Dateline: 06/12/98
What do these movies have in common:
If These Walls Could Talk
Donnie Brasco
Volcano
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Wag the Dog
Don't bother heading over to the movie database... I'll tell you.
Each of these movies was either a critical or financial success - or both - and Anne Heche had a role in each of them (amongst several other credits, I might add) - most of them to stunningly positive reviews.
But now, one of the major questions regarding "Six Days, Seven Nights" is whether a romantic comedy starring Anne Heche and openly straight Harrison Ford (one of the most successful box office draws of our times, if not the most successful) will do well because Anne's a lesbian.*
(I whispered that in case there are some people who don't know - and would be shocked.)
The big question is: Will the movie going public buy a gay person in a straight role?
Well, let's think about this for a moment - the public certainly did buy Rock Hudson as a romantic male lead in quite a few movies. Then again, Mr. Hudson wasn't out when he made those movies.
Cary Grant is said to have "swung both ways," but again, that wasn't something that the movie viewing public knew.
Tom Cruise certainly has had a career as a romantic leading man and he's, well... uh... not available to Rosie (for a variety of reasons ;>).
(Okay, nobody bought Lily Tomlin and John Travolta as honeys in "Moment by Moment" - but who doesn't believe the wonderful David Hyde Pierce lusting after Daphne on an almost weekly basis?)
But forget this silliness --- the "suggestion" is that the public is not going to believe a romantic interest between the Ford and Heche characters.
And we do have a clear indication that real life orientation does not affect public perception of movie roles.....
Did the public not turn "The Birdcage" into a hundred plus million dollar hit --- with the openly straight Robin Williams playing a gay man? (We won't go into Nathan Lane here as he doesn't quite make the same point.)
That kiss between the wildly successful "In and Out" between Kevin Kline and Tom Selleck, both suspected heterosexuals, didn't leave anybody saying, "I don't know, it didn't look real...."
It's not just admittedly straight men who have successfully played gay characters over the years.
Who could forget Mariel Hemingway and Patrice Donnelly in "Personal Best?" --- or Sandy Dennis in "The Fox?"
Frankly, we're asked to suspend disbelief for much more absurd scenarios.... but that's fodder for another feature.
The bottom line is that if "Six Days, Seven Nights" isn't successful, the finger will be pointed directly at Ms. Heche. The movie is being heavily publicized, and it is expected to do well. She'll be an easy scapegoat.
Do me a favor --- even if you're not "in to" romantic comedies... even if you hate Harrison Ford (how could you!?)... even if you're busy this weekend... take a moment to go see "Six Days, Seven Nights" and help establish that there's a reason movie roles are called "performances."
In Pride,
Deborah
* Okay, so she's not a lesbian anymore. Or never was. Or was just or is just bisexual. Or was just a publicity, uh, something or other. Or something or other else. However, the points are important even though Heche is not. Hey, and Ellen, if you want me to delete this feature, and any other Heche references from this site, I'll be more than happy to do so and would completely understand. Just let me know.