I'm walking through the living room. On the tv screen, two guys are in bed together, one in his underwear. The partner says: "It would have been awkward to tell them we were together."
"What's this?" I ask Bob. "Gay romance?"
"How do you not watch something deliberately on Netflix?"
In the midst of texting furiously, he says: "Like I watched a tenth of an episode three years ago, so it showed up on that annoying 'continue watching' list....So I turned on an episode.
"Look up."
But the scene with the gay lovers discussing "telling them we're together" is gone.
The series is Family Business, a French comedy-drama about the black-sheep son of a Jewish butcher in Paris who converts the "family business" into a marijuana coffee house. The one on the right must be the son, Joseph (Jonathan Cohen), and the other is either Ali (Ali Marhyar) or Olivier (Olivier Rosemberg).
An internet search yields no gay references for any of them, except for Jonathan Cohen telling someone that "I'm not gay at all." Searching on Family Business "gay" yields: "A New York City grad student moonlighting as a dominatrix enlists her gay BFF from high school," which is another tv series altogether.
So we have no choice but to rewind and watch the episode.
Scene 1: The guys, Olivier and Jonathan, knock on Clementine's door, and are surprised to find that she is rich enough to have servants. She disgustingly files her feet while they hold hands and ask about "what you said last night." They want her help in opening the cannabis shop. She agrees to invest 20,000 Euros. They press their heads together as if they are about to kiss!
While Olivier is in the bathroom, Clementine tells Jonathan that in exchange for her help, she wants to sleep with his boyfriend. He agrees to arrange it. Olivier returns, but Jonathan is too nervous to tell him about the deal.
Scene 2: Jonathan goes to work at the butcher shop. His Dad is angry about "last night," but Jonathan apologizes. Dad has sold the shop to Waldman., so no cannabis coffee house.
Scene 3: Jonathan visits Olivier at the clothing store where he works. Uncle Youssef (Oussame Kheddam, left) has just gotten out of prison, and is shopping for a new suit. Jonathan is a little afraid of him.
Another main character, Ali (Ali Marhyar) is there with his son, JP. The ex-wife and her new boyfriend, who also happens to be Ali's boss, arrive to pick up the kid. Boss complains that Ali is not doing airport pickups anymore. This must be some secondary plot stuff.
Scene 4: Uncle Youssef pays for the suit and invites the guys to a getting-out-of-prison celebration tonight: "There will be pussy!"
"Um...we're....um...both in relationships," Jonathan says. "We...um...have girls. We're in love."
Apparently Uncle Youssef doesn't know that they're a couple.
They start to come out by asking if Uncle Youssef had sex in prison. He's disgusted by the implication, and walks out. Maybe don't tell him.
Scene 5: The guys are having dinner at the favorite restaurant of Enrico Macias, a famous Algerian Jewish singer (playing himself). If they can get him to agree to the weed shop, Dad will change his mind. But they end up with a bill of 229 Euros, and Enrico doesn't show up. I'm not sure what this scene is for.
Scene 6: The next day. While Olivier orders clothes for his business, Jonathan loses at video poker. A women comes in to his apartment. He explains how the toilet works and asks for six months' rent in advance. Oh, she's subletting his place.
Scene 7: Another woman, who I think is Jonathan's sister Aure, is talking to her Grandmother. She is moving to Japan tomorrow. She already met someone there. Grandma is thrilled; "I'm Ashkenazi (Jewish), but I like sausages. Aure admits that she doesn't like sausages. Wait -- two gay siblings in the family? Grandma is fine with it: "Cherries are good, too."
Scene 8: Jonathan is showing off his new suit, while a woman sets the table. "I saw your brother at the shop today." She hates him -- "He's dead to me!" He saw Uncle Youssef earlier -- so she's his aunt?
Whoops, a passioante kiss. Not his aunt! Maybe it's Ali's sister. And Jonathan is straight! Not possible! Maybe bi, and having an affair with Olivier? I'm totally confused!
Scene 9: Jonathan and Olivier at the restaurant, trying to meet Enrico again. They convince him to have dinner with them. Olivier keeps his arm around Jonathan through the whole evening. They're a gay couple! Meanwhile Aida the Girlfriend is entertaining her parents, and texting "Where are you?"
Scene 10: Jonathan finally gets home, apologizes for being late, sits down at the dinner table, and starts farting. Aida is embarrassed.
Scene 11: Later, in bed, Jonathan explains to Olivier that he farted in front of her parents. "It would have been complicated to tell them we were together after that." They hold hands.
We? Jonathan and Aida? But surely the parents already knew that. Jonathan and Olivier? Why would Aida's parents need to know?
Olivier: "She loves you. She'll get over it."
Weird think to say about your boyfriend's girlfriend! I'm totally confused.
Scene 12: Enrico comes into the shop to convince Dad not to sell it. They get high. The end.
What did I just watch? A gay couple, a guy with a boyfriend and a girlfriend, or what?
I fast-forwarded through the rest of Season 1. There's a scene where Olivier awkwardly tries to have sex with Clementine -- he's obviously not into girls. Olivier and Jonathan are together in every episode. They hug and hold hands, but no kissing, and they are never in bed again. Jonathan is in a couple of scenes with Aida, and they hug once, but they never kiss again, either.
Does that help?
I did not get any gay vibes from watching the trailer maybe they are not gay they are just French
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