- The Supreme Court's decision to wipe out anti-sodomy
laws and the very real possibility that same-sex marriages will soon be
legal in Massachusetts are ample reasons for the gay community to celebrate.
But there's another recent event that -- in its own way -- is just as significant:
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- Butch got a makeover.
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- Bravo's "Queer Eye For the Straight Guy," this
summer's sleeper hit, consists of a band of gay lifestyle mavens shaking
up the lives of heterosexual subjects, like Brian (Butch) Schepel, by rearranging
their wardrobes, changing their diets and snipping off that icky facial
hair. Hello, Ralph Lauren. Goodbye, Ralph Malph.
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- The hour-long show, which debuted earlier this month,
is the biggest hit in the history of Bravo, an arts channel whose previous
mascot was "Inside the Actor's Studio" host James Lipton, a man
who could stand a visit from the Fab Five.
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- NBC, which owns Bravo, took advantage of the show's popularity
by slipping it into last Thursday's must-see lineup. The 30-minute condensed
version drew 6.7 million viewers and retained 86 percent of "Will
& Grace" viewers -- an impressive result considering that bonus
episodes of "Will & Grace" and "Frasier" reruns
were averaging 83 percent this summer.
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- But don't expect "Queer" to leave Bravo anytime
soon. NBC entertainment president Jeff Zucker said that if "Queer"
continues to post high numbers -- somewhere around 1.5 million viewers
a week -- it could single-handedly double the $60 million the channel made
last year.
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- "It's a smash hit right out of the box," Zucker
said. "It's taken Bravo to a whole new level in just two weeks."
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- Its success bodes well for more gay-friendly programming,
starting with Bravo's "Boy Meets Boy," a dating show that debuts
Tuesday. Showtime has "The L Word," a drama about lesbians that
should be an appropriate companion piece to the channel's "Queer as
Folk." Fox's upcoming sitcom, "A Minute with Stan Hooper,"
has Norm McDonald moving to small-town Wisconsin where he befriends a gay
couple who could have emerged from the "Hee Haw" cornfield. ABC's
got "It's All Relative," in which a gay couple find it difficult
to let go of their adult daughter who's marrying into a blue-collar family.
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- Tim Rousch, central regional media manager for the Gay
and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, said the wave isn't surprising.
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- "It's a very momentous summer," he said. "Culturally,
people are ready to see gay characters play themselves."
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- Credit the Emmy-winning "Will & Grace"
for laying the groundwork. While the show is sometimes criticized for its
broad strokes -- Sean Hayes' Jack McFarland resembles a dog in heat --
it did prove to straight viewers that watching a show about the sex lives
of homosexuals wouldn't turn them into Judy Garland fanatics.
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- Craig Zadan, an executive producer of "It's All
Relative," believes that "Will & Grace" is partly responsible
for today's more open-minded environment.
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- "On one level it's just a comedy and the characters
are endearing and you want to come back each week and spend time with them,"
said Zadan, who was also an executive producer on the Oscar-winning film
"Chicago." "Yet on another level, clearly there's a political
thing going on which has caused ripples across the country."
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- The success of "Queer" will most likely be
another pop-culture milestone in that it shows real heterosexuals and homosexuals
interacting without either side feeling challenged or threatened. In one
episode, the Fab Five were able to playfully joke with their victim --
er, subject -- sniffing a jock they pulled from his closet, ridiculing
his overalls and dressing him in an "I Love New York City Boys"
T-shirt.
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- "They get to share so much stuff and information
about their personal lives that they might not normally share," said
Jai Rodriguez, the show's Culture Vulture. "Suddenly, they have this
close friendship. Some of the guys have welled up while we're leaving."
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- "Queer" co-creator David Collins said the show
works because the subjects are very comfortable with being influenced.
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- "They're totally grateful," he said. "They're
very willing to let us work our magic on them."
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- The show also sticks out because its five heroes are
completely comfortable with their homosexuality, swishing away without
turning into cartoons. Even the show's use of the word "queer"
in its title reflects a new attitude. Ted Allen, the show's food and wine
expert, said he was recently volunteering for a gay youth organization
and was razzed for using the word "gay."
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- "The new generation of gay kids prefer the word
queer," he said. "They intend to reclaim it from that negative
use in the bad old days."
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- Some of the new programming might not be a step in the
right direction. On the surface, "Boy Meets Boy" is nothing more
than a takeoff on "The Bachelor," with the hunk handing out glasses
of champagne rather than roses. The twist: Some of the 15 suitors are straight.
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- "We believe that's a little cruel," Rousch
said. "You didn't see 'The Bachelor' with some lesbians."
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- Still, if "Boy" posts the kind of record-breaking
numbers "Queer Eye" has, it'll surely light the way for even
more programming about gay lifestyles. Could it even trigger a "Queer"
spinoff in which gay men are introduced to a rough 'n' tumble, macho world?
No chance, said "Queer" fashion savant, Carson Kressley.
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- "It's called high school."
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- Neal Justin is at njustin@startribune.com.
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- © Copyright 2003 Star Tribune. All rights reserved
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- http://www.startribune.com/stories/389/4008361.html
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