I was having lunch recently with a friend who I consider to be fairly sophisticated and open-minded, when, during the course of conversation regarding sexual and gender identity, she categorically, flatly stated that she didn’t believe that there was such a thing as bisexuality – that men who claim to be bisexual were really closeted gay men. I was a little taken aback, and of course, I vigorously disagreed, since based on my experience as a gay man with complicated relationships with both gay and straight people, I’ve come to believe pretty strongly that sexual identity is not as simple, as easily labeled into defined quadrants, as many people seem to, or want to, believe it is. I’m very convinced that sexual identity shifts and moves along a continuum, settling at some steady state during a particular period of time, which may or may not be permanent. In our contemporary times, sexual fluidity seems to be more pronounced and embraced that it was even as recently as ten years ago. But American film is light years away from reality most of the time, so no Hollywood movie has so far touched this topic with a ten foot pole (except for the bromance comedies such as I Love You, Man, which dilutes the provocation by making fun of it). That is why Lynn Shelton’s low-budget independent movie Humpday, winner of a Special Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and official Cannes Film Festival Directors’ Fortnight selection, about two straight male friends who, on a drunken dare, agree to make a home movie of the two of them having sex, is so current, so fresh, so insightful, so riveting; it’s possibly the best film I’ve seen so far in the half year.
Jul 26
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