The Gay Deceivers (1969) - The A.V. Club

the gay deceivers review

The Gay Deceivers (1969) st and crew creds, cludg actors, actrs, directors, wrers and more.

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THE GAY DECEIVERS

The Gay Deceivers was homophobic, juvenile, and, somehow, ahead of s time. * the gay deceivers review *

Complitns arise when two straight iends (Kev Coughl, Larry Casey) go all out their scheme to avoid the draft by posg as homosexuals. There are no featured reviews for The Gay Deceivers bee the movie has not released yet (). The last year of the 1960s also broke ground when me to film, wh a movie about a d gay iendship between a htler and a grifter (Midnight Cowboy) wng the Bt Picture Osr the followg year.

Centered on two bonehead straight guys (played by Kev Coughl and Larry Casey) who pretend to be gay to avoid the draft, The Gay Deceivers was a precursor to shows like Bosom Buddi and Three's Company and movi like Mrs. Doubtfire and I Now Prounounce You Chuck and the jok are broad and stupid, the puns obv (a character brgs a u basket to the tular ceivers), the women eher cluels, lechero, or ceful (but always sexy and ually half-naked), and the antigay slurs ubiquo, the movie has several fun flash of gay culture that mastream Ameri was not at all ed the ceivers rent an L.

Apartment lord over by a swishy landlord named Mallm (Michael Greer), 's adorned wh homoerotic art that is still rigur Palm Sprgs and Provcetown. Gay men the film ll each other "she" whout a bat of the eye, drag is held up as an art form, and two men even dance together.

50 YEARS LATER, THE FILM GAY DECEIVERS IS STILL VERY GAY, VERY BAD

Two men try to avoid ary service by pretendg to be gay, but they mt act the part when the recg officer don't buy . * the gay deceivers review *

In one scene, a gay man miserat to Casey's character of Ellt how straight people believe gays are animals and how unfair is that they are routely fired om their jobs. Of urse, that potential is wasted when Ellt punch the man for g on to the gay men are universally portrayed as sex-obssed, most e off as likable (albe silly). Greer, an openly gay ic at the time, reportedly worked wh director Bce Ksler to make the movie more sympathetic to the gay characters.

THE GAY DECEIVERS'

Two men mt pose as gay lovers to avoid gettg drafted. * the gay deceivers review *

"While this movie tragilly reflects s era's mastream attus toward queer people, what mak The Gay Deceivers worth watchg for a ntemporary LGBTQ dience is the great Michael Greer as landlord Mallm DeJohn, " says Alonso Dural, a film cric for TheWrap and -host of the podst Lolm Knife. The rt of the movie is an object lson of tablishment homophobia actn, but Greer's performance allows a ltle rebelln and realy to elbow s way .

ENTREPRENR SAYS BUD LIGHT GOT ALL WRONG, LOOKS TO SH ON FIAS WH ‘GAY WATER’

Danny and Ellt avoid ary service by pretendg to be gay, but they have to act the part when the recg officer don't buy . * the gay deceivers review *

Whout spoilg too much, the screenwrers and Ksler imply that not all gay people are swishy, snarky, and fashnable; anyone your orb uld be queer. Though that msage don't make up for The Gay Deceivers' many, many fics, was one very seldom exprsed The Gay Deceivers below. The Gay Deceivers' ADVERTISEMENTJuly 31, New York Tim ArchivSee the article s origal ntext om July 31, 1969, Page 0Buy ReprtsTimMache is an exclive benef for home livery and digal the ArchiveThis is a digized versn of an article om The Tim’s prt archive, before the start of onle publitn 1996.

THE GAY DECEIVERS 1969

“Our missn is to -stigmatize the word ‘gay’ and create reprentatn spac that tradnally don’t have queer-owned products." * the gay deceivers review *

"THE GAY DECEIVERS, " which stggl wh the paratively new movie twist of feigned homosexualy as a draft dodgg gimmick, is, unfortunately, neher gay nor ceptive.

And, the producers rate a cred for cludg a gay party thrown by Michael Greer, an amg performer, as the owner of the ttage that should please that divisn of our voters. "THE GAY DECEIVERS, screenplay by Jerome Wish, based on the story by Abe Polsky and Gil Lasky; directed by Bce Ksler; produced by Joe Solomon; released by Fanfare Film Productns, Inc.

THE GAY DECEIVERS (1969)

The fact that this edy was even ma 1969 blows my md. It don't have any overt pro-gay msag, necsarily, but as a movie also don't nounce homosexualy as evil eher. Sure, a bunch of the characters do but the movie do not. What we have here is a edy about two (very handsome) guys who pretend to be boyiends to dodge the draft and end up havg to move together and actually live like gays so that Uncle Sam don't fd out their dirty ltle secret (the dirty ltle secret beg that they're borg straight people). * the gay deceivers review *

Joe TornatoriA versn of this article appears prt on of the Natnal edn wh the headle: The Gay Deceivers'.

Two men try to avoid ary service by pretendg to be gay, but they mt act the part when the recg officer don't buy .

"KEEP GAY"

* the gay deceivers review *

It don't have any overt pro-gay msag, necsarily, but as a movie also don't nounce homosexualy as evil eher.

Sure, a bunch of the characters do but the movie do we have here is a edy about two (very handsome) guys who pretend to be boyiends to dodge the draft and end up havg to move together and actually live like gays so that Uncle Sam don't fd out their dirty ltle secret (the dirty ltle secret beg that they're borg straight people) the entire urse of the movie I was tryg really hard to figure out what the pot of the…. Succeeds not bee of s silly storyle or eher of s two leads, but bee of the openly gay Michael Greer's hand rhapg the script and givg a performance that's illy swishy, yet not gradg. Obvly the gays were waaay over the top (everyone say thank you michael greer) but was surprisg to see that they weren’t portrayed as evil or bad this one, but warm and iendly (md you ’s the 60’s and homosexualy was still seen as a mental illns).

THE GAY DECEIVERS (1969) - KEV COUGHL

I thought I was gonna hate-watch this bee would be super homophobic and I'd have to wre a big thg about how straight ppl suck but like damn this movie is a good time, like the openg creds of them answerg qutns back and forth was hysteril nglThis is the sort of movie that was probably ma for straighti but is absolutely the sort of ntent that gay bch would love bc I know I doLike yeah 's obvly not tellectual cema but sometim you jt have to be a dramatic gay man the 1960's and scream 'LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO MY PEONIES' bee be gay do crim y'know?? Danny Devl and his woman-chasg iend Ellt Crane ci to pose as homosexuals to avoid ductn to the Army. Sce Danny is nvced that he and Ellt mt appear to live together as homosexuals to nfirm the Army's judgment, they rent a one-bedroom apartment an area popular wh the gay set.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* THE GAY DECEIVERS REVIEW

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