Wish Mah "Coffee Dates" Were as Fun as This! by Tallulah
Givehead
Mah oh Mah. Ta's
been so busy spreading FABULOSITY 'round the world
that when Ah finally had a moment to relax with mah
mint julep and
catch up on some movie watchin' Ah didn't realize
Ah'd be in for such a hilarious treat!
Todd (played by
Jonathan Bray), who is straight, ends up on a
blind date with a gay man, Kelly (the stunningly
handsome and oh-so-cute,
Wilson Cruz) — the result of a practical joke
played by his brother, Barry (Jonathan
Silverman).
To
Todd's surprise, he and Kelly strike up a
friendship. They decide to take revenge on Barry by
reversing the joke. After their “date,” the pair
saunter past Barry holding hands. The joke works
too well. Freaking out and convinced that Todd is
gay, Barry calls their mother (Super-Ally
Sally Kirkland)to break the news.
Concerned, she arrives on the next plane. Despite
his vehement denials, Mom now sees Todd’s love of
movies and theater, as well as his lack of interest
in sports, as clear signs she’d previously missed.
She is determined to prove to her son that she loves
him no matter what. She joins
PFLAG, and invites the local chapter president (Joanne
Baron) into Todd's home. Nothing Todd says or
does can convince her that he's actually straight!
Their mutual love of movies brings Todd and Kelly
face-to-face with one of Todd's homo co-workers, the
devilish, rumor-mongering Clayton (the hilarious
Jason Stuart) who also jumps to the conclusion that
Todd is gay and wastes no time in letting everyone
in the office know. Soon, everyone in his life
believes he is gay despite his increasingly vehement
denials.
After a limpy attempt to prove his heterosexuality
with a sexy younger woman ends in disaster, Todd
starts to wonder, could his feelings for Kelly be
more than he’d ever suspected? Kelly is more than
happy to introduce Todd to the ecstacy of homo sex
because he's now developed a crush on poor confused
Todd despite warnings from his roommate and fag-hag,
Bonnie (adorable
Elaine Hendrix).
Now,
Coffee Date could have devolved into a
conversion tale and Ah'm glad
writer/director/co-producer
Stewart Wade not only didn't fall into that
morass but deftly contrived a conclusion that
actually says more about the character and speaks to
our dream to have a world as equally understanding.
Tallulah Givehead is
a Fabulous drag queen living in Portland, Oregon
(Lord only knows why!) writing reviews of gay film
by day and tearing up the stage by night. You
can read her reviews here as well as at her blog,
QUEER VUE MIRROR.
