Great Gay Movies – BALD JASON'S GAY GOTH BOY BLOG

I just finished rewatching one of my all-time-favorite LGBTQ films: 1998’s “Edge of Seventeen”, directed by David Moreton, written by Moreton and Todd Stephens, starring Chris Stafford, and co-starring Tina Holmes and Andersen Gabrych. I hesitated on watching this one as I felt I maybe knew this one too well and I’ve been mostly viewing movies in my inclusive collection which I’ve either never seen or I’ve only seen once or twice…but I’d actually forgotten a lot of it, which just means I’m getting old.

The movie is set in 1984 / 1985 and is partially set at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio (though the name of the park is changed for legal reasons and long shots of the park are clearly from the 90’s as the Raptor can be seen). My family spent a lot of time at that park and the first time I went was 1984 / 1985. The soundtrack is a love letter to the 1980’s and the movie manages to capture that era in a way that many others fail to do.

For example, I watched another movie from the collection on Friday which I’d never seen before called “The Curiosity of Chance”, which came out in 2006, is set in the 1980’s in Europe and features some of the same songs…but it just feels unreal; and it’s not helped by some less successful acting choices and a muddled script. I didn’t hate watching it though I’d never put it on a top 10 list. “Edge of Seventeen” though is TOPS for sure. Take it from a bottom who knows! ❤ 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧

The LGBTQ movie pandemic lock down marathon continues…with Gus Van Sant’s 1991 masterpiece, “My Own Private Idaho”, which I’d seen many times before, but again, not in several years. And just like today’s other entry (“Edge of Seventeen”), I was surprised how much I’d forgotten of this film and I feel I noticed things that I never had before…perhaps because I’m seeing it so far removed from previous viewings? It probably doesn’t hurt that I watched it on a huge TV.

“My Own Private Idaho” was the first gay themed movie that I actively sought out. It was the first movie that I rented once I had a drivers licence and could get an account at a video store (Blockbuster). At the time I was incensed that any movie with LGBTQ material was flagged by Blockbuster as something that could only be rented by people 17 and older regardless of content…and yet I was also grateful as it made such properties easier for me to find, and I rented many other such films which had a lasting impression, even if they didn’t join the collection I’m enjoying now. Years later, I was hired at Hollywood Video and during my interview I mentioned my disdain for Blockbuster for this very reason, which impressed my new manager (DJ).

As for the film itself it was (and remains) for me a haunting, eccentric collage of tones and quirks which exhilarated me as a film fan, even as it sometimes frustrated me as someone yearning to see representations of my own experiences; something that’s faded with time and more satisfying portrayals. Having said that, the campfire scene in which River Phoenix’s sympathetic, narcoleptic street hustler Mike Waters confesses that he loves Keanu Reeves’ gay for pay Scott Favor – and that he wants to kiss him, was a breakthrough moment for me as a gay film fan, and for the actors as well – it’s cited in nearly every review I’ve read of the film…and I watched that part repeatedly.

Tag: Great Gay Movies

Edge of Seventeen (1998)

“My Own Private Idaho” (1991)