SUMMARY
Considering the quality, quantity, and diversity of films distributed under the Warner Bros. Discovery banner, GLAAD has rated Warner Bros. Discovery as INSUFFICIENT.
The 2024 Warner Bros. Discovery slate was a mixed bag with titles like Joker: Folie a Deux, which continued to exclude Harley Quinn’s bisexuality, and Trap, which included a blink-and-you-miss-it moment of a queer character. The releases on streaming platform Max were more inclusive, with a lesbian lead in the comedy Am I Ok? and a strong supporting character in the rom-com Sweethearts who found his own gay community.
HISTORY
Founded by four Polish immigrant brothers in the early 1900s, Warner Bros. evolved from a movie theater business to a film production studio in 1923. In 2020, Warner Bros. launched their streaming service Max and in 2022 the company merged with Discovery Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery.
Warner Bros. introduced one of film’s earliest recognizable gay-coded characters in Rebel Without a Cause (1955). Other inclusive films released during the twentieth century, nearly all based on external source material that featured LGBTQ characters, include Dog Day Afternoon (1975), The Color Purple (1985), Interview with the Vampire (1994), and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997). Warner Bros.’ more recent LGBTQ-inclusive films include Alexander (2004), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and V For Vendetta (2005), J. Edgar (2011), Tammy (2014), Storks (2016), Crazy Rich Asians (2018), Isn’t It Romantic (2019), Birds of Prey (2020), In the Heights (2021) and GLAAD Media Award nominee The Color Purple (2023). Max’s previous LGBTQ-inclusive original films include GLAAD Media Award nominees La layenda nedra and Unpregnant (2020).
Am I Ok?
This comedy follows best friends Jamie and Ben as they return from college to their hometown over Thanksgiving break to dump their respective significant others. Their other close friend back home is Palmer, who plans to use his fall break to come out as gay after spending the first few months following high school graduation in Paris. When Palmer’s coming out plans are thwarted, he ends up spending time with his high school’s football coach and his partner. The couple shows Palmer that there is opportunity to be gay in small town Ohio and introduce him to Lucas, another queer teen who Palmer strikes up a connection with. Far too often in this type of film, the gay best friend of the straight lead exists solely to further the plot of the straight character and has no development or arc of their own. Sweethearts subverted this trope in a refreshing way by giving Palmer his own story, showing queer characters of multiple ages, races, and body types, and having this character grow beyond his relationship with the straight leads.
