With Valentine’s Day approaching, we all know it’s rom-com season. There’s nothing better than settling down with some friends or your partner and just watching two people fall in love – however, if you’re looking for something that’s not straight cinema, your options are minimal. Not to mention that your options are limited even further if you’re looking for something light-hearted to enjoy for Valentine’s Day. The majority of the movies I’ve seen involving LGBT relationships are either A) dark and serious, with the characters facing a lot of discrimination, or B) the LGBT characters are pushed back into a supporting role.
One LGBT movie that I enjoyed over the Christmas season was Clea DuVall’s Happiest Season. This was one of the first LGBT rom-coms I’ve ever seen, and it was so close to being everything I wanted. This film’s plot was about closeted Harper inviting her girlfriend Abby back home for Christmas – but she’s not out to her family yet, and they don’t know that they’re dating. As you can imagine, shenanigans ensue. Although I enjoyed the movie, there was some heavy content that I wasn’t quite expecting for a rom-com – to be fair, I suppose it is a rom-com drama, so maybe I should have been a little more prepared for the waterworks. Don’t get me wrong, it was still funny (Dan Levy is one of the best things to happen to TV and film), but is it so wrong for me to want something light and fluffy around Christmas, Valentine’s and just any holiday? Can’t I only have the stereotypical rom-com tropes without the discrimination and internalized homophobia that inevitably comes with almost every LGBT character ever made?
Another film that I watched over the holidays was the new Netflix musical The Prom. Again, although I enjoyed the movie overall, I still had some qualms with it. First, the whole basis of the plot is built on homophobia – the main character Ellen is not allowed to take her girlfriend to prom because they are both girls. There was also the issue of the lesbian teenagers being pushed into the background despite the movie’s plot revolving around them. Despite all of this, and James Corden’s horrendously stereotypical portrayal of a gay man aside (seriously, you couldn’t have gotten an actual gay actor to play the part? Neil Patrick Harris would have slayed that role), I thought it was an okay enough movie. Some of the songs were catchy, Meryl Streep is – well, Meryl Streep, and the lesbians got their happy ending. But man, was it an emotional roller coaster to even get that happy ending. Why can’t I cry tears of laughter instead of sorrow when it comes to these films?
As a member of the community myself, the lack of representation in this genre of movies is slightly disheartening. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to see yourself and something you can relate to on-screen, and although society is getting better with representation in media, there’s still quite a long way to go. Although I’m happy to see more LGBT actors and characters on-screen, I am simply sick and tired of having to watch these characters jump through hoops and face such discrimination before they can get their happy ending. Give me all of the rom-com clichés – the running through the airport, the enemies to lovers, the kissing in the rain – and give it to me without the accompanying homophobia that typically comes with LGBT characters on-screen.