“The joke is that these people happen to be horrible to each other even as they love each other, and they happen to be gay. These guys aren’t funny because they’re gay, these guys are funny because of their wit and humanity.”
Ian McKellen on Vicious in The Sunday Times, which starts on ITV tomorrow night.
Unfortunately "just happens to be gay" just happens to be a vacuous liberal cliche, and particularly silly when you're talking about a sitcom about a gay couple.
Could a male and a female actor have been slipped into the two lead roles?
And even more unfortunately, the word is Vicious happens not be funny.
David Benedict was hilarious - ironically - previewing it on Saturday Review; "The script is sooo bad..."
Looks like all those who said Ben Elton's The Wright Way was "the worst sitcom ever" could soon be revising their opinions.
Oops.
Did you know he's got lots of top showbiz mates?
Funny he never talks about that.
Anyway, he's got his own TV show!
Apparently, on Sweat The Small Stuff on BBC3 "he and celebrity guests argue the toss over things that don’t really matter. It is perfect for Grimshaw, and for the version of youth he embodies: celebrity-obsessed, fast-moving, dismissive, reductive fun. It is Twitter for the telly. Grimmy opted for it because, he says, 'I am fickle about pop culture. Like, I’ll love something one week, and then, yeah, I’m so over it.'”
Hope that's not tempting fate, Nick.
Oh, and good news, girls - he's still single!
But he quite "likes" James Franco.
“He’d be good, wouldn’t he? Like, older. Casual. And smart. I got a National Geographic subscription so that I could say things like: ‘Yeah, you know the blue whale’s spine?’ I thought he’d like things like that.”
Nick sounds quite a catch, doesn't he?
Update: Little parlour game. See if you can see any connection between this headline in Monday's Star - Nick Grimshaw Bans Harry Styles Over 'Gay' Jibes - and the story beneath it.
Unfortunately it's on ITV on Monday straight after Vicious.
Let's hope everyone hasn't changed channels.
Russell plays a bloke who works in a job centre... who just happens to be straight!
Typecasting?
“Every character I play is straight, which is unique, my agent says, because it’s not really been done before that someone who is completely out is able to play straight roles. So for me to play gay it has to be something special, because it might actually be more of a risk. So I’m waiting for that role – I want it to be something that moves things forward.”
Can't wait.
Doesn't she look gorgeous right now?
Scott's life fell apart after he split up with Lee, and he's spent the time since on and off drugs, and in and out of jail.
He let go the rights to his memoir, Behind The Candelabra, years ago, so may not see a cent from the TV movie.
Scott's now in prison - again - awaiting trial on credit card fraud and burglary charges.
Poor sod.
* There's a more revealing interview with Larry King from 2002 here.
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Wouldn't it be funny if Vicious was actually great and The Job Lot was as shit as Splash!
ReplyDeleteThis dude seems to think Vicious is great, whereas The Job Lot is merely "amiable".
ReplyDeletehttp://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/tv-and-radio/tv-preview-vicious-the-job-lot-1-2911304
Granted, he doesn't work for The Guardian...
You do realise On The Job - or whatever it's called - is on BBC3?
ReplyDelete'Unfortunately "just happens to be gay" just happens to be a vacuous liberal cliche.'
ReplyDeleteIt's not so simple as that. If gay characters are to become unremarkable in mainstream novels, films, etc, then often it will need to be the case that they just happen to be gay--i.e. the book or film is not in any way an examination of what it is to be gay in modern society, etc, etc. I've had short stories rejected by magazine editors on the grounds that they don't want any more "about gay issues"--but my stuff isn't usually "about gay issues". It may be about Marx and human nature, psychobabble, capitalism and selfishness, guilt--about any number of things--but my characters are quite often gay and, relative to what I am writing about--the phrase beckons--they merely *happen* to be gay. The alternative appears to be that unless one means to Highlight Gay Issues one should keep gay characters out of it and one can write, say, about the effects of capitalist economy only with hetero characters.
Yes Paul, but from all I've seen or heard about Vicious it is about a gay couple dealing with being elderly, one in the closet etc etc, so their sexuality can hardly be said to be incidental in this case.
ReplyDeleteMcKellen's various comments on this seem more like he's telling potential viewers; 'Don't worry horses, we won't frighten you."
Yes, but you sneered at "happens to be gay" as "a vacuous liberal cliche" as though it were always so. You may be right that here their being gay is central, so that "happens to be gay" is indeed evasive and designed not to frighten the horses, but it doesn't follow, as I took it you were suggesting, that it is *always* worthy of eye-rolling.
DeleteThere must be a better way of phrasing it...
DeleteRussell Tovey in a new sitcom...his boyfriend played by acting newcomer...Tom Daley.
ReplyDeleteThey don't even need write any jokes and they can stick it on opposite Doctor Who. We'll still watch.
Ohhhhhh... IMAGINE THAT!
Deletex
"Happens to be gay" is always going to sound like a cliche, if unintentional, when it's *Ian McKellen*
ReplyDeleteI'm sure they don't mean to, but the luvvies really do sound awfully conceited sometimes.
The Russell character in the (yes, achingly twee) "After Henry" just happened to be gay. 30 odd years ago? As for playing only straight characters, well Richard Wilson did ok at that. OK, he might not have been publicly out but I struggle to think many people either didn't realise or were shocked when he came out.
"I'm sure they don't mean to, but the luvvies really do sound awfully conceited sometimes."
DeleteYou jest, yes?
x
ooft at that Daily Star story. Are they suggesting that that was an actual thing?
ReplyDeleteThey love to imply it, but clearly know it's nonsense.
DeleteTovey's show is vile, working class condemning shite. Ever been in an actual job centre? This show is an unwatchable (never again) head-fuck. Looking forward to your condemnation, or does Tovey's DICK/ASS beat your so called socialism Richard?
ReplyDeleteTo confirm. Old theatrical/luvvie queens = vile, boring retrogressive yawn. Attitude flesh showing young gaze = whatever. Will watch whateverudo/slobber/pathetic.
Correct?
Think I only criticised IM's much repeated "just happens to be gay" line, and hoped Vicious wouldn't be as unfunny and leaden as the clips were.
ReplyDeleteDon't think I said anything about The Job Lot. I just said I thought RT was gorgeous.
x
Vicious and The Job Lot were like chalk and cheese.
ReplyDeleteThe former made absolutely no attempt to be "modern". In fact, they seemed to go out of their way to make it old fashioned (even the theme tune is a Communards song). It's completely theatrical and over the top; but the creakiness of some of it adds to the charm of the whole thing.
The Job Lot wasn't only offensive and unfunny; beneath the "realism" of the shooting style and the acting, the jokes are far broader than anything in Vicious, and they could have easily been slipped into a 1970s sitcom script (its one joke seems to be how terribly stupid everyone in a Job Centre is).
There's a warmth and humanity to Vicious too, that's completely absent from The Job Lot.
Russell's agent refused to even consider the script for the recent gay indie "Weekend". I thought the film was overhyped but nevertheless, it stood out against the dominant "Not Another Gay Sequel"-type of gay movie. I wonder why Tovey Inc. considered it beneath them...
ReplyDeleteFrom his comments, it seems they feel him playing a gay character is a risk to his image.
DeleteI think the only gay character he's played is the one in that episode of Ashes to Ashes, which I think was before he'd publicly come out.
This is interesting - and I wonder how much pressure there is from management and agents etc to maintain his niche for the lovable young straight bloke roles.
ReplyDeleteEven if they're quite happy to be known as a great big gayer in real life - odd...
He did play gay in Rob Brydon's Annually Retentive - but was playing himself, and I get the feeling that was guerilla TV done quick and on the hop, and might have been a favour for a showbiz mate.
Though I have no idea if Tovey and Brydon are actually mates.