29, 2007, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425 "2007-08-29T22:26:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425/1 "2007-08-29T22:26:31Z")
Our church is participating in this action: > **[sevenstraightnights.org](http://ww38.sevenstraightnights.org/)** > > This domain may be for sale! Seven Straight Nights for Equal Rights As part of our participation, we have decided to show, for our ongoing movie series, a movie that touches on the subjet of gay marriage. I found a couple of documentaries on the subject but the movie series is usually feature films. My google-fu is weak today and I can’t seem to find anything. Anyone have any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425/2 "2007-08-29T22:55:09Z")
Not quite what you’re looking for, but you might want to take a look at \*The Wedding Banquet. \* ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425/3 "2007-08-29T22:59:26Z")
Not exactly about gay marriage per se, but **Longtime Companion** covers gay relationships and love in general. Is that what you’re looking for? ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@Miss\_Purl\_McKnittington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Purl_McKnittington)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425/4 "2007-08-29T23:07:27Z")
Apart from The Birdcage, the only one I can think of is [The Wedding Banquet](http://imdb.com/title/tt0107156/), which is a very good movie. It’s not so much about gay marriage, though, as it is about a cover-up marriage. It could spawn some interesting conversation, though. It’s also possible that gay marriage hasn’t been around long enough to spawn a large enough pool of (quality) movies. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425/5 "2007-08-29T23:08:32Z")
“I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry” ? ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425/6 "2007-08-29T23:12:23Z")
[QUOTE=RandMcnally] “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry” ? [/QUOTE] Oy. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425/7 "2007-08-29T23:18:14Z")
[Wedding Wars](http://imdb.com/title/tt0823158/) (John Stamos and Sean “Firefly” Maher are a gay couple in search of a wedding) ETA: imdb’s [gay marriage](http://imdb.com/keyword/gay-marriage/) keyword movies (though it includes mostly TV shows) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425/8 "2007-08-29T23:29:02Z")
[QUOTE=RandMcnally] “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry” ? [/QUOTE] Damn, beat me to it! ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425/9 "2007-08-29T23:50:59Z")
Thank you for all your suggestions so far. _The Wedding Banquet_ - I didn’t think of that one, it will go on the suggestion list. _Longtime Companion_ - I remember seeing that one way back when, but it was more about the AIDS crisis if I remember right. Still a distinct possibility. _I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry_ - I didn’t even think about that one, but does it really have the gravitas that I was hoping for in a movie dealing with the gay marriage issue? 🙂 _Wedding Wars_: that’s actually the only one I found with Google, but when I saw the name John Stamos I recoiled because I’m a snob. Have you seen it Sampiro? Can you recommend it? I will peruse your IMDB link later in the day when time permits. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2007, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425/10 "2007-08-29T23:58:28Z")
Forgot the Birdcage - I think that this film might have been seen by many people already. Perhaps the french original _La Cage Aux Folles_ might have more appeal? Somehow slapstick comedies seem more sophisticated when they are in a foreign language, _n’est-ce pas_? ---
**Author:** ![Daffyd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daffyd/32/8923_2.png) [@Daffyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daffyd)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425/11 "2007-08-30T01:02:22Z")
Wedding Wars was total pap… I thought it sounded cute, and wanted it to be good or at least passable, but I found it stereotypical and offensive… I don’t really like any of the other suggestions either… I don’t think there’s anything wrong with showing a documentary… I recently watched a film on how Gay marriage came about in Canada, and gotta say it blew me away… [The End of Second Class](http://www.yorku.ca/alumni/alumnimatters/nov-06/am_nov-06_samesexForums.php) . And I just wanted to say how touched I am at the whole Seven Straight Nights for Equal Rights idea. I’m glad there are straight people like you guys out there… Sometimes it seems like the only people dealing with our issues are us GLBT’s… ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425/12 "2007-08-30T01:42:33Z")
Between my googlefu and picking my own brain, I’m ashamed to report (though I crave correction in the hope I’m wrong) there really hasn’t been a decent movie–doc or fic–made about that specific issue, gay marriage. Maybe you should watch another movie that gives you an idea of some of the general obstacles this culture places in the paths of gay people. [ul]\*[[li]One Nation Under God](http://imdb.com/title/tt0107748/) \*, about the religious right’s “cure” for homosexuality[/li][li][_Trembling Before G-d_](http://imdb.com/title/tt0278102/), about gay people trying to live within the Orthodox Jewish community[/li][li][_The Celluloid Closet_](http://imdb.com/title/tt0112651/), an extremely entertaining documentary about the efforts Hollywood has always made to avoid treating homosexuality openly and honestly in film[/li][li]. . . and of course, [_Brokeback Mountain_](http://imdb.com/title/tt0388795/) does a beautiful job of portraying a life where two people who love each other are not allowed to do so openly, let alone get married. \*BBM \*is probably the closest film I can think of that addresses the needs of the OP.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425/13 "2007-08-30T01:47:42Z")
[If These Walls Could Talk 2](http://imdb.com/title/tt0206036/) Deals with three stories of lesbian couples and their relationships (Fiction). Pretty good dramatic movie but not exactly about Gay marriiage, per se, it’s more about lesbian relationships over three different decades in different times and social climates. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425/14 "2007-08-30T02:31:50Z")
It may be very difficult to find, but _[Norman…Is That You?](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074973/)_ may be worth a look. Not about gay marriage exactly, but pretty groundbreaking for its 1977 release. The A.V. Club has [a more detailed synopsis](http://www.avclub.com/content/node/24124) than the IMDB, and says it better than I can. Anyway, it’s something more to consider. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425/15 "2007-08-30T12:16:10Z")
[Common Ground](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212889/), especially the third segment. [Same Sex America](http://www.logoonline.com/shows/dyn/same_sex_america/series.jhtml) follows several couples in the fight that led to legalized same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425/16 "2007-08-30T12:28:33Z")
[QUOTE=devilsknew] [If These Walls Could Talk 2](http://imdb.com/title/tt0206036/) [/quote] That’s a semi-sequel. [#1’s worth a look, too.](http://imdb.com/title/tt0116607/) [Rick & Steve](http://imdb.com/title/tt0837014/) (cartoon, “The happiest gay couple in the world”) As long as we are skirting the OP by mentioning _Norman…_, I will include [The Gay Deceivers](http://imdb.com/title/tt0064363/) and [The Boys in The Band,](http://imdb.com/title/tt0065488/) both period pieces ca. 1960’s. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425/17 "2007-08-30T13:59:32Z")
[QUOTE=Musicat] As long as we are skirting the OP by mentioning _Norman…_, I will include [The Gay Deceivers](http://imdb.com/title/tt0064363/) and [The Boys in The Band,](http://imdb.com/title/tt0065488/) both period pieces ca. 1960’s. [/QUOTE] Neither of these has anything to do with same-sex marriage. Skirting the OP is one thing but disregarding it is something else. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425/18 "2007-08-30T14:23:38Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] Neither of these has anything to do with same-sex marriage. Skirting the OP is one thing but disregarding it is something else. [/QUOTE] Hey, hey! They all have to do with same-sex _relationships_ and living together. In the 1960’s, how are you going to tie the knot legally? Living together is about as far as you can go, so there aren’t any movies that old about gay marriage unless they are pure fantasies. Besides, maybe you missed my pun on “skirting” the issue. 🙂 I say let OP Arnold decide. ---
**Author:** ![xnylder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbce88/32.png) [@xnylder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xnylder)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425/19 "2007-08-30T14:39:31Z")
I realize that this film, too, isn’t directly about gay marriage, but it’s beautiful: [The King and the Clown](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0492835/). I saw it at this year’s Fantasia film festival. It’s a brilliant, sensitive story about two traveling entertainers, their relationship with each other, and their place in society. The brilliant part is, the story doesn’t focus on the male leads’ sexuality: They just happen to both be men, and probably gay. I realize this sounds ambiguous, but for mainstream Korean cinema, this was groundbreaking. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425/20 "2007-08-30T14:55:26Z")
The film isn’t about gay _marriage_, specifically, but _In and Out_ is fun, fairly lighthearted, and deals with the subject of a gay man coming out and coming to terms with himself in a pretty good way. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-anyone-recommend-a-feature-film-that-deals-with-the-subject-of-gay-marriage/417425.md?page=2)