The Boys in the Band (1970)

(On Cable TV, November 2022) I sat down to watch The Boys in the Band more out of duty than anticipation—it being the only entry in TCM’s “Reframed: Films That Shaped Our Culture” spotlight lineup that I hadn’t yet seen. Not being particularly interested in gay issues or gay history, I didn’t expect to get drawn into the film. But something clicked in the opening moments—the snazzy opening montage unusually presenting male-on-male gaze, the ferociously good dialogue adapted from the theatrical play, the ensemble cast of well-presented characters, or simply the atmosphere of circa-1970 New York City, The Boys in the Band quickly becomes, if not relatable, then certainly fascinating. It’s clear that I can’t understand the impact that the film had upon release. Perhaps the most visible artefact of this, as pointed out by far more knowledgeable commentators, is that much of the film’s drama is built on the foundation of self-hating gay men—nobody being quite comfortable about, let alone proud (a clue-by-four hint here for straight viewers like me) of their nature. This is manifested more visibly by the closeted character or the ways some of them manage to compartmentalize their lives all the way to the film’s end, but even the most flamboyant of them still carries guilt for who they are—and that makes the film both a historical marker of sorts and (as I research the topic a bit) a lightning rod for criticism from modern viewers, for whom at least two generations of gay men have fought bitterly to normalize homosexuality far beyond what circa-1970 gay men thought of themselves. In that way, at least, The Boys in the Band is an eloquent period piece showing the progress since then. (Then you look up the actors and realize that five out of the nine died of AIDS in the 1980s-90s, which is another shock to absorb.)  But even if you don’t want to engage with the social significance of the film, what remains is a very funny, increasingly dramatic film that builds to an unsatisfying but appropriate climax. Director William Friedkin, no stranger to explosive premises, does a lot to infuse cinematic qualities to a theatrical adaptation. The boldness through which The Boys in the Band presents both stereotypes and more intricate character studies is quite impressive—for 1970 or since then. It all contributes to the result’s accessibility—really a film that shaped our culture.