1982. Movie: Making Love
In 1982 Twentieth Century Fox released ‘Making Love’, one of the first Hollywood movies that didn’t treat gays as sick, sad or dangerous.
The film starred the hunky Harry Hamlin as an ‘out’ gay man and the equally cute Michael Ontkean, as a married man who, unbeknownst to his wife, has casual sex with other men.
Given that this was one of Hollywood’s more considered portrayals of homosexual relationships, the film showed nothing more racy than the two men shirtless, and
kissing. Nonetheless, this was still deemed to be heady enough to prompt the studio to add a warning at the start of the movie:
“MAKING LOVE deals openly and candidly with a delicate issue. It is not sexually explicit. But it may be too strong for some people.”
Of course, you have to wonder who would go and see a movie called ‘Making Love’ without any inkling that it might have something to do with s.e.x.. Clearly people weren’t been warned about the possibility of sex. They were being warned about something much worse – two men kissing!
And yet, despite the warning, apparently it was still too strong for some people. Accordingly to the screenplay writer, Barry Sandler, people were squirming in their seats and walking out in disgust. I can’t recall gays and lesbians ever storming out whenever heterosexuals kissed in movies – which is probably just as well or we’d never get to see any films through to the end!
I didn’t see this movie, but I distinctly remember when it was released. I was walking past a cinema where it was scheduled to appear and noticed the promotional poster. It read ‘Making Love’. A large sticker underneath announced ‘Coming Soon!’
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