The Gays (2014)

The Gays, directed by T.S. Slaughter and starring Chris Tanner (Bob Gay-Paris) and Frank Holliday (Rod Gay), is about the nuclear gay family, their interactions, and the complex dilemma of their existence. I say spot on because the gay household members are under constant pressure to fulfil their own meaningful paths. In addition, they mustsimultaneously avoid complicating others' lives. While The Gays is a dark comedy, Slaughter investigates issues that are not comical. At first glance, T.S. Slaughter presents a series of random images, sequences blended with one another. These images follow the narrative of one of the two sons raised by gay parents Bob (transvestite) and Rod Gay.

Seeing miniature dildos and chains dangling above a baby’s crib shocked me; I was repulsed. At the beginning, I thought the film stood apart from the rest of the typical gay dramas (Brokeback Mountain [2005], A Single Man [2009]), and it did so brilliantly. A Single Man (2009) was an exquisitely artistic film that explored sensuality and colourful expressions of arousal. However, it failed to adequately assess the true societal tragedy encompassing George’s (Colin Firth) world. In a sense, films like Brokeback Mountain and A Single Man focus on the micro-tendencies of gay relationships, i.e. the single or mutual exchange of interactions between at least two people.

The Gays are focused more on the macro-tendencies of “gay culture”, the expulsion of the ideal nuclear family, and attempts to redefine gay families and how they raise their children—the focus isn’t just on The Gays, but about every gay family. It would seem like a documentary if the characters weren’t so overt. Some angles appear as though Slaughter deployed hidden cameras, others with a shaky camera and odd angles that give a distinct realism and a sharp documentarian edge to the humour. Sequences are filmed erratically to keep your focus, and the language is vulgar to amplify the film’s dark comedy and satire. Cinematographically, The Gays does not appear uniquely memorable because it relies heavily on the simplification of camera placement, panning and light movement tracking to allow you to follow the dialogue, which is the central focus. Slaughter uses a simplistic handheld technique to focus your attention on the conversation; perhaps it was deliberate. T.S. Slaughter wants to draw attention to the absurdity of the ideas surrounding the nuclear family and how these ideas (visually) do not translate into a gay family household. He uses stereotypical depictions or ideas others have formed about gay relations and their interactions. He juxtaposes two parents, one who is a transvestite (Bob Gay-Paris) and outwardly “identifiable” as gay and the other parent (Rod Gay) whose appearance is more identifiable with the heterosexual male.

This dark comedy wants to answer some critical questions, but the answers are deliberately absurd to force the viewer to reflect on the absurdity of it all:

“Is it possible for a man to give birth? How would he do it? What would it look like?

Would gay parents raise adopted children (if not born) to be gay? How would they do that?

How would gay parents discipline their children?

What kind of education would gay families give to their children?

Can a gay family celebrate Christmas?

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In Slaughter’s own words, the film is deliberately meant to be political:

We feel the current political climate provides the right moment for a film like THE GAYS to appear on the scene. With the recent fall of DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) and the defeat of California's Proposition 8 (more like Proposition Str8!), both of which had sought to legislate gay marriage rights out of existence, and with the IRS sorting out all kinds of previously denied benefits for married gays and lesbians, we find ourselves in a new post-gay-marriage-struggle utopia. Or do we?

The Gays is a thrilling, hilarious, critical, insightful and inspirational film. It is rated R and not recommended for teenagers. There is some nudity involved and very vulgar language. It’s also not recommended to heavily religious people because I don’t think they would like to hear what The Gays said about Gabriel! Unless you want to shock your super religious grandmother….