BLUE’S BIG CITY ADVENTURE

STRAIGHT TO STREAMING RELEASE

VITO RUSSO TEST: FAIL

This Blue’s Clues movie follows Blue and Josh as they go to New York so Josh can audition for a Broadway musical. There is a brief moment during a montage where one man gives another man flowers, to which he responds, “Aw, for me?” The scene lasts two seconds, and could be easily missed, but is still a positive inclusion of a gay couple in a children’s film.

HONOR SOCIETY

STRAIGHT TO STREAMING RELEASE

VITO RUSSO TEST: PASS

This comedy follows the titular Honor as she tries to get into Harvard by derailing the lives of three other students who might recieve a letter of recommendation over her. One of them is Travis, the closeted star athlete. Instead of outing him or engineering some other malicious scheme, Honor convinces him to sign up for the school play to set him up with Gary, the head of the theater club. Gary is out, and a significant character in the film, as so much of the movie’s plot revolves around the theater club. Travis’ girlfriend is jealous of Travis kissing another girl in the play, so Gary plays the female lead in drag instead. Then, Travis’ girlfriend becomes jealous of Honor, causing Travis to finally break up with her and come out as gay. His ex then threatens to out him to his father, but Travis beats her to it, coming out to his father himself. His father is supportive and tells Travis he’s always known. Then Travis gets to kiss Gary in the play, and again later as the credits roll at the end of the movie. 

For a film that had several dramatic twists and spiteful plots afoot, it is notable that the gay characters had agency and a genuine romance and that filmmakers avoided defaulting to a stereotypical “outing threat” as the easy story option. He also had a happier romance than the straight protagonists.

THE IN BETWEEN

STRAIGHT TO STREAMING RELEASE

VITO RUSSO TEST: FAIL

This film follows a romance between protagonist Tessa and her boyfriend Skylar, who dies at the start of the film, which then spurs an attempt to initiate contact with his spirit. Tessa’s friend Shannon has a crush on their classmate, Judd. However, she sees Judd kissing another boy at a party. Judd and the other boy are not major players in the film, and Shannon quickly moves on to another crush. Additionally, Tessa’s stepmother Vickie mentions that she has been in love with a few men, and maybe one woman. The line is said with significance, but not further explored by the narrative. In the future, when studios want to make characters queer, this should be committed to and, when pertinent, expanded upon, rather than brushed past.

THREE MONTHS

STRAIGHT TO STREAMING RELEASE

VITO RUSSO TEST: PASS

Three Months is a coming-of-age story that centers on the three months it takes the main character Caleb to find out if he is living with HIV or not after he gets a text from a former hook-up saying he has tested positive for HIV. Audiences follow Caleb’s journey of getting tested, joining a support group, and even forming a summer romance of his own. Caleb meets Estha in the support group and they form a bond; both of them have parents who do not approve of their sexuality. The two become closer and Caleb shows him clips of Pedro Zamora on The Real World, which has been helping Caleb come to terms with his potential diagnosis. Caleb and Estha eventually kiss and are intimate without engaging in sex. The next day, Estha tests negative but tells Caleb they shouldn’t see each other anymore. The film also focuses on Dara, Caleb’s lesbian best friend who is hooking up with Suzanne, their older boss who is married to a man and has kids. This ends poorly, with Suzanne’s husband barging in on them and Suzanne saying Dara meant nothing. Though both Caleb and Dara had flings that did not end well, the film ends with them happy, riding a bike together with Caleb’s results, which are never stated. 

This film shows the realities of messy young queer love and provides many instances of chosen family, through the support group, Dara and Caleb’s relationship, and Caleb’s relationship with his grandmother. The movie also sends a powerful message about how an HIV diagnosis is not the end of the world and people living with HIV have long and healthy ongoing lives. It also importantly notes that HIV is not relegated to older generations, still exists in the world today, and should not be ignored when telling queer stories of any time period. HIV testing has also seen it’s advances to shorter diagnosis times with an HIV test that can provide instant results in one minute, to an oral swabs that can be purchased over the counter, to the 4th generation HIV test which can diagnose within 14 days after an exposure. Films like Three Months create opportunities for us all to engage in conversation about HIV that helps us understand and address HIV stigma.