SUMMARY
Considering the quality, quantity, and diversity of films distributed under the NBCUniversal banner, GLAAD has given Universal a FAIR grade.
There were standout LGBTQ-inclusive features from Universal’s slate this year, including horror film Knock at the Cabin, which featured a gay couple and their child, and children’s film Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken, which casually included queer teenagers in the cast. Focus Features included queer drama Of an Age and nonbinary representation in family comedy My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Sadly, there was no LGBTQ representation on streamer Peacock.
There were multiple films in Universal’s slate, including Strays and Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain, which contained jokes about the community and references to the LGBTQ community, with no substantial content. GLAAD urges Universal to include more LGBTQ characters than jokes in their comedy films.
HISTORY
Universal Pictures was founded in 1912, making it one of the oldest film studios in the United States. Universal merged with NBC in 2004, which was then purchased by Comcast in 2011. NBCUniversal owns Focus Features—a film production and distribution company that was founded by USA Films, Universal Focus, and Good Machine in 2002. In 2016, Universal acquired Dreamworks Animation from 20th Century, releasing their first film under that umbrella in 2019. Universal’s previous releases are primarily mass appeal films such as Jaws, E.T., the Bourne series, and the ongoing Fast and Furious franchise.
Universal’s LGBTQ representation has continuously ebbed and flowed since the 90s, as shown in films such as To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), Mulholland Drive (2001), I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007), Bruno (2009), Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010), Kick-Ass 2 (2013), Riddick (2013), Legend (2015), Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016), Blockers (2018), Last Christmas and Good Boys (2019), Freaky (2020), and Dear Evan Hansen (2021). In 2022, Universal released GLAAD Media Award winner Bros and GLAAD Media Award nominee Nope. Focus Features has released a variety of LGBTQ-inclusive films, such as GLAAD Media Award winners Brokeback Mountain (2005), Milk (2008), The Kids Are Alright (2010), Pariah (2011), Boy Erased (2018); GLAAD Media Award nominees Kajillionaire (2020), Tár (2022), and Spoiler Alert (2022).
This thriller from director M. Night Shyamalan, with a GLAAD List screenplay by Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman, follows a family that goes to a remote cabin on vacation, only for disaster to strike. The two fathers, Eric and Andrew, and their seven-year-old daughter, Wen, are faced with intruders who tell them that their family must kill one of their own to prevent the apocalypse. Eric and Andrew adamantly refuse, until the intruders show how their arrival and the plagues of the apocalypse are all intertwined. During this drawn out negotiation, the audience is shown flashbacks of Eric and Andrew withstanding homophobia as a couple, from a casual night out to when they adopted Wen. It also turns out that one of the intruders previously attacked Andrew in a homophobic incident in a bar. Eventually, back in the present, Eric believes the intruders and offers himself up as a sacrifice, telling his husband that they were selected for this sacrifice because of their love for each other. Andrew, though he does not want to, kills Eric, preventing the end of the world.
This animated family film follows the titular Ruby, a teenage girl who has to hide her identity as a kraken from her friends. One of her friends is Margot, a girl who, early on in the film, is excited because another girl, Kayla, asked her to prom. Margot is one of Ruby’s closest friends, thus a significant part of the film. In addition to Margot and Kayla, there are multiple queer couples featured in a montage of “promposals” throughout the film. No one ever bats an eye in regards to the LGBTQ inclusion. This is a prime example of casual inclusion in a children’s film: in this fantastical world, one of the most ordinary things is queer teenagers existing.
This ensemble film from director Wes Anderson takes place inside a play that the audience also sees being written, directed, and performed. The writer of the play is Conrad Earp, and one of the lead actors is Jonas Hall. One of the behind the scenes moments of the play shows Hall auditioning for Earp, very much impressing him. After the audition, the lights go down, Hall takes off his clothes and the two kiss. This is the last the audience sees of the relationship between the two men. Later, the audience finds out that Earp died six months after the play, which is unfortunate, as he was one of the only gay characters in the film. Seeing casual inclusion with no judgment in a film set in the mid-20th century is a step in the right direction, but this story could have benefited from expansion.
The third iteration of the My Big Fat Greek Wedding film franchise takes the whole Portokalos family to Greece. The majority of the film takes place in the small town of Vrisi, the family’s ancestral home. The mayor of Vrisi is Victory, a character who is nonbinary. Victory is at first seen as a failing mayor, due to the town’s dwindling population, but by the end, they prove themselves to be good at their job by throwing a town reunion, earning the respect of the Portokalos family. No characters have adverse reactions to Victory’s identity, and easily accept them as nonbinary. Including a nonbinary character who was both pivotal to the plot and accepted without question is an exciting step for a mainstream comedy.
Of an Age is an Australian queer romance that follows Kol, a young man who has a brief but intense affair with his friend’s brother. The film takes place in two parts: in the first, Kol is not yet out, and faces discrimination due to being a Serbian immigrant. When he meets Adam, his dance partner’s brother, the two bond as Adam is one of the first out gay people Kol has met. Their relationship turns romantic and sexual over the course of one night before Adam leaves for Argentina the next day. Their 24 hours together has effects into the future, as Kol sees Adam at a wedding years later, where he finds out that Adam has a husband. The two still have a connection, and the film ends with them holding each other, acknowledging the importance of their relationship. This romantic drama is a good example of leading with character first, and showing what can be difficult about growing up queer, yet still highlighting the joy and connection in the queer experience.