Fathers get a bad rap in queer cinema. Fictional dads tend to antagonize, reject or straight up abuse their queer sons. Good dads are rare enough that a moment of compassion can bring an audience to tears. David Stevens’ 1990 play, The Sum of Us, dials up acceptance to an absurd degree. Harry plays cheerleader and matchmaker for his gay son Jeff. His social awkwardness frightens off Jeff’s dates as well as his own. A 1994 film cast Jack Thompson and Russell Crowe as father and son. It kept the plays’ broad humor and fourth wall breaking monologues. The jokes haven’t held up, but the core of sweetness carries it through. Crowe’s handsome looks don’t hurt either.
Let’s celebrate Father’s Day with a spoiler filled recap.
Act One: Jeff’s Date
Scene One: Dad’s Home in Perth
HARRY (A cheerful widower): My son’s getting ready for a date. Not with a girl. With a bloke. I know! Crazy right? Live and let live I say.
JEFF (A handsome plumber. Wearing only a towel): Who are you talking to dad?
HARRY: The audience!
JEFF: Hello audience! Ya see grandma was a lesbian. That’s why dad’s so gay friendly.
HARRY: Some people think my son and I are too close. I say screw ‘em. Now whip off that towel and show the audience your bum.
JEFF: Aw dad. (He does.)
Scene Two: Later That Night
GREG (Hunky gardener.): You play rugby? I’ll bet you look great in shorts.
JEFF: As a matter of fact…
HARRY: He sure does! My son’s a dreamboat. He’d make you a good husband. Before you fornicate why not have a beer and tell me about yourself?
GREG: I like planting trees.
HARRY: Speaking of phalli, I was looking at some gay porno magazines and I want to make sure you’re being safe.
JEFF: Dad, get out of here. (Harry leaves. Jeff tries to kiss Greg.)
GREG: My dad hates me. Your dad’s great. But domesticity is not sexy. (Greg leaves.)
Act Two: Harry’s Date
Scene Three: New Year’s Eve
HARRY: I met a lovely lady through a video dating service. Remember those? We’ve had a dating montage. Tonight, I’m going to pop the question.
JOYCE: (Nervous divorcee): Slow down. I haven’t even met your son. What are these?
HARRY: Gay porn magazines. I bought them for Jeff.
JOYCE: He’s gay? And you encourage him? You ought to be ashamed! (Storms out.)
HARRY: This is just like the act one finale of South Pacific. Our children are only THE SUM OF US! How could we not love them? (Has a stroke.)
Act Three: Pride
Scene Four: Pride Parade
(Greg dances shirtless on a float. Greg’s parents see him on the news.)
GREG’s DAD: That boy is banned from this house!
GREG’s MOM: He’s 30 and employed. He’ll be fine.
Scene Five: Park
HARRY: I can’t talk anymore. Except to you. The audience. Get it?
JOYCE: Your son’s taking good care of you. I’m sorry I was such a fool. (Leaves.)
HARRY: Redemption arcs are nice an all. But how’s my son going to find someone now?
GREG: Hey Jeff. You look good. Want to try dating again?
JEFF: Maybe. That could be cool. I’m cool. Cool cool cool.
HARRY: Do it for chrissake. These poofters and their drama.
THE END
Fathers and Sons
When I was about 21, around 1960, I picked up a cheerful, chipper young Cockney…. [The next morning] his mum cooked me breakfast and told me she hoped I would see her son again because what she wanted for him, more than anything in the world, was that he find himself a friend and not be lonely.
Playwright Dan Stevens, Attitude Magazine, 2017
In the 2018 film Boy Erased Russell Crowe played a Baptist preacher who ships his gay son off to conversion therapy. It’s the sort of role fathers usually play in gay films. Harry’s a refreshing change.
Roger Ebert found Harry “unwholesome, even creepy” for his interest in his son’s sex life. But Stevens isn’t trying to pathologize the man. He’s simply taking the meddling parent tropes from straight comedies and dialing them up to extremes. The Sum of Us is corny and sentimental at a time when LGBT+ lives were anything but. It’s no timeless classic. But it’s an easy watch.
You can read more of my reviews on The Avocado, Letterboxd and Serializd. My podcast, Rainbow Colored Glasses, can be found here.