MovieChat Forums > The Perfect Host (2011) Discussion > are we to infer that warwick's character...

are we to infer that warwick's character could've been gay or bisexual?:

posted 12 years ago by anticaria
7 replies | jump to latest

the movie flirts with the idea of letting the audience in on warwick's real(?) sexual orientation but then it backs off every time.. that said, the scene with warwick simulating sex in the bathroom while john sits in the tub could easily have been a come on to john (the line warwick utters was something akin to: 'how do you like this piece of ass, john?').. could warwick have been referring to his own ass or to the one belonging to the imaginary male/female he was fornicating with? we, of course, never get to see who he's really 'doing'..

also, immediately after john arrives at warwick's place, we see him talking via 'video' intercom with john and warwick seems more than a bit intrigued/excited/interested in the 'stranger in distress' after seeing john's face in the video intercom.. the 30 minutes or so that follow 'read' almost entirely as if warwick were secretly planning to seduce the initially charming intruder at some point during the night after plying him with booze..

at any rate, I realize that during the 'dinner party' sequence warwick flirts with that imaginary female but the whole subtext of the film seems to be one of veiled ambivalence in regards to warwick's actual 'orientation,' especially in the way warwick nearly flirts with the guy at every turn.. i.e., the way his eyes seem to light up with excitement when john tells him that 'julia thought [we]'d get along'.. it's all these subtle hints that make one wonder..

of course, as far as john suspected, warwick may not have been entirely straight.. i.e., john tells him as much when he says something akin to: ..'you and your homo friends'.. though I suppose 'homo' could be interpreted as 'metrosexual, artsy-fartsy,' etc., not necessarily 'gay' per se..

it wasn't the fall from her 16th-floor penthouse that killed her, it was the landing

[–] obtec2001 11 years ago

Have you ever considered the fact you might need therapy??

[–] BenjamminBufordBlue 11 years ago

david hyde pierce IS gay. His character is not. He's a narcissist. He has multiple personalities(of both sexes) living inside his head. He only is sexually attracted to himself in that sense, i.e. the "pumping air" scene where clayne crawford is in the bathtub or where he's trying to pick up Chelsea. I don't think he's capable of being attracted to any REAL person, male or female. I honestly think he's asexual. Bottom line, if the director wanted you to think he was gay he would've made it a point to show the audience. He did not. Either you aren't familiar with david hyde pierces as an actor or you don't know too many gay people. Probably both.

[–] lulupalooza 10 years ago

Haha! No. You read way too much non-existant sexuality into the storyline that had nothing to do with homo/bisexuality. Warrick is focused on women as sexual creatures throughout. His "excitement" for the unexpected guest, was so he could play his psychotic mind (and makeup artist) games with a person. We know he liked the mental challenge, like a good game of chess.

When John says "homo friends", he's just being insulting to Warwick and his supposed friends, since they are of a refined, upper class structure in comparison to him. He wanted to be hurtful and threatening when he said that to Warwick, in order to scare him and exude control.

"Don't get chumpatized!" - The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)

[–] darrylb-dj 10 years ago

To the Op - I don't think Warwick was meant to be gay.

I think any excitement you're picking up on was that in his head he knew the other people aren't real and he was happy to have a 'real' guest.

He started to play with John from the start.it would have seemed unusual to have said yes to him coming in right away and/or asking him to stay for dinner straight out. He had to lull him into a false sense of security and not scare him off or have him on guard.

As for the flirting - the movie would have played out the same had John's character been female I reckon.

Also, if they wanted to make his character gay, surely he would have been flirting more with his male imaginary guests as well?

[–] Freddyfan951 10 years ago

I agree with your points.There were times where i could see some subtexual interest on Warwick's part.

I thought that one scene where they are playing chess while negotiating the conditions of the game was telling. Warwick was saying how he already had his life, so if John could "spoil" him if he loses. The way John asked how "i could spoil you" made it seem like he was aware of the suggestiveness being hinted at. The whole thing seemed to imply the intended loser giving up sexual favors.
Also, with many killers, the choice of victims is usually indicative of orientation if there is an underlying psychosexual reason, even if there is no rape involved. Straight men target women, gay men will target men (Jeffrey Dahmer, Dennis Nisen) and many bisexual killers (Andrei Chikitilo,) will choose men and women.
Since his parties are ways to indulge in fantasies he can't normally act out, having a preference for male victims might show trying to unrestrain in that area as well.

[–] MoviemanCin 9 years ago

I would say bi.

Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar, and / or doesn't.

[–] eileenpa 9 years ago

I believe that Warwick's "attraction" to any sex is just that - any/either sex, since they are imaginary, so I'd say he was bisexual. His responses that showed increasing interest towards John were due to the fact he had another "fly in his web", so to speak. After all, he had given John drugged red wine from the start once John started drinking.

He showed interest in women during the flirtatious scene with feeding grapes and mentioning Julia and his heart to the woman after the dinner party, yet he also showed what did seem to be sexual interest to one of the male dinner guests (the one seated next to John during dinner) during the afternoon party at the house.

The definitive scene regarding Warwick's attraction to men was the discussion after the noise in the pool, when Warwick talked with his elderly neighbor (the pool/mask scene). Warwick implied John (an anonymous man from the neighbor's POV) had been his date at an earlier costume party the two of them attended together - and that he was spending the night, which definitely implied a gay relationship. That read bisexual to me.