The Coming-Out Episode of "Family Reunion"

 

Family Reunion is a sitcom about a family who moves from the Pacific Northwest to the South to get closer to their roots.  I reviewed an episode earlier to see if the boy Mazzi was gay (turns out that he just had feminine-coded traits).  One of the writers responded, saying that the show is gay-friendly, and a gay cousin will show up in a later episode.  That episode is "Remember When M'Dear Stole the Show."

Scene 1: 6 Weeks Ago.  The teenage Jade auditions for part of 18-year old Mimi in the musical that the whole family is working on, The Night I Fell in Love.  But her grandmother, M'Dear, has guilted Mom, the writer/director/producer, into giving her the part.

Scene 2:  Mom Cocoa complains that, with all her rewrites, M'Dear is changing the whole show.  The title is now The Night I Fell in Love with Jesus, and it's about a religious conversion rather than a heterosexual romance.  M'Dear: "But you begged me to be the star!"

Scene 3:  They're all hanging out on the porch after rehearsal, eagerly anticipating the arrival of Cousin Barron (Nico Annan, left), a big-time songwriter who works with celebrities. Wait -- isn't Dad a celebrity?  So what's the big deal?

Backstory: Grandpa and M'Dear raised Cousin Barron after his mother died, and wanted him to become a dentist, but he insisted on a career in music.  

Cousin Barron arrives.  Hugs all around.  "Who's the cute guy with you?"  "Oh, that's Sidney (Sean Samuels), my...um...business partner."  

Sidney and M'Dear bond over a Bible verse quoting contest.

Scene 4: They gather in the kitchen to watch a video of Cousin Barron and Shaka (the older son) dancing.  The youngest daughter asks "So, are you guys (Sidney and Barron) dating, or what?"  

Dad tries to shut her up: "That ain't none of your business," but Cousin Barron says "We're not dating, we're engaged!'  

Shaka: "Wait.  You can't be engaged.  You're not gay!"

Cousin Barron: "Well, I am gay."

Grandpa yells about how he's against homos and won't have them in his house. The rest of the family is supportive.

Scene 5:  Whoops, Shaka is homophobic, too.  He doesn't want to dance with Cousin Barron anymore.  "But I'm still the same person."  "No, you're not. Stay away from me!" He runs ouy of the room.

Scene 6: Opening night.  I used to think it was weird, back in the 1970s, when all of the regular cast and no one else would appear in community theater productions.  Well, they're doing it again.  

Backstage, Dad wants to know why Shaka has deleted Cousin Barron from his TikTok account.  

Shaka: "Because I hate him! Dad, did you know he was gay?"  

Dad: "Sure, I've known since we were kids."  

Shaka: "Doesn't it bother you?"

Dad: "No. And I'm surprised it bothers you."  Me, too.  In a family of allies --- even the super-religious Bible verse champion M'Dear -- how does the son turn homophobic?  I guess from Grandpa?

Shaka: "Well, I'm not gay, so I don't want to ever see him or hear about him again."

Scene 7:  M'Dear has turned the "tragic diagnosis scene" into a dance number.    Then she twists her ankle and can't continue, so her understudy, Jade, must go on!

Shaka seeks out his brother, Mozzie: "Can you believe Dad actually wants me to accept Cousin Barron!  He acts like hating gays makes me a jerk!"

Mozzie: "That's because it does.  Since when are you homophobic?"

Shaka: "Dude, I'm not afraid of gay people.  But if I  hang out with them, people will think I'm gay, too!"

Mozzie: "Some people think I'm gay because I'm so feminine.  Who cares?"

Scene 8: Uh-oh, Jade has to go on in M'Dear's place, but she didn't learn her lines!  So M'Dear performs while sitting on a park bench.

Scene 9: Grandpa congratulating M'Dear on her performance.  "How did you like my duet with Barron?"  

Grandpa: "Grr, grr, Book of Leviticus, grr!"  

M'Dear: "Oh, he's a great singer.  And he and Sidney are so happy together!"

Grandpa: "I know what you're trying to do.  But I absolutely cannot deal with Baron being like that Isn't there some way to fix him, turn him normal?"

M'Dear: "He doesn't need fixing."  

Grandpa:  "What did I do wrong, for him to turn out like that?  I failed my sister, and I failed that boy."

M'Dear: "Barron is an educated, successful man of faith. You did a good job."

Grandpa: "But the Bible says that God hates him!"

M'Dear: "Don't quote the Bible to me.  I'm the Bible verse champ.  You can cherry-pick a few verses to suit your agenda, or you can realize that Jesus is about love."

Scene 10: The rest of the family is in the kitchen, eating ice cream.  Shaka has somehow turned accepting, and asks Barron to make a TikTok with him.  How did that happen?  

Scene 11: Barron and Shaka dancing, then posting the video to the internet.  Shaka apologizes for being homophobic earlier.  They hug.  

Scene 12: On the porch, saying goodbye to Cousin Barron and Sidney.  Grandpa comes out, so the family scrams.  Cousin Barron apologizes for being gay.  Grandpa says he doesn't get it, but "I'll be there for you."  They hug and leave.  M'Dear congratulates Grandpa on his ability to be civil in spite of his homophobia.  Hey, he can talk to a gay person without yelling!  Give him a medal!

Postscript: Meg DeLoatch, Co-Writer of the episode, dedicates it to her son Maxx, whom she "loves unconditionally."  Co-writer George Blake dedicates it to his "two best loves: my Mom and my Tommy."  

My Verdict:  Most sitcoms in the 1980s and 1990s had an episode where a visiting friend or family member comes out.  Everyone is fine with it except for the series jerk, who recoils in homophobic panic, but gradually comes around.  This was the same plot, except with two homophobes instead of one.  But there's no reason for them to be homophobic, when the rest of the family isn't.  It seems contrived, added just to get some conflict.  

  I liked the ultra-religious M'Dear being an ally, but Shaka went from ultra-homophobic to "let's hug" way too quickly, and Grandpa got off the hook way too easily.