Two of a kind
17th October 2008
MANY PEOPLE ARE FAMILIAR with the kind of couple, whether gay or straight, that is constantly engaged in tit-for-tat arguments without ever getting to the core of their dispute.
They argue about dishes when they really want to talk about infidelity, they clash over dinner options when the real issue is selfishness, and they amaze or frustrate onlookers as they bounce from topic to topic without really ever resolving anything.
“Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom,” a movie that fittingly centers on relationships, suffers from a dynamic similar to such constantly feuding couples. Creator and writer Patrik-Ian Polk brings to the forefront an impressive array of issues important to black gay men — from receiving familial support to maintaining authenticity in relationships — but due to the sheer breadth of topics explored, most receive only passing treatment in the movie.
Viewers are repeatedly teased with provocative storylines that eventually either fizzle out, or are betrayed by the simplicity with which a dilemma is resolved. Despite this flaw, “Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom” is still a pioneering piece of cinema that will undoubtedly draw scores of devoted fans when it opens at the Midtown Art Cinema Oct. 24.
Among the many worthy themes mined in the “Noah’s Arc” movie: the intimate boundaries that exist between close gay friends; the role of one gay partner in the other partner’s circle of friends; whether the only two options for gay love are to be a total slut, or pretend to be content while in a jaded, almost loveless long-term relationship; the feminine-masculine tensions that exist in some relationships; and whether gay sex is restricted by the extreme options of wearing a condom for the rest of your life, even in a long-term monogamous relationship, or to “look stupid” while sitting in a health clinic and learning you are HIV-positive.
EACH OF THESE issues deserves to be addressed, but sometimes the movie does so as if it has Attention Deficit Disorder. As a result, it isn’t exactly clear what the climax or turning point of the movie is supposed to be, and some of the most dramatic scenes either feel random, or are solved by simple conversations.
One example of how quickly the film moves from topic to topic — without getting into specifics of the plot — is when the lead character (played by Darryl Stephens) experiences a bit of romantic trauma. The source of Noah’s pain is genuine, but even before viewers have a chance to fully mourn his loss, a musical montage erupts and the next thing we know Noah is giving cerebral relationship advice to another character as if his relationship turmoil didn’t exist.
“Noah’s Arc” is often compared to “Will & Grace” and “Sex and the City,” and proves to be worthy of such a comparison from the movie’s opening scene, when Noah appears wearing knee-high brown boots, a flailing tweed jacket and a leopard print mink. A regular criticism of those series was that viewers couldn’t fully connect with such fabulous lives that were funded by unexplained sources of income.
The same goes for many of the plot lines in “Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom.” Audiences might appreciate the diversity of complex issues the movie explores, but like a Carrie Bradshaw shopping spree on a four-hour lunch, conquering these issues with such simplicity is not a reality for most people.
BEING ONE OF THE FEW black gay projects to make it to the big screen helps explain why “Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom” feels somewhat cluttered. When no other movies or television shows are exploring black gay life, it’s understandable why Polk wanted to cram all of these various topics into a single 101-minute movie.
“In our particular community, because we haven’t seen a lot of these stories being told, it’s just important to be as true and honest and real as possible, and at the same time be entertaining,” Polk tells Southern Voice.
When “Noah’s Arc” the series first debuted in 2005, Polk remembers receiving early criticism from some black gay men who felt that the show only featured stereotypically flamboyant characters.
“I didn’t react to that because I knew that coming up, three episodes down the line, was going to be this great episode where we start talking about masculinity versus femininity, where one character wants to try drag, and one character is wondering is my new boyfriend too feminine to introduce to my straight friends, and all of these different kinds of issues,” Polk says.
“I feel like we did a good job of anticipating what the needs are, what the interesting storylines are going to be, and addressing them all,” he adds.
Much of “Noah’s Arc” the movie feels like an anticipation of the many aspects of the black gay experience that viewers are starving to see, and all of the topics are combined into a single movie in an attempt not to leave anyone out.
One of the issues that the movie explores with great success — via the introduction of a new character, Brandon (played by Gary Leroi Gray) — is the interaction between older black gay men and those of younger generations, which is something Polk says he observed firsthand while celebrating Black Gay Pride in Atlanta last month.
“One thing I noticed at some of these kinds of events is a lot of the young kids come to these events and it’s a fun weekend — people come to have fun if you’re single, and sometimes not so single — but I think that it’s important, the idea that these older gay men have somewhat of a responsibility to the younger gay men,” Polk says.
“It’s not just about hooking up with them or exploiting them sexually, but to educate them about what it means to be a black gay man in the world today,” he adds. “Just about ways that you conduct yourself, planning for your future, dealing with relationships and dating and figuring all of that stuff out — just because we’re gay men doesn’t mean we have to have a sexual relationship, we can be friends.
“I think because as gay black men we don’t have a lot of institutional examples of these kinds of things — TV, film, books, people in our lives — we need to see more of that, or else you have a generation that’s kind of lost and doesn’t really know how to navigate this lifestyle,” Polk says.
Gray’s performance as Brandon is exceptional, outdone only by Stephens’ portrayal of Noah. Through two seasons of “Noah’s Arc” the series and now a full-length movie, it’s inspiring to see Stephens grow so authentically into the pioneering role.
“What was great about this character for me personally was that he was able to be emotional, and sort of sensitive, and free in ways that black actors never get to — I’ll never get to play a character like this again,” Stephens tells Southern Voice. “Because there’s never been a black man written like this character who gets to have all these beautiful friendships, these amazing love relationships — all these things you never, ever, ever see a black man go through on TV, straight or gay.”
THE BIGGEST SHAME OF “Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom” is that it marks the final voyage for the “Noah’s Arc” franchise. Despite the cult success of the series, the gay cable channel Logo has already announced that it won’t be bring the show back for a third series.
“It’s a little bit of a head-scratcher for us,” Polk says. “I still don’t completely get it. If it’s clearly your most popular show and it’s kind of put you on the map, conventional wisdom is you don’t cut off your arm.”
Polk and others affiliated with the show don’t think their job was complete.
“Absolutely not — I think this series has a lot more to say, and a lot more things to go through,” Stephens says. “I think the movie is a great period on the series, but I feel like we had so many other stories to tell, and it’s a shame the series was cut short.”
Jensen Atwood, who played Noah’s love interest, Wade, in the series and movies, agrees that many topics were left on the table.
“A lot of people would say that all they saw was the ‘Noah’s Arc’ bubble, and they never really got to see their lives outside of that bubble,” Atwood says. “What I like about the movie is you did get to see a little bit outside the arc.
“If the movie does well, why they wouldn’t bring back the series, I don’t know,” Atwood says. “So there might still be a future.”
“Who we kidding?” Stephens interrupts with a laugh.
Before “Noah’s Arc” sails away for good, Polk says he is grateful the movie allowed him to explore its main topic, same-sex marriage.
“The black community’s response to gay marriage has been used in such interesting and not always positive ways in the political discourse, so I think it’s important to show gay marriage in the context of these black characters,” Polk says. “I think we’re still kind of finding our place in the mainstream debate. Before, you saw gay marriage and there was a real white face put to that, and I think that’s changing now.”
Despite the shortcomings and choppiness of the movie, the magic of “Noah’s Arc” is summed up powerfully by the lead character in the movie.
“Sometimes you have to be a pioneer,” Noah says at one point. “You have to at least try to be brave. That’s how it starts.”
Source: Southern Voice