MovieChat Forums > Masquerade (1988) Discussion > Homoerotic? (Spoilers?)

Homoerotic? (Spoilers?)


Is it just me, or is the scene in this flick where Rob Lowe is in Doug Savant's house conversing with him while Savant is wearing nothing but whitey tighty undies very homoerotic?

With all of the twists and turns in this movie, I wouldn't have been surprised if it turned out the two guys were lovers. This being a mainstream movie from the 80s, I don't think they would have gone there. But to me the scene was highly charged and tense, and not just because of what they were discussing.

I mean, Doug doesn't seem to make any attempt to cover up, and neither guy seems uncomfortable. I suppose there are a number of arguments against the homoeroticism, but I'm sensing it all over this scene.

I'm the type of guy that says, "The puddin' is delicious." -- LL Cool J

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I saw this in the theater when it came out, and I vaguely remembered a gay vibe in it, especially when Mike was at home in his tighty whities. There was also that scene at the boathouse when Mike stroked Tim's face and got nose to nose with him to the point I thought they were going to kiss. I just rewatched it tonight and came on here to see if anyone had commented on a gay subtext, because 36 years later it was unmistakeable that there was likely a gay subtext. It makes more sense to the plot of why Mike hated Olivia so much. Sure, Olivia rejected him, and she was worth hundreds of millions, but Mike was at the heart of it acting like a jealous boyfriend of Tim. And maybe the two lovebirds had an inner competition as to who could "win" her, since Mike tried his best to woo her at the beginning, and it was clear Olivia preferred Tim over him. Even the stepfather was giving me gay vibes, which is even funnier. I'd love to see it remade with this trio of gay men plotting to kill her and split the money between them. Olivia had the perception and astuteness of a slug and had no clue of her surroundings and would have been the perfect victim. And all the while Rob Lowe is being laid by all the main characters! lol. This was a really good film noir for the 80s, I forgot how good it was. But it would have been even better with a more obvious gay component.

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