We had this on VHS when I was a kid and would have it on in the background running over and over. Even so, all I remember aside from the obligatory gay bar joke is the joke about human clothes Nathan mentions, Bobcat (or apparently, “Zed”) reciting the Gene Gene poem, and Harris being in a porta potty that was somehow lifted into the middle of a stadium just before the national anthem, obliging him to stand with his hand over his heart because, like many, he thinks the anthem is apparently the same as the pledge of allegiance. The Gene Gene poem is funny but, as “Zed” says to his audience, he didn’t write it.
::its decision to send perpetually pranked antagonist Lieutenant Carl Proctor (Lance Kinsey) into the same damn gay biker bar FOR THE FOURTH CONSECUTIVE FILM! ::
After four times? He's into it, but too uptight to go consciously. It's kind of like bondage that way—"Please don't force me to have what I really want done done to me!"
Which would have been funny (or funnier) if the fourth time he showed up, he saw it was the gay bar—and just sighed happily and tore off his shirt or something!
::This is PG, so we never learn whether they end up doing more than that or if constantly going to a gay bar “accidentally” awakens something in the men. ::
Oh God, here comes the "Hate to be that guy, but..." comment in 3, 2, 1...
Proctor wasn't in the first one. Blankes and Copeland went to the bar in that one.
Whew, I feel better I said it. Now that it's out of my system, the comments about the overused, tired Blue Oyster Bar jokes are still completely valid.
I know its not considered appropriate in 2024, but I still find the gay panic jokes of the blue oyster bar hilarious.
I like how its portrayed as this weird place with leather men seemingly standing around just waiting for some clueless heterosexual to wander in.
I find the bewilderment by the men as they are led around the dance floor hilarious as well as the way they seem to come to an agreement that they will never speak of this and it never happened.
It's good old fashioned 80's gay panic and I just find it amusing still.
Biker bars were portrayed very much in the same way in comedies of the 80s (albeit in a more threatening way) - uptight, straight-laced person walks in and immediately their "otherness" makes them a target until they become one of them - two that spring to mind are Pee-Wee's Big Adventure or Fletch Lives.
I never saw "Fletch Lives" so I can't comment on that. The scene in Pee Wee's Big Adventure is more about how not to judge people by their look and not assume the stereotypes you heard about people are true. I love how Pee Wee wins them over with his sense of fun and joy at life.
If you want to see a good moment of "gay panic" in 80's cinema, rewatch "Clue". Micheal McKean plays a character who is mistakenly thought of as gay. When it is revealed he is not, the palpable sense of relief, like the guy dodged a bullet, or was cured of cancer is telling.
I hate to say it, but the "Fletch Lives" scene cracks me up. Chevy Chase, in disguise with a blond wig, mustache, and a tacky sport coat walks into the bar and before he's beaten or killed, and while speaking with an overly effete voice, he wins them over (albeit temporarily) when he reveals himself to be Ed Harley... of Harley-Davidson Motorcycles.
"Clue" is definitely a classic - I believe that reveal is only in the 3rd ending (or ending C for those of us who saw it in the theater), but yeah it's very much a "oh thank goodness it's not true" moment.
I thought of another example, but from the 2000s - "Eurotrip" when two of the leads end up in a pub filled with soccer hooligans. I love the non-sensical way they save themselves.
We had this on VHS when I was a kid and would have it on in the background running over and over. Even so, all I remember aside from the obligatory gay bar joke is the joke about human clothes Nathan mentions, Bobcat (or apparently, “Zed”) reciting the Gene Gene poem, and Harris being in a porta potty that was somehow lifted into the middle of a stadium just before the national anthem, obliging him to stand with his hand over his heart because, like many, he thinks the anthem is apparently the same as the pledge of allegiance. The Gene Gene poem is funny but, as “Zed” says to his audience, he didn’t write it.
::its decision to send perpetually pranked antagonist Lieutenant Carl Proctor (Lance Kinsey) into the same damn gay biker bar FOR THE FOURTH CONSECUTIVE FILM! ::
After four times? He's into it, but too uptight to go consciously. It's kind of like bondage that way—"Please don't force me to have what I really want done done to me!"
Which would have been funny (or funnier) if the fourth time he showed up, he saw it was the gay bar—and just sighed happily and tore off his shirt or something!
::This is PG, so we never learn whether they end up doing more than that or if constantly going to a gay bar “accidentally” awakens something in the men. ::
I see you thought the same thing!
Oh God, here comes the "Hate to be that guy, but..." comment in 3, 2, 1...
Proctor wasn't in the first one. Blankes and Copeland went to the bar in that one.
Whew, I feel better I said it. Now that it's out of my system, the comments about the overused, tired Blue Oyster Bar jokes are still completely valid.
Okay, still—like the book title says, THREE TIMES MUST BE LOVE! 💕
outstanding work
I know its not considered appropriate in 2024, but I still find the gay panic jokes of the blue oyster bar hilarious.
I like how its portrayed as this weird place with leather men seemingly standing around just waiting for some clueless heterosexual to wander in.
I find the bewilderment by the men as they are led around the dance floor hilarious as well as the way they seem to come to an agreement that they will never speak of this and it never happened.
It's good old fashioned 80's gay panic and I just find it amusing still.
Biker bars were portrayed very much in the same way in comedies of the 80s (albeit in a more threatening way) - uptight, straight-laced person walks in and immediately their "otherness" makes them a target until they become one of them - two that spring to mind are Pee-Wee's Big Adventure or Fletch Lives.
I never saw "Fletch Lives" so I can't comment on that. The scene in Pee Wee's Big Adventure is more about how not to judge people by their look and not assume the stereotypes you heard about people are true. I love how Pee Wee wins them over with his sense of fun and joy at life.
If you want to see a good moment of "gay panic" in 80's cinema, rewatch "Clue". Micheal McKean plays a character who is mistakenly thought of as gay. When it is revealed he is not, the palpable sense of relief, like the guy dodged a bullet, or was cured of cancer is telling.
I hate to say it, but the "Fletch Lives" scene cracks me up. Chevy Chase, in disguise with a blond wig, mustache, and a tacky sport coat walks into the bar and before he's beaten or killed, and while speaking with an overly effete voice, he wins them over (albeit temporarily) when he reveals himself to be Ed Harley... of Harley-Davidson Motorcycles.
"Clue" is definitely a classic - I believe that reveal is only in the 3rd ending (or ending C for those of us who saw it in the theater), but yeah it's very much a "oh thank goodness it's not true" moment.
I thought of another example, but from the 2000s - "Eurotrip" when two of the leads end up in a pub filled with soccer hooligans. I love the non-sensical way they save themselves.
Ahhh Chevy Chase and the 80s. Went together like PB&J. I'll have to check out both Fletch lives and Eurotrip. I haven't seen either…