Amendment 1. Plus a Movie Review!
Amendment One proposes that NC define marriage as between one man and one woman. Same-sex marriage is already illegal in North Carolina. Amendment One would add that language, and more, to the State Constitution.
The amendment would ban any type of "domestic legal union" such as civil unions and domestic partnerships. The language includes both gay and straight couples. Opponents of Amendment One say it goes too far, and removes the legal protections of non-married partners, such as visiting one another in the hospital and making emergency medical and financial decisions.
A vote "for" Amendment One supports the constitutional change that narrowly defines marriage. Vote FOR Marriage NC makes its case on their site.
A vote "against" Amendment One doesn't change the NC law making same-sex marriage illegal, but it does keep it from becoming enshrined in the NC Constitution. Protect All NC Families encourages voters to vote "against" the amendment.
I joined Jubal Creech to watch a movie a few nights ago. We weren't researching Amendment One, just amusing ourselves. Hello, Instant Netflix. What's this? The Big Gay Musical. The description promised "sending up the Bible in a no-feathers-barred musical." It didn't take us long to reach consensus, cue it up, and hit 'play.'
We briefly wondered if Jubal's father, Jimmy Creech, a former Methodist pastor on Ocracoke who now advocates for churches to stop persecuting lesbians and gays, would have a cameo. This video captures some thoughts from Jimmy and his wife, Chris Weedy, regarding Amendment One.
If you have a sense of humor, and you appreciate the male form, consider watching The Big Gay Musical. But don't expect too much. The movie re-affirms that God loves everyone. If that is news to you, it may change your mind about how to vote.
There was no cameo by Jimmy in the movie, which I hesitate to call a "film." The Big Gay Musical starts strong, with a tap dance and song by a cast of angels clad in military boots, wings, and the briefest of briefs.
God shows up, declares himself bored, and lickety-split creates earth, a garden, and two people. I could have been entertained by the lithe, over-the-top tap dancing angels all night, but probably would have lost interest in the hammy performance at some point between 90 minutes and eternity.
Scene shift: It's a musical within a movie! In the dressing room the performers wipe off make up, rib one another, and prepare to go about their own lives. The actor who portrays Adam is called Paul. He leaves quickly, because he dislikes the adoration of fans who show up at the backstage door.
It's still a musical! Struggling actor Paul hosts a weekly open mike show tunes night, and we get to see him at that gig, in a cozy basement New York bar. Insert gratuitous show tunes here.
The movie also follows Eddie, who plays Steve (as in "Adam and Steve"--Got it?) in the musical, and we learn that he has not yet come out to his parents, who are "so proud of him" and planning to come see him in his Off-Broadway debut.
This is where the movie got tricky, and I wondered who its intended audience was. The stories of Paul and Eddie are tenderly filmed, the dialogue is honest, and the emotions ring true. Just as you settle into their stories, which are conventional romantic comedy, the story inserts a scene from the musical.
The musical is more preachy than any sermon I've ever attended. Rather than a send up, as Netflix promised, The Big Gay Musical offers a thudding case for inclusion. The script spends too long making obvious points in cheap ways. Why are bigots and homophobes so often portrayed with syrupy southern accents?
Sharp edits capturing hilarious reaction shots kept me watching until the movie cut to another song and dance, like the one in the re-education camp, where everyone pledges to "Go Straight . . . to Heaven" while being full-on campy and unselfconsciously gay.
I wish this movie had been good enough, or bad enough, to merit a review by Anthony Lane. It does have its moments, just as I hope to have mine with the aforementioned reviewer.
As soon as you relax into the funny, the movie abruptly returns to Paul and his quest for love. The script makes sense, but the two narratives are filmed so differently that the viewer is jerked between absurdity and sincerity.
Paul wants love, monogamy, and someone who cuddles. Sweet, innocent Eddie decides to lose his virginity, and gets picked up by a player. Heavy-handed education about condom use is like an after-school special inserted into the dialogue. The movie was made in 2009. Use condoms. Is this new information?
The love scenes, not entirely gratuitous, are strong and realistic enough that the film makers didn't need to rely on a saccharine soundtrack to guide our emotions. It's a conventional movie. In the end, lessons are learned, prejudices overcome, and everyone ends up happy.
There are two entertaining movies here, imperfectly married, and neither provides any revelation.
There is no question the filmmakers were heartfelt, and have a valid point to make. Straight, gay, lesbian, transgendered: we're all just trying to figure it out, communicate honestly, and be accepted for who we are by the ones we love.
The Big Gay Musical gets six stars out of ten on IMDB. This movie fan thinks that's about right. This writer is voting "against" Amendment One on Tuesday, May 8.
