NOW a warning?!

A Comcast customer service representative refused to give me the monthly cost for service after the promo-period without providing a social security number and opening an account. Apparently Comcast internet service is like the potion from Death Becomes Her.

The sordid topic of coin I'm afraid is not so simple...the cost, you see, it's different for everyone - Lisle von Rhoman, Death Becomes Her, and Chris from customer service.

Why Max Blum is the Best Gay Character You Don't Know

If you're reading this you might not know who Max Blum is. That's a shame, because ABC's Happy Endings isn't just the funniest show you're not watching, it's home to the most refreshing gay man on television since Jack Tripper pretended to be one in Three's Company.

Max is slovenly, loosely employed, a little chunky, and he doesn’t care. In fact, on paper it's easy to assume Max (played by Adam Pally) is creator David Caspe's attempt to provide a gay character whose sexuality ends with the fact that he happens to be gay.

Whenever I watch Modern Family or The New Normal, it's entertaining, but I see a show full of novelty produced by calculated market research that gives the audience the same dated jokes we've been fed since Will & Grace. It's nice that Hollywood isn't afraid of homosexuality, but it's even nicer that Caspe's Happy Endings isn't afraid of actual homosexuals.

 

Max's presence on Happy Endings goes well beyond tokenism. If Caspe only wanted to create a gay character that straight men can relate to, he's unwittingly given a voice to a bunch of gay men who struggle to find a place in a community of very high expectations.

Adam Pally as Happy Endings' Max Blum

 

Don't get me wrong. It's wonderful that so many sitcoms have provided dynamic gay cast members and don't shy away from sexuality and conflict. Since Ellen came out of the prime time closet and Will & Grace swept the Emmys, gay characters have thrived as open and integral parts of Hollywood's success, and it's made an undeniable impact on society. That's important.

 

Portraying gay characters in a positive light is responsible, and in many cases - Modern Family, The New Normal, Will & Grace - the relatable gay characters are exceedingly successful. However, in each of those cases, the “straight man” (characteristically speaking) is paired with an eccentric stereotype.

 

This makes sense. After all, the eccentric stereotype is hilarious. But this approach is also the safest way to portray edgy content. Namely, it isn't threatening. Homer Simpson once said exactly what Hollywood thinks of its straight male audience: “I like my beer cold, my TV loud, and my homosexuals flaaaaaaming.”

The formula works. Will & Grace was wildly successful before gays could kiss on TV, and Modern Family and Glee are being lauded as pioneers by gay advocates. But they target an audience that's used to us. Happy Endings is the first show to offer the “bro” crowd a gay character who isn't offensive and two dimensional. Max is the gay bro they can relate to.
 

The entire cast doesn't concern themselves with misconceptions. Instead of selling his straight audience short, Caspe gives the urban straight man what he's already experienced. The truth is, most guys don't care if their gay friends are successful, effeminate, slovenly, or poor. They care that they're loyal friends.

 

Happy Endings frequently pokes fun at our expectations about sexuality, race, and gender, often by ignoring these expectations altogether. It's grounded in exaggerations, word play, and no stranger to cheap shots, but even when a stereotype finds his way on screen, he still manages to be endearing.

 

This ensemble isn't for everyone, and while a lot of many gay men may cringe at Max's behavior, much of that reaction is conditioned by misconceptions about our own community. We're not all lawyers and doctors or theatrical stereotypes, and a lot of us are perfectly okay with that. In a new Hollywood in love with its gay characters, it's refreshing to see another layer to our very diverse community.

When to Stop Embracing Nonsense

There will come a point on our road to equality when society at large stops seeing us as the comic fool and starts seeing us as, well, equals. In the long history of Civil Rights for African Americans, Al Jolson's black-face comedy routine was once considered an homage. Today it's straight up racism.

After a wave of marriage equality wins I thought we were at the point, or at least near it, when we no longer serve as the token party guest exchanging novelty and wit for acceptance.
 

Then I read that Here Comes Honey Boo Boo was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award. Honey Boo Boo's buffoonery would have been funny twenty years ago when the mainstream media wouldn't have risked putting it into production. When fame-hungry celebutantes wouldn't have given their gay uncle a shout-out for fear of public opinion, that's when one would have mattered.
 

GLAAD's face of gay

 

Saying “everyone's a little gay” right before gulping down some Go Go Juice means nothing when another catch phrase says you'll "holler for a dollar."
 

It's hard to find a celebrity today who doesn't have a GBFF, or at least claim to. Let's face it, most of them are actors. It's their job to lie. And lying in favor of popular issues like gay marriage and equality is the fastest way to cash in en route to stardom. And when it comes from a chunky little brat from the south the shock is even more profitable.
 

Perhaps that was the motivation behind GLAAD's choice to nominate the show. Whatever the reason, the choice is undeniably contrived.
 

On the brink of judicial hearings that could help solidify our rights, allegedly pro-gay remarks from shows like this – whether intents to pander or genuine – do nothing for our community. Awarding these shows is offensive and demeaning.
 

Most people watching this show watch it because it's a train wreck, not because they identify with the kid. Awarding her as a spokesperson isn't exactly in our best interest when most of her audience reviles her.
 

I like to think we're nearing the point where we don't have to proclaim the “fabulousness” in every media whore or pill popping diva just because our lifestyle doesn't happen to make them sick. Until then I guess we'll have to settle for GLAAD's “I Have a Gay Friend Award for Famous People” until our own community realizes that everyone who isn't repulsed by us doesn't deserve a medal.