I personally thought this movie was absolutely perfectly cast... I didn't see one actor who looked out of place, it's easier to act when you've been well cast... oh that and this is only movie you'll see Magnum PI kiss a man... (Bob Newhart was perfect... they all were) I just finished watching it again, and am looking forward to seeing it again, I'm a straight guy (watched it with my wife, her first time, she loved it) and usually like movies with grit and substance, but this one nailed fun and good hearted and extremely funny.
I'm really glad straight people like movies like this. Sure, it could have easily been called "Gay Stereotypes: The Movie," but it's far better to display us as genial and quirky than homocidal (No Way Out, Silence of the Lambs, Basic Instinct, The Talented Mister Ripley, ...). But we're all aware of the stereotypes, and they're all funny played out here, and it's not nearly as offensive as The Birdcage.
The treatment of homosexuality was stereotypical, but I found the treatment of straight people to be equally as cliched (and equally as hilarious). I don't think the movie used the stereotypes to be offensive, but to be a good-natured critique on all preconceptions. (And the manliness:plaid ratio was inspired.)
I'll butt in, because I think I know the answer. Benjamin Raspail, aka the head in the jar, was Buffalo Bill's first victim, and also Bill's lover. Lecter says Bill probably attempted to have sexual reassignment, but was rejected for serious psychological abnormalities. I suppose you could make the argument that Bill is really transgendered (though I would argue that Bill is asexual in the sense that he is so far beyond sexual norms he can't really be classifed as any sexuality), but on the surface, his relationship with Raspail could be read as a homosexual one.
Thanks for the reply; I too considered Buffalo Bill more "asexual" than anything else; I never considered him to be "gay," and obviously not transgendered either.
Good explanation, by the way, and very well thought out.
-- gwendolyn of slytherin ~because all snakes can bite~
I have taught for 30 years and Bob Newhart's portrayal of a school administrator was dead on. I never met a school administrator (who wanted to keep his job) that had one original idea in their heads. Great performance!
I never completely bought Selleck as a homosexual reporter and if I had been casting, would have given that role to someone else, but other than that, the cast of this film is perfection.