MovieChat Forums > Final Exam (1981) Discussion > Gay character

Gay character

posted 14 years ago by jonnocr
5 replies | jump to latest

The Radish character is gay right? I mean, clearly this was made in a time when labelling gay characters wasn't acceptable but it seems clear to me that he's gay.

[–] kbtoys100 14 years ago

I think he just came off as gay possibly because the actor playing him is(?).

But his character is definatly not meant to be gay because he likes Courtney if you didnt notice and in the novelization it goes into more detail that he likes her and wants to ask her out.

But he was meant to be really weird i think, sort of an outcast that is known by people but not many people actually like him.

[–] jonnocr 14 years ago

I'm in total agreement. I'm gay myself and it was very obvious to me that the actor playing him was clearly gay.

[–] balthazar_bee 11 years ago

I'm a bit surprised there aren't more posts about this. (Or about the movie at all, for that matter.)

It was a bit distracting to see him playing a straight character. Having said that, he gave a pretty strong, endearing performance; it was quite an enjoyable movie -- vintage, zero budget, slow moving time waster from the slasher golden age.

[–] Mr_Ectoplasma 10 years ago

I'm a gay guy here too and yeah, my gaydar was instantly set off. For the first 2/3 of the movie I thought he was supposed to be a token gay kid or something, but then I remembered that this was the '80s and the likelihood of that was slim. It kind of worked in the context of the film though because at times it just seemed like he was really quirky and eccentric or something; his mannerisms and voice though were very effeminate.

[–] davannacarter 10 years ago

Wildman also seemed gay; especially when he was with Pledge. He grabbed Pledge's lips causing them to pucker and was speaking real soft with his lips close to Pledge's lips. When Pledge stole the papers, he kept grabbing and shaking Pledge a little to eagerly. After they tied and tee-peed Pledge to the tree, he grabbed some whipped cream off Pledge's chest and licked it before walking away. All in all, Wildman was a little to touchy feely with Pledge, masking it all behind fratboy macho behavior.