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Stephen King and the Celluloid Closet

People are complaining about "It: Chapter Two"--easily one of the worst movies I've ever seen--and they're specifically complaining about the murder scene at the start.

Here's what happens. A gay couple--one-half of which is played by the celebrated young French filmmaker Xavier Dolan, actually gay--has some fun at a county fair. One guy wins a stuffed animal, then immediately gives it to the little girl standing nearby (signaling to us, in the audience, that he is a good person and certainly doesn't deserve to be assaulted by hoodlums).

There's a gay kiss; local hoodlums object; Xavier Dolan is too outspoken and sassy in his response; Xavier Dolan ends up murdered (and actually half-eaten by an evil alien-clown, who appears in the final seconds of the vignette).

The main objection is that all of this is gratuitous; it feels like the filmmaker is exploiting real-world tragedies for a cheap scare; there's certainly very little interest in the two gay characters, who are used as props. (It seems Xavier Dolan doesn't agree with these objections; I'm not sure why he would appear in the movie, otherwise.)

I think the objections are valid--and I also find the gay-Bill-Hader subplot half-baked and superficial. Fine, fine.

But beyond all this, how distressing is it that gay characters get so little screen time in Hollywood movies, generally? Watching "It II," I thought about the Bechdel Test, and how a version could exist for gay characters. Is there more than one gay character? Are the two gay characters allowed to interact? Are they seen talking about something that is different from (a) coming out, (b) the pains of being in the closet, or (c) extreme violence against gay people?

How many "plots" are afforded to gay characters in Hollywood? Not many. Think about all the hoopla surrounding "Love, Simon," a cliched coming-out-story from the recent past. You'd think the filmmaker had solved world hunger, given the attention this movie received.

Interesting, smart stories with gay characters facing quotidian problems: You have Alison Bechdel's work (a lesbian college student has her first kiss and declares, "I'm changing my major to Joan"), you have Val McDermid, following the career struggles of the fictional gay investigator Paula McIntyre, you have the invaluable work of Adam Goldman, who insists on showing "already-out" gay characters with standard work problems, crises in love, ho-hum arguments with friends and friends-of-friends.

I guess I wish fewer gallons of ink were spilled on "It: Chapter Two" (which really does deserve to be forgotten, and forgotten quickly). How about more pieces on Adam Goldman? On Alison Bechdel?

It's a thought. In case I haven't been clear: Please skip "It."
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