Getting Real
Saturday July 17th 3:45 PM - After the movie.
All six of them were walking back over to Gary and Ted's place. They
had just left the theater, and Gary asked, "Well what did you think of
it?" Ted interrupted, "Before we start, who all has seen Beautiful
Thing?" Everyone but Bill, indicates that they've seen the movie. "Bill,
what did you think? Good? Bad?"
Bill's a little bit self-conscious, but he says, "I thought it was
excellent. It really got into the shit that you have to put up with"
looking around, making sure they weren't being overheard, "being gay. I
got into the part where he wrote the paper that won the prize, but he
thought it was bogus. I thought the guy who played Steven was great. And
the scene in the rain, wow."
"I know what you mean," Will said, "You could feel what that guy
went through, Shit! It'd drive me crazy, if you were only there for the
sex part, and couldn't even talk to Johnny in public. That's really
fucked!"
TK interjects, "I know you're all gonna feel I'm full of shit, but
I really felt sorry for Johnny. It's kinda dumb complainin' about a dude
stuck in the closet, if you're in one yourself. Sure you guys know I'm
gay, but my mom and grams don't know, and to be honest, I really don't
want to tell 'em. I know it'll have to happen but I'm willing to wait
for awhile. Then, on top of it, coming out at school! Fuck, no way in
Hell!"
Will adds, "Back home, it's like you just couldn't do it, it'd be
hazardous to your health. They don't put up with queers. Look what
happened to Tom and Steve, shit look what my old man did to Ted."
Bart decides to throw his two cents in, "But you guys are missing
the whole point of the movie, Steve got tired of all the bullshit and
just said fuck it. He stood there telling the world who he was, and that
he didn't want to be liked for who he wasn't. Shit, that would take
guts. The cool part was his mom, his teacher, Linda and all the girls
from the paper gave him that standing ovation. By the way, I just loved
Steve's voice, it was so sexy!"
"Gary, what did you think?" Bill asked. "I really liked it. It's
the best movie I've seen since BT. But it was sadder. Sometimes you just
wish for happy endings that just aren't there. TK, I felt sorry for
Johnny too, but different, he ... had love right there in front of him
and ended up throwing it away. ... It sort of gets down to how important
love is. ... Maybe, you don't know till you're there." Gary gazes at
Ted, smiling. "Which is the sad part, Johnny, in the movie, knew how
much he was in love, and how he fucked himself. ..."
Ted says, "On a lighter note, I thought the scene where Steve and
Linda were dancing, and she moves back and he says 'sorry, I was
thinking of someone else' was hilarious, it happened to me once. The
girl who played LInda was just great. In fact, they were all good. The
guy who played Steve, Ben Silverstone, seemed to be perfect in his
part."
Bart adds, "Yeah! He was good. My favorite scene is after Steve
gets caught in the woods, and his dad warns him about queers being
there. That was really emotional. Then his mom knowing her son was gay."
Gary says, "For me, it was his speech on prize day." "I still say it was
the scene in the rain." Bill says and Will agrees, "Yeah, that was the
best."
Then TK adds, "I liked the shot of Johnny's ass, myself. But I
think my favorite scene was toward the beginning when Steven and Johnny
were sitting in the bench outside the can. It sorta set the whole tone
for the movie, I, also think the word 'dodgy' is really funny."
They were now approaching Gary and Ted's place when they heard a car
horn. They look up to see, Zack and Shelley. Shelley, "TK where were
you? You're late." TK replies, "I'm sorry, we just got back from a movie
and we were talkin. ... If you don't mind, Bill is gonna go to the
festival with us. He likes jazz, but I gonna turn him into a blues fan."
Zack says, "Alright, but he's going to have to stay over. I'm not
driving him back here in the middle of the night." Shelley, who has been
watching TK and Bill both blush, starts laughing, "You know, TK if you
really want we could drive him back." "No. no ... we don't want to put
you to any trouble. ... We got that extra room in the tent. ..."
Zack then says, "Well, get your asses in gear. Go grab you're stuff
and we'll get going." As Shelley and Zack wait, Shelley, turns to the
remaining four, 'So what do you all have planned for tonite?" Gary says,
"Well, Ted and I were planning to take these pups out for pizza later.
Then Ted and I are going out for awhile. We'll leave these two up to
their own devices. There's plenty of things to do around here."
TK and Bill have both gotten in the van, and Zack waves, yelling,
"See you tomorrow. Take care."
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