In the 1930s, all sheriffs were male. She very clearly and unambiguously states that he has sex with men.
But at the end of the movie, he admits that he keeps letting Ida get away because he is in love with her; they used to be romantic partners, before her accident.
WTF? A real life person could be bisexual, of course, but in movies, a hetero-romance obliterates gay references. Myrna's statement was an outright lie, a nasty joke played on the audience.
This is not a review of the g*ddam monstrosity (it would get an F----). I was so angry that I looked through the entire cast list, hoping to find a gay person to profile. I finally found one, after researching a gaggle of straight hunks:
2. Peter Sarsgaard as the queerbaiting Detective.
3. Jake Gyllenhaal as Ronnie Reed, a Fred Astaire-like dancer. Frank idolizes him, so they travel to all of the sites where his movies were filmed.
5. Will Dagger, on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends, as a guy at a movie theater who is trying to get with his girlfriend in spite of her protests. Frank and Ida intervene.
6. Louis Cancelmi, on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends, as Officer Goodman, one of the cops that the couple kills.
8. Antony Abbato, left, as another restaurant patron.
The gay guy after the break
I am reminded of that quote when I think of the works of Steve Carrell: Anchorman, Dan in Real Life, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Cafe Society, Date Night, Dinner for Schmucks, The Morning Show, The Four Seasons, all about little men trying desperately to find meaning in jobs and wives that they hate. Coincidentally, this is precisely the "job, house, wife, kids" trajectory that I rebelled against growing up.
So I wasn't planning to watch the HBO MAX series Rooster (2026). Then the promo showed a young man telling Steve, "nice washboard (abs)," referring to the hunk on the cover of his book. Later he seems to become Steve's sidekick. So Steve probably writes gay novels, and probably has a gay sidekick. Enough potential to review Episode 1.
Eric tells him to wait here, then zones him out and refuses to speak anymore. Fortunately, Professor Shepherd, who arranged his campus visit, is just walking up.
He's nervous -- he writes trashy beach novels, not literature: "Characters you like do bedroom stuff characters you don't like get shot in the face." Why would elite college students want to see him?
Scene 2: The reading, in a giant lecture hall. The students criticize his protagonist, Rooster, for describing the Girl in food terms during their 17 bedroom acts (18, if you count the bj). Isn't that sexist?
Russo counters that she is strong and powerful -- she rescues Rooster, remember? "But she takes off her bikini top to do it." A jock praises that scene: "The Girl is smokin'!" Hey, isn't he the gay sidekick? I'm starting to suspect that I've been tricked.
Scene 3: Next Russo meets the College President (John C. McGinley, the homophobic, sexist jerk on Scrubs). He strips to his underwear to show off his physique: "You're thinking, most college presidents are bookish shut-ins, but this guy is jacked!" He looks like the n*ked guy from earlier. So it wasn't a hallucination, just a crazy act that would never happen on any real college campus.They allude to a "s&x scandal" involving Katie and Archie (not mentioned before), and the President offers Russo a job as Writer-in-Residence. "But I didn't even go to college." "Who cares? It's over-rated." Academic malaise at its snarkiest.
McGinley's backside on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends.
Next Katie points out that the college has asked Russo to do a reading a billion times; why agree now? "Admit it -- you're checking up on me, to see if I'm ok after the s*x scandal." We finally find out what it is: her husband Archie dumped her for a grad student. Hetero Romance Problem #1.
She has no idea why. Everything was normal, and then she was moving into the dead hockey coach's house. Everybody on campus knows, and keeps staring at her and asking questions. And it's difficult to avoid running into him or his new girlfriend on a small campus. She's about to crack.
She points them out, sitting on a park bench. "The girlfriend isn't even hot. She's like a regular person. Why did he dump me for her?" Maybe he liked her personality?
As Russo peeks through the bushes, husband Archie and the girlfriend leave, and a lesbian couple notice him. They think he's a perv, har har. He runs away as they film him.
Spoiler alert: This is set up to have consequences, like Russo being arrested, or the job offer rescinded, but it is never mentioned again.
More after the break
Title: "Wonders that Cannot be Fathomed, Miracles that Cannot be Counted." From Job 5,9, NIV. Many terrible things have happened to Job, including physical ailments and the deaths of his children, but Eliphaz assures him that God can perform "wonders and miracles," and rescue him. We'll see what wonders and miracles God performs here.
Baby Billy is Bi: Still trying to sell the siblings on his Bible Bonkers game show, Baby Billy reveals he is friends with Dusty Daniels, the racing champ. We cut to a scene of the two, plus famous actor Gene Hackman (played by Kevin Murray) in Monte Carlo on New Years' Eve, 1999. They're awaiting the Y2K bug, hugging, dancing, and dropping acid as if it's the end of the world."I doubt it, but you never know...we might have touched each other. That's not the important part of the story." The important part: he can talk Dusty Daniels into leaving his fortune to whoever wins at Bible Bonkers, the Gemstones or the Simpkins.
So Kelvin came out to the family yesterday after years anguish, angst, self-doubt, backing-and-forthing, and annoyed viewers, and he still hasn't said the word. Now Baby Billy comes out as bi with utter nonchalance. Why couldn't he have said something to his nephew during Cousins' Night, or back in Season 1?
El Molino: We cut to a locust splatting on a windshield. It's Uncle Peter and Chuck, driving the U-Haul full of explosives. Peter has finally come up with a plan, He doesn't specify what it is, but since it involves the Gemstones and explosives, it's not hard to figure out. They're nearly out of gas, and the militia took all of their money, so they stop at El Molino, a real Hispanic supermarket with two locations in Charleston, to use the cash-counting machine.
While Peter is inside, the U-Haul explodes! He thinks that Chuck has been killed.
They used to be very careful to avoid public displays of affection, holding hands under the table and forehead-pressing instead of kissing. Now they casually cuddle in front of everyone, even family members who did not see the kiss.
They discuss the Bible Bonkers Family Feud-style game show. The siblings will compete, but they need two more. They were going to ask Chuck, a big Bible nerd, but he's dead, so it will have to be Karl and May-May.
At that moment, Keefe pulls up in the Smut Busters van. He's using that van for everyday chores? Surely he and Kelvin have a dozen cars.
He leaves the key in the van as he goes inside, so Peter steals it.
God saved you: In the wilderness church, Karl and May-May mourn Chuck's death, clear off brush, and pray -- then she crosses herself Surely somebody on the staff knew that only Catholics use that gesture. Suddenly Chuck walks in! He's alive!
Cut to the family back in Eli's parlor. This time it's just Eli, the siblings, and the Montgomerys. Chuck explains that he made sure the parking lot was empty, then set off the explosion and ran away, so his Dad would think he was dead and he could escape.
"Why were you super-mean to us, while we were in captivity?" Chuck doesn't explain, but he avers that he didn't actually want them to die. Then why were you shooting at them? Besides, he blew up the van to save them. Doesn't that make up for the kidnapping? I thought you blew up the van to save yourself.
So, about Bible Bonkers? Chuck is a Bible expert, so May-May can drop out. The team will consist of Jesse, Judy, Kelvin, Chuck, and Karl.
Later, at the amusement park, Chuck tries to apologize to Jesse. They bond over having Daddies who are embarrassed by them.
As Gideon drives Eli and May-May to the filming, they see Peter in the stolen Smut Busters van. He's up to no good! Follow him! Why didn't Keefe report the van missing?
On set, the band starts to play and the dancers twirl about. Showtime! Baby Billy does a cheesy stand-up bit, then introduces the Gemstones vs. the Simpkins.
Notice Kelvin's textured single-breasted green coat, "The Attico" from Farfetch, "The global destination for modern luxury." It will become important later.
The Simpkins team includes siblings Vance, Shay, and Craig, not seen since Episode 1, plus two young Asian girls. Apparently they are ringers: there is no indication that any of the siblings has a partner or children. Compare with the Gemstones, who, for all their faults, have devoted partners.
Baby Bill asks easy fill-in-the-blank style Bible questions to Jesse-Vance and Judy-Shay. The Gemstones lose.
Now it's Kelvin-Craig's turn. First Kelvin does a self-aggrandizing coat-swirling dance. Keefe, watching from the VIP section with the other partners, responds with a weird robot thing. It looks like he's following along with the move they practiced.
Meanwhile, Gideon, May-May, and Eli follow Peter to the Salvation Center. Couldn't they have called the police from the car? Don't these people have cell phones? He drives to the loading dock, on a day when there are no services, so he probably expects the church to be empty.
When the Gemstones confront him, he announces that he has filled the Smut Busters van with explosives, triggered by his fitbit watch. Wait-- where did he get a second batch?
May -May yells that both his sons are inside. Chuck is alive after all. At this point, Peter would probably give up the plan, but he is interrupted by......
More after the break
