I read somewhere that Bridget Fonda's character in this movie is supposed to be a lesbian. I watched the movie recently and don't understand this interpretation at all! What on earth would imply that this character is gay?
shareJust have to add my two cents. For any of the above posters who don't think it was implying that Fonda's character was a lesbian. They practically beat the viewer over the head with a club to notice that she is indeed a lesbian.
Writing her a song that talks about a secret love with her and girlfriend looking at each other with goo goo eyes and longing for each other while she sings of forbidden love should've been anough to get the point across. her girlfriend practically blows her a kiss. Here is the video on Youtube. http://youtube.com/watch?v=1v1xHohM_9Y
He's taking the knife out of the Cheese!
Do you think he wants some cheese?
Look, if they had implied it any more, it would have become laughable!
You can only suggest something so many ways.
I suspect there will always be some very oblivious people,
and others that intentionally don't want to know....
The writers really didn't leave much to the imagination
when it came to portraying their lesbianism.
If you still can't get it... aside from a heavy sex scene,
you will never figure it out.
I, too, took it as read that Kelly's roommate is her lesbian partner. It's understated, but, if you care to look, it's there - both in the nuances of Lucinda 'Marion' Jenney's performance and in the implicit juxtaposition of Kelly Porter's cutesy, girly pop image and what's suggested by her remarks: "I mean, people have, you know, certain ideas about me that are created by my publicist and this TV show that I do. They really have no idea who I am or what my life is like."
Lesbian and pop-feminist icon Dusty Springfield sprung to mind (I was unaware of the allusion to Lesley Gore). The film's not an explicitly feminist work, and so doesn't deliver its 'issues' like bombshells. Still, while it can simply be enjoyed on its own terms as a great tale, it does work as a kind of compliment to feminist, author and musician Charlotte Greig's book, Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow? Girl Groups from the 50s on...:
http://www.amazon.com/Will-Still-Love-Tomorrow-Groups/dp/1853810029/re f=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221500924&sr=1-7
Incidentally, and for what it's worth, most references I've seen (online and in print) to Fonda's character, including the authoritative academic work Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers, describe Kelly Porter as the 'closeted lesbian pop singer'.
In a nutshell, you don't need to know about 'the Lesley Gore factor' (as I say, I didn't) to figure things out. As so many people have said, could it be more obvious? One last thing. To enjoy this film, you needn't know a thing about - or care about - Carole King's career either. (But it helps).
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fifty-Contemporary-Filmmakers-Routledge-Guides /dp/0415189748
The lion and the calf shall lie down together, but the calf won't get much sleep.share
and nobody mentioned how Edna and Cheryl got it; during their interview of Kelly, remember, when Edna walked into her apartment, right before she saw her hub in flagrante, "...Kelly Porter, boy, she's not the square we thought she was..."
"My Secret Love" was the result of that interview.
"I'm issuing a restraining order: Religion must stay 500 yards away from Science at all times!!"
WRONG! you missed some posts...
by rollerskater61 (Wed May 3 2006 19:21:52)
if emenel's #3 didn't make it clear enough, recall when Denise gets home that night she rings out with "Kelly Porter! She's not the square we thought she'd be!"
To borrow a quote from the legendary wit Oscar Wilde: "Well, duh!" I just saw this movie yesterday with no background at all on it, and that was clear from the get-go...other posters here have already pointed out all the cues.
I suppose it's a matter of having grown up in the last 50+ years, but these days when I hear a pop star fixture from my childhood was gay, my reaction is a resounding "Oh. Okay."
Yes. The Bridget Fonda character was supposed to be pop singer, Leslie Gore. Since the whole film was played off as fiction they couldn't use real names. Also, Gore wasn't out at the time of the film so they couldn't say it was her. However, anyone who knows the music of the times knew it was here just as we all know that the principle character was supposed to be representing Carol King. Now, watch the film again and see if you can recognize all of the acts that have different names? The two brother singers, for example, represent The Everly Brothers.
shareXena,
Sorry to say, but your posting puts you in the same league as the guy in the studio who strikes out trying to invite Porter's lover out to a bar.
If someone watched this movie & did NOT get that she was a lesbian, I'd say they're missing something upstairs! It was patently obvious, the camera angles alone of Kelly singing longingly as she gazed at her "secret" love should've been clues enough!
share