The Boys in the Band

For the longest time, I hated The Boys in the Band. I saw it for the first and only time 25 years ago when it came out on VHS. It made me cringe and shiver in fear. Fear I would somehow turn into one of those characters – self-loathing, mean, angry, bitter.  Everything that scared me about aging and being alone in the world. I never watched it again and happily rated it a 2 out of 5 on Netflix a few years ago holding on to my old beliefs. But we screened it this year at the school’s LGBTQ History Month film series as part of a double feature including the brand-new Making the Boys documentary. And thanks to a now historical view of this classic melodrama and the insights from Professor Wes Davis, I have a new-found respect and admiration for the film. I understand its importance and place in gay film history. And I can now watch it more than 40 years after it was released and see it as an important historical piece and see the performances as the camp and melodrama they are, not the reality I was so fearful of 20 years ago. I change my rating to a 4 out of 5 and look forward to future discussions surrounding this important film.