Broken Hearts Club, The (2000)

Full Review
What is it with gay movies that criticize the gay film canon for being stereotypical and derogatory and then turn out to be stereotypical and derogatory? Welcome to The Broken Hearts Club.

Howie (Matt McGrath), one of the characters in the movie, decries the stereotypes so common in gay films, and then says, “What if they made a movie about us?!” Give me a break. They have made movies (and television shows) about you.

This movie rehashes clichéd characters and tired themes. First, we have Everygay (Dennis, played by Timothy Olyphant), who spends the movie struggling to understand himself and his purpose. By the end of the movie, he realizes he needs to recreate himself (a worthy goal), but he does that by running away from the exact thing that would offer the greatest personal growth: a committed relationship.

Then we have the Promiscuous Hunk (Cole, played by an affable if unbelievable-as-gay-man Dean Cain). The sole African American character, the Flamboyant Queen, gets dumped by his boyfriend. The supposedly moral center of the movie, the Wise Old Gay Man (Jack, John Mahoney), dies. Couldn’t make a “non-stereotypical” movie about gay people without at least one gay person dying, eh? Another character, the Druggie Pretty Boy (Benji, Zach Braff), almost dies after a drug overdose.

This film seems to enjoy a lot of devotees. Many of my friends seem to have a soft spot in their hearts for this movie. And I’ve read comments by gay men who say this movie is an honest take on gay life. I have to admit there are a lot of gay men like the characters in this movie. Stereotypes always have a basis in truth. What bothers me about this movie, and gay movies in general, is the lack of balance: all we see are the stereotypes playing out the clichés.

Indeed, the movie focuses on the ways in which the characters enable each other’s self-destructive tendencies under the guise of camaraderie. In theory, hilarity ensues. In fact, while the movie has its funny moments, the comedy proves insufficient to overcome the film’s failings.

Some of the themes in the movie manage to resonate. Patrick (Ben Weber) suffers from low self-esteem, considering himself a “6″ in a world of “10s” looking for an “11.” Unfortunately, Patrick is a one-note character, and we never really get to explore this aspect of the gay community and its impact on its members. Like all the characters, Patrick is mostly there just so the filmmakers could say they included every type of gay person.

My favorite character, the peppery Leslie (played by Nia Long), has only brief scenes in the movies. As usual, the lesbians are relegated to the background, as though the set designer said, “Put the couch over here, and um, let’s put the lesbians next to the window.”

On a positive note, I understand this movie represents the first picture from a major studio with an all-gay ensemble, which was (at the time) a wonderful step forward. Which leads to a whole new question: did this movie get the green light because its characters are so stereotypical, or despite that fact?

Video

Links
The Broken Hearts Club at IMDB.com
The Broken Hearts Club at Rotten Tomatoes
FilmCritics.com review
Gay Interest Films review
DVD Verdict review
CinemaQueer.com review

Recommendations

• If you’dd like a gay romantic dramedy with characters like you’ve never seen, check out Big Eden.
• If you’d like a gay romantic comedy that’s simply better done, try I Think I Do or Slutty Summer. .
• If you enjoy the ensemble slice-of-gay-life, try Queer As Folk or, for something more colorful, Metrosexuality.