Big Wednesday (1978) Queer Film (F)

DIRECTOR: John Milius
John Milius’ epic coming-of-age surfing film sounded great on paper, but while the waves were spectacular – kudos to cinematographer Bruce Surtees – the acting was not, and the film bombed at the box office.
The film traces the lives of buddies Jan-Michael Vincent, William Katt and Gary Busey from 1962 to the Vietnam War draft of 1965 to the “Great Swell of ‘74”. In their attempts to dodge the draft, they feign homosexuality, insanity and all kinds of medical ailments. Handled with the right tone, these scenes could have been funny, but Milius bungles it, and they end up as some of the most homophobic cinematic moments of a very homophobic decade.
I liked what Janet Maslin said in The New York Times:

Barbara Hale is quite unconvincing as Mr. Katt’s mother. This is a faux pas of no mean eminence ; after all, Miss Hale actually is Mr. Katt’s mother

The audience stayed away in droves.
Streaming on Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, and YouTube.
https://thebrownees.net/86-queer-films-made-under-the-hays-code-1934-1968/
https://thebrownees.net/106-queer-films-from-the-new-hollywood-1968-1980/

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