Oh, Frank –

As Bob was writing, 2020 was not a completely shit year. Oh, it was bad. As in pandemic-striken, tinfoil-dictator, horrible-for-gay-rights bad. But, and it is a big 'but', we did get some good LGBTQ movies. Movies in which the protagonists didn't die of a terrible disease, or got killed by a bigot or ended up alone and sad. Movies that showed studios and even cable tv producers that Gay does not mean that nobody will watch.

Given that we were mostly confined to our homes (I have not been to a movie theater since late February) most of what has been shown has been streamed. This year we saw from Birds of Prey, with its bisexual Harley Queen, to  The Prom, where Meryl Streep shows us why she's well, Meryl Streep. There were also The Boys in the Band, reminding us how some things stay the same and Happiest Season, Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Ammonite told us love stories between women that left a mark. And those are only the ones I got to see. I know there's more. 

On TV we got a whole bunch of holiday-themed and gay-centric movies (The Christmas House, Dashing in December, The Christmas Setup) telling stories of men in love during the holidays without the usual angst and looming disastrous ending they usually have. It was refreshing. 

And we got Uncle Frank. A movie that I had been postponing because I was afraid it was going to be another tragic, angst-filled, southern-fried, sad gay story. It's set in the late sixties, for Pete's sake! And it seemed to have that coming-of-age-cum-road-trip air that sometimes spells tragedy in gay-centered movies. But after both Jimmy and Big recommended it, I gave in and sat down to watch it. It's on Amazon, though, so it may have a 'limited' reach.

And I'm glad I did. First, the art direction is super cool and the movie FEELS like the seventies. Then, the coming of age is not that of a young gay man, but a young straight woman, for a change. And third, even though there are some tropes and some trite moments, overall the movie is not weighed down by pathos and I was pleasantly surprised about how.. normal? it seemed to be. 

Paul Bethany is the uncle Frank of the title and Peter Macdissi is the -foreign- boyfriend and they have awesome chemistry. They do go through some rough patches when Frank goes back south and the family discovers, that they are not just 'roommates'. Very predictable of the times -duh- and we also learn why Frank's dad was such a dick through some flashbacks. It can get heavy-handed.

The director is Adam Bell (True Blood, anybody?) and even though some people may find that the ending is way too easy after they give us those hard-boiled Southern characters and settings, I can understand why Bell decided to tell the story this way. To tell you the truth I was expecting tears. But I didn't get those. And I was happy.

So 2020 may have been a nightmare but it did have some bright spots, that's for sure. And I'm glad. Thanks for the recommendation, guys!!

XOXO