The New Nut Shot

one of the cheapest ways to get a laugh in a movie is to show a guy getting hit in the nuts. For some reason people love it. They think it’s hilarious. But clearly it’s cut-rate. Physical humor isn’t the most intelligent kind of humor to begin with, and crotch shots are probably the least intelligent kind of physical humor. Writers don’t need to rack their brains to think of a scene showing a guy racking his nuts. Though I find myself chuckling at an occasional nut shot, I can’t help but be disappointed in the writers. They’re just plain cheap.

            While watching the movie Best in Show I noticed a different kind of humor that seems very similar to nut shot category to me. It’s just as unintelligent, just as predictable, and just as cheap. Likewise it is a pretty sure way to get a laugh without exerting much effort.

            Best in show is a mockumentary that follows five dogs and their owners through a dog show competition. The dog owners’ personalities and backgrounds differ greatly. Meg and Hamilton Swan are a yuppie couple who own a Weimaraner. The humor resulting from their personalities is original and recognizable. They love Starbucks, Macs, and clothing catalogs. The owner of a Bloodhound, Harlan Pepper, is a lovable hick. He is also an original character with some classic one-liners. Gerry and Cookie Fleck own a Terrier who they write and sing songs about. Gerry literally has two left feet and Cookie has slept with almost every new man the two characters encounter. Also original characters. The owners of a fancy poodle, Sherri Ann and Leslie Ward Cabot are funny and new. Sherri Ann is married to an almost dead rich guy but is in love with Leslie Ward. The two women end up together. Though there are a few lesbian stereotypes, the characters remain original for the most part. Lastly there’s Scott Donlan and Stefan Vanderhoof, the owners of a Shih Tzu. Scott and Stefan are a gay couple. The jokes resulting from these two are unintelligent, predictable, and cheap.

            The comedic gayness exuded by Scott and Stefan is just like the comedic agony exuded from a nut shot: it’s cheap. Scott is extremely flamboyant and 99% of his jokes are about how apparently gay guys act. He’s extremely sassy, sexual, effeminate, and fashionable. It’s cheap because it’s a stereotype. When a gay guy with a saucy lisp mentions how unfashionable someone is, people laugh.            The first thing Scott says in the movie is, “So basically, you know, a lot of meat!” He and Stefan are in a butcher shop in this scene and the butcher has just listed off what is available. Of course a gay guy would be unable to keep is cool in a place with so much “meat”. One of the next things he says is, “Get one of those pepperoni sticks out, I just want to hold it.” Evidently all gay guys only have one thing on their minds: penises. Less than a minute later, after the butcher shop scene, Scott makes another joke about wieners, “I knew a guy who had two members on the same body, dated him for about a half hour, got so exhausted.”

            For the remainder of the movie almost every scene with Scott and Stefan involves them checking out other guys, being overly fashionable, and acting nauseatingly sarcastic. What else would you expect from a gay couple? I find it strange that Scott and Stefan from Best in Show, Cameron from the television show Modern Family, Jack from Will & Grace, and other similar characters fit the “age-old pansy stereotype” when most of the gay guys I know in the actual world act very differently. I have to take a step back and think, “What do these stereotypes do for the gay community?”

            Being raised in Utah Valley influenced me to some degree to be partially homophobic when I was younger. In junior high I told my brother about a gay kid at school. He said some things that changed my outlook forever. He looked at me and asked sincerely, “Do you want to do every girl you hang out with?” I responded that I didn’t. He said neither do gay guys. Before now I egotistically assumed every gay I encountered probably wanted to get it on with me. This lesson taught me I was wrong. The problem is, characters like Scott seem to actually be horny for every guy they meet. They seem to only be thinking about penises and new clothes. They seem to be flamboyant to and intimidating degree.

            Though many movies and TV shows tell us differently, it’s obvious that all gay guys aren’t like Scott. Just as my brother taught me in junior high, gay guys are just like me except they do it with guys and I do it with girls. It turns out that this new nut shot style of comedy isn’t only cheap, it’s damaging. It is especially harmful in a conservative community such as Utah Valley where the limited exposure to homosexuality comes from the TV. My brother taught me something else. He told me that the gay kid at my junior high I told him about would grow up and probably move out of Utah. When people ask this kid what Utah is like he’ll probably tell them it sucks. He’ll probably accurately tell them that Utahns were cruel to him. Gay people are just like straight people, and all people deserve to be treated with respect.