Is Robin Williams "Icky" in The Night Listener?
Filed under: Drama, Thrillers, Celebrities and Controversy, The Weinstein Co., Politics
Over on Hollywood Elsewhere, Jeffrey Wells has really stirred things up by questioning the motives of Robin Williams gay character in The Night Listener. In the film, Williams' character, Gabriel, a late-night radio host, strikes up a long-distance phone friendship with a 14-year-old child abuse victim dying of AIDS, after the boy's memoir is passed his way by his editor. Wells sprayed the hose on the proverbial hornet's nest with this bit: "I haven't read any reviews that have brought this up, so I guess I'll have to: a 50ish gay man developing a fondness for a 14 year-old boy over the phone -- hello? -- feels icky."
The debate in the comments on this has ranged from people stalwartly defending Wells' POV on the relationship, to outright accusations of homophobia, to irate gay schoolteachers taking umbrage at Wells' implication that if an older gay man has a relationship with an adolescent boy, there must be something "icky" involved. I'd love to hear what Armistead Maupin, the author of the book on which the film was based (and co-writer of the screenplay as well) would say on this subject. The book was based on real-life incidents in Maupin's own life; ergo, an implication of unsavory motives on the part of the Gabriel character is, by extension, a questioning of Maupin's own motives.
My own take on the film, in case you're wondering, is that there was nothing untoward in the relationship between Gabriel and the boy; on the contrary, I saw Gabriel as desperately lonely and in need of someone to nurture (his character is coming off the breakup of a long relationship in which he cared for his lover, who has HIV), and that his interactions toward the boy are strictly paternal. What say you, readers -- especially those who have actually seen The Night Listener? Is the relationship between Gabriel and the boy somehow "icky"? Or is Wells reading something into this that just isn't there?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-07-2006 @ 9:47AM
Matt said...
I saw this yesterday afternoon and did not feel the like the relationship or William's character's motives were "icky". Like you said, Kim, he was looking for someone to nurture and the Culkin's character fit right into that.
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8-07-2006 @ 9:49AM
Ann said...
Maybe Robby just wanted to try new dramatical role
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8-07-2006 @ 11:07AM
Richard von Busack said...
I thought Williams was quite good, it was just the direction that seemed so uninspired. As for the correspondent who thought it was "icky," his mind must have been elsewhere during the scene where the kid asks for a Playboy magazine to be sent to him, since he's too ill to get one for himself--the scriptwriter's way of pedophile-proofing the script by indicating that the kid was straight.
As for the reason why an elder man would be interested in a younger one: they were both writers. The kid had just written a memoir and he was seeking out the opinion of an older writer he admired.
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8-07-2006 @ 11:19AM
akaison said...
I will make this easy because it really answers for the individual what is motivating you: If this were a straight character acting this way (I will make it even more complicated- let's say it was a straight character trying to save a teenaged girl), would any one assume there was something 'icky' about it? If yes, then there is less to do with homophobia than it has to do with the individual feelings one has about characters taking an interest in children that are not their own (which by the way I find weird as someone with al ot of friends who are teachers, many of whom, by the way, naturally gravitate toward wanting to help children). if your answer is to somehow to start to make a distinction between the two where no distincion can be honestly made- then you are working from a homophobic impulse. It's really that simple.
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8-07-2006 @ 1:06PM
EatingPie said...
I find it curious that it's being called "homophobic" when the
"icky" is really concerning pedophilia. At least that's my impression.
To make the call, however, you need to look at the intentions of the character, rather than just make a blanket judgement on the relationship (not simply "old man/young boy? pedophile!").
Did his motives have sexual overtones? Or did he simply care about / show (non-sexual) love for the boy? Sounds like the latter, and that's something admirable (gay or straight), not icky.
-Pie
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8-07-2006 @ 1:30PM
Elliott said...
If the 50 year-old found the 14 year-old while cruising around on myspace, then yeah... "icky". Haven't seen the movie, but it sounds like this isn't the case. Either way, I saw nothing that made it sound homophobic.
I wrote a review of "Little Miss Sunshine" and received several emails about what an awful person I am for laughing at the climax which included a "child strip-scene" or a humourous dance, however you see it.
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8-07-2006 @ 1:33PM
akaison said...
pie
the reference to homophobia is based on the society you live in. that gay men can only have interest in young boys if they are wanting them for sex is a pretty widespread belief among some parts of the country. Just last week in GA this exact comparision was made. GA isn't unique, when the sex abuse scandal happened with the Catholic church, the same sort of equating was made. If we are going to have an honest discussion (which given some of your prior posts) it would be good of you stop ignoring what society we live in. The one that most of us live in is the one where these sorts of allusions from folks like Sen Santurum of PA are made all the time. The other homophobic element is the assumed sexual intent. That one would take a totally non sexual situation and make it sexual just because a character is gay- says a lot about how they view gays. That we are always 24/7 about our sexuality. That the viewer couldn't tell the difference is the issue.
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8-07-2006 @ 5:39PM
deepstructure said...
i haven't seen the film and this is the first i've heard of this brouhaha, but i would imagine the reaction comes from the inclusion (as akaison pointed out), of the character's sexuality.
if it had been:
"I haven't read any reviews that have brought this up, so I guess I'll have to: a 50ish man developing a fondness for a 14 year-old boy over the phone -- hello? -- feels icky."
most folks would have thought that ridiculous. include the word "gay" and all of a sudden less than rational folks suddenly think "pedophilia."
however, i have laugh at the idea that the kid asking for a playboy pedophile-proofs the film. the sexuality of a minor in pedophilic relationship is irrelevant, since the relationship cannot be consensual and is considered abuse.
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