Reactions to Brokeback by friends, family & audiences

[exlogcabin]

Y and the R tends to have an older demographic.  Maybe this accounts for the negative reaction.

I posted about BBM on a GH site a few times.  (GH has a younger demo.)  Not as many responses as I would hope, but the few that I did get were all generally positive.  Either they really wanted to see the film or they had seen it and loved it.

[brokebackLJ]

Saw it tonight with my roomie and her boyfriend.
Her boyfriend talked a lot throughout noting all the great cars, trucks and horses. Typical guy eh?
We kept telling him to shut up because we were so into...time #8 for me...
after we had this huge long discussion, she said how Heath was amazing and how eerily he played the role, like he got into the soul of this guy.
He thought it was good, but first thought Jack died because of what happened between the rance foreman's WIFE and him...I had to explain to him about what really happened, but also told him it's entirely up to him, but that Jack didn't have an affair with any wife.
She thought Lureen had something to do with the murder he thought Lureen set it up after we talked about it more.
It's great how it's become such a great conversation piece.

[graylockV]

Hey!

Probably the reason a lot of people hated movies like The English Patient and Out of Africa, which I loved.

If they were looking for Bad Boys II they didn't get it - well I guess in a way they did! lol

I thought it had a kind of a Legends of the Fall feel to it.

Lola - you are totally correct.  People who are used to typical fast-paced noisy action flicks with lots of computer-generated special effects - basically, long-form video games - will probably go nuts trying to watch BBM.  BBM was expected to be an arthouse movie with appeal limited to particular strata of the general public.  (I am trying not to sound snobbish.)  But since it has become a cultural phenomenon it is drawing people who talk back to the screen, yell at people three rows back, chomp popcorn at all the wrong time, and so on.  Such people are not singling out BBM for abuse - they behave this way at all movies they attend.  This is why I go to late-afternoon matinees at theaters that are less likely to draw a noisy crowd.

When I was a kid I was taught not to talk during movies, at the public library, or in church.  The culture has changed and not for the better.  I know I sound like an old fogy but this lack of manners on the part of so many people is a major reason why others wait for the DVD to come out instead of going to see movies at the multiplex. 

We should not necessarily presume that boorish behavior is specifically arising from BBM's subject matter.  I have read that Ang Lee and Diana Ossana have both acknowledged that this movie is not for everyone.

[richardL]

I'm in a real muddle now .. I have seen the film once only and want to see it again and at the cinema too... My first audience were just fine .. despite being in a slightly unlikely venue.
But now I'm scared, having read so much here, that I will have a bad crowd and I can't bare to have this spoilt for me in any shape or form.
Control freak huh ?
Rich

[jack]

I turned around and told them to shut the fuck up and his reply was "Is he serious?"
I told him that I didn't pay for him to be a part of my movie so shut up. And he did.
Audience on the whole not perfect-not the best but pretty good.

bahahahaha. Pug, long time lurker here... just popping up with some <3 for your, er, outspokennness.

Good going!

oooh, pug, i LOVE it when you talk rough 

jack

[desperadum]

But now I'm scared, having read so much here, that I will have a bad crowd and I can't bare to have this spoilt for me in any shape or form.

Rich, I think audiences in a London cinema tend to be more civilized than over here. Sometimes in New York I have experienced some audience members shouting back at the screen (usually during thrillers, and this seems to be a largely cultural phenomenon)! Since you had a good experience in the one place, why don't you go back - and to a matinee, which tends to attract more "mature" audiences.

[richardL]

dear desperadum ....

Yes, I think yr right about the audiences but that's the problem ... in the US I might not feel worried or uncomfortable about any outbursts ..( normal-ish).
But here it's a real no-no and your own and everyone else's embarrassment is palpable !
 

[MellorSJ]

I just saw the movie for the second time.  Y'all are right.  It's worse the second time.  My eyes were blurry most all the time.

My first time was in Sydney, outdoors, in the rain, with a boisterous, very, mixed crowd (which, I have to add, annoyed me no end--here I am in one the gayest cities on the planet, and I watch this film with straight people?!).  They reacted appropriately in most places except a horrified laugh when Alma discovers our boys.  Perhaps 1200 people.

This time was Wednesday at 16:00 in Tucson, Arizona.  Theater just under half full, mostly retired (married) couples, groups of older women, and a few lone men.  Whether they were gay or not I couldn't tell.  (My gaydar is non-existent, a true handicap in more areas than just this.)  Maybe 150 people?  On entry I heard one woman say Mary had seen it and loved it; another added she'd read the story.

The crowd was mostly silent, especially during the last half.  One guy dropped his popcorn and you could hear every corn bounce it was so quiet.  During the Reunion scene, there were muffled gasps, and a few other places where appropriate.  All of Ennis' jokes went over well, but quiet respect was the order of the day.

I stayed through the frame-by-frame credits, as did most (but not all)  people.  Several got up as the rolling credits started and I joined them in an attempt to guage reaction.  Unfortunately, I picked a group who decided to talk about where to eat dinner   Then a couple of guys came out, an unnatural distance apart.  One asked the other what he thought.  I hope I did not hear "I think it sucked".  The questioner was silent (I think he disagreed!), and the answerer did not elaborate.

I then stalked two married couples.  They were discussing whether Lureen knew, why Jack just didn't go to Mexico, and the other questions that exercise us.  They seemed to have enjoyed it.  One comment struck me "It was a different time then," which of course is self-evidently true, but I found myself thinking, "Maybe.  Did you see Letterman last night?"  You know where I'm going with this...

In other news, I think it was indeed six bottles of beer while waiting for Jack.  There were three on the side table, and TWO on the lamp table (the lamp looks a lot like a bottle in that light), BUT Ennis took a bottle in the kitchen when he went to get his second beer, and he may have left others there

I did not see Heath's tat. I saw Mrs Twist with white coffee mugs both before and after Ennis went upstairs, but like I said, I was blurry by then.  Never mind, I'm going to see it again Friday with my best (US) friend and his girl.  We were hangin' last night and the subject came up about this site (actually), and whether to read the short story first.  I said "best 10, 611 words ever written."  My friend turned to her and said "Yup. Obsessed."

Well, at least you all understand.  From what you say, the third time is the very worst...  Wish me luck!

(Happy Oz Day to those of you still enjoying the summer.  Wish I was there.  And get well soon, OK?)

[kw]

Brokeback Mountain producer James Schamus said they were asked by White House for a copy of the movie


We were asked for a print of the movie which we supplied to the White House. So maybe somebody there has seen the movie.

http://www.defamer.com/hollywood/brokeback-mountain/brokeback-producer-tells-all-150688.php

[Uclapeterg]

Brokeback Mountain producer James Schamus said they were asked by White House for a copy of the movie


We were asked for a print of the movie which we supplied to the White House. So maybe somebody there has seen the movie.

http://www.defamer.com/hollywood/brokeback-mountain/brokeback-producer-tells-all-150688.php

Probably Laura Bush. 

[harry]

i've seen the movie 4 times so far.
i'm in the "industry" so i saw a screening for the "business" ... the director of cinematography was
there after the fact answering questions ( i have some interesing info on that. )

anyways ... i saw the movie 3 times in a theater in LA - paid and regular audience. mostly silent..you could
hear a pin drop excpet when the audience cried at the end. two other reactions: when randy quaid first
spies on jack and ennis ..the audience gasped ..same when alma witnessed the kiss.
now the "industry" screening was very different. the audience was VERY pro brokeback. but the they laughed
a lot. at times that i found kinda inappropriate. they laughed at alma ... i personally found nothing funny there,
it was very sad.  all around they laughed more, but in the end the effect was the same. crying in the end
and applause. applause at the end of all 4 shows and silent exits ....

[jack]

Brokeback Mountain producer James Schamus said they were asked by White House for a copy of the movie


We were asked for a print of the movie which we supplied to the White House. So maybe somebody there has seen the movie.

http://www.defamer.com/hollywood/brokeback-mountain/brokeback-producer-tells-all-150688.php

Probably Laura Bush. 

more likely rove, mehlmann and gannon/guckert

[Hmmmm]

Brokeback Mountain producer James Schamus said they were asked by White House for a copy of the movie


We were asked for a print of the movie which we supplied to the White House. So maybe somebody there has seen the movie.

http://www.defamer.com/hollywood/brokeback-mountain/brokeback-producer-tells-all-150688.php

"Lynne and I have a gay daughter, so it's an issue our family is very familiar with," Cheney told an audience that included his daughter. "With the respect to the question of relationships, my general view is freedom means freedom for everyone. ... People ought to be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to. - Dick Cheney, Davenport Iowa 2004

Probably Laura Bush. 

more likely rove, mehlmann and gannon/guckert

Perhaps the Cheney's are planing to see BBM with their daugher, Mary Cheney. 

Navigating politics aside, the Cheneys make no bones about their pride and support for their daughter.   I believe she is still the LGBT corporate relations manager at Coors.

"Lynne and I have a gay daughter, so it's an issue our family is very familiar with," Cheney told an audience that included his daughter. "With the respect to the question of relationships, my general view is freedom means freedom for everyone. ... People ought to be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to. - Dick Cheney, Davenport Iowa 2004

[exlogcabin]

Hey Harry,

Thanks for the report on the industry screening.

A bunch of us in LA are planning to go see the film together, probably the weekend of Feb. 4/5.  We'd love to have you join us!

Exlogcabin

[Sue in Baltimore]

Argh...I emailed a bunch of friends encouraging them to go see the movie.  One guy, WHO, ALARMINGLY, RUNS MY SON'S CUB SCOUT DEN, wrote the following in response:

"More pro-homo trash from Hollywood."

I thought he was joking, but when I asked, he said he wasn't.  Damn.  This guy's in a band, seems smarter and more open than that.  I know I'm naive to be surprised, but so be it.  I'm guess I'm more Jack than Ennis in that way.

Of course I'm now, very gently, trying to engage him in a dialogue about why a movie with gay protagonists is pro-gay.  We'll see how that goes.  I may have to start a new den for my kid and his cub scout buddies. 

Scary note:  This particular guy actually has a 9yo son who's very sensitive and artistic and not athletic...sorry if I'm just succumbing to dumb stereotypes there, but it scares the crap out of me that someone with that attitude could have a gay kid.  Though of course I do know that's a daily reality in our world.  Heaven help us.  Maybe I can get that kid into MY den.  If I do, it'll be for Jack, you know, and Ennis.  Cornball, maybe, but true.

More evidence of the need for the BBM  story to be heard:  in my traditionally-liberal state, the Gov and his fellow Republicans are pushing hard for an amendment to our state constitution banning gay marriage.  It won't pass but is designed to embarrass Dems in an election year.  To follow Ang's lead with the bookends...argh.