The Thing About Harry | |
---|---|
Screenplay by | Peter Paige Joshua Senter |
Directed by | Peter Paige |
Starring | Jake Borelli Niko Terho Britt Baron Karamo Brown Peter Paige |
Music by | Timo Chen Mateo Messina |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producers | Roger M. Bobb F.J. Denny Greg Gugliotta Brett Hays Trey McMenamin Peter Paige |
Running time | 85 minutes |
Original release | |
Release | February 15, 2020 |
The Thing About Harry is a 2020 American romantic comedy television film. [1] Written by Peter Paige and Josh Senter and directed by Paige, [2] the film follows Sam (Jake Borelli), a young gay man who is reunited with his former high school bully Harry (Niko Terho) in adulthood, only for the two men to become friends and fall in love after Harry reveals that he now identifies as pansexual. [3] The film also features Britt Baron and Karamo Brown, as well as Paige himself, in supporting roles. [4]
The film premiered on February 15, 2020, on Freeform and Hulu. [3] [5]
As a favor to a friend, Sam reluctantly begins a road trip to his hometown with his high school bully Harry. During the trip Harry casually reveals himself to be pansexual, shocking Sam that they share a connection. However, upon arrival Harry ditches Sam to make up with his ex-girlfriend.
A year later, Sam runs into Harry during a party, and he drunkenly insults Harry by calling him a slut, despite his best friend Stasia pushing them together. Six months later, Sam is brought by his new boyfriend Paul to a bar trivia where he stumbles upon Harry and his roommate, Zach. Sam chooses Harry's (correct) answer to a trivia question over Paul's, causing Paul to leave and break up with him.
Over the next few months, Sam and Harry grow closer as friends. During the Chicago Pride celebration at a bar, Harry asks Sam whether the latter will consider dating him. Sam reiterates his stance against dating friends, and thereafter stumbles upon Harry making out with Stasia, the two of which then become a couple. At a brunch three months later, a drunk Sam insults Stasia and Harry by predicting their relationship won't last, after which he loses contact with both.
With encouragement from his roommate Casey, Sam begins finding dates using apps, which does not go well. A year later, Stasia reconnects with Sam and asks him to be the man of honor in her wedding to Zach, revealing that she broke up with Harry sometime ago. At the wedding, Sam finally makes up with Harry after the latter confesses his love, and they spend the night together. In the morning after, Harry reveals he is moving away in a week, causing Sam to storm out due to feelings of mistrust and betrayal.
With Sam again ignoring him, Harry accidentally sees on TV that Sam is working at a political rally. Determined to face him, Harry sneaks into the rally. Onstage, he apologizes to Sam and states that nothing is more important than staying together with him. A few years later, Sam and Harry are married and raising a child together.
The movie was first sold by executive producers Greg Gugliotta and F.J. Denny to Freeform. [3] The script was finalized in July 2019 and the production commenced in November the same year. [2] Paige has stated that one of his goals in writing the movie was to make it reflective of the fact that young LGBT people conceptualize and label their sexual identities in more diverse ways than past generations; for instance Harry is pansexual, rather than gay or bisexual, because "the odds that two young, queer men under 25 both identify as gay feels slim to me in this generation." [2]
Paige did not originally plan to appear in the film as Casey, but decided to play the role after being convinced that because 2020 marks 20 years since the premiere of Queer as Folk , there would be symbolic value in having the film contain a small tribute to his own performance as Emmett Honeycutt in that series. [2]
The movie was shot in Chicago. [6]
The film received positive reviews for its classic execution of the rom-com genre with gay romantic interests, bringing the much needed normalization of queer relationships while not robbing it of its uniqueness. [7] Jasmine Blu of TV Fanatic praised that the film "stuck to the classic rom-com formula, while still being thoughtful and aware enough not to swap out a hetero couple for a queer one and leave the entire film devoid of the LGBTQ perspective and culture." [8] Alex Reif praised the film for the chemistry exhibited by the main characters and the relatable tertiary characters. [9] Amari Allah concludes that the film presents positive representation of pansexuality while avoiding the common trauma theme in LGBT films, but noted its lack of diversity in casting. [10]
The film's premiere drew 181,000 viewers. [11]
The Thing About Harry was nominated for the 2021 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Movie. [12]
Peter Paige is an American actor, director and screenwriter. He is best known for his portrayal of Emmet Honeycutt in the gay drama Queer as Folk. His debut as director and writer was on the film Say Uncle.
Jeffrey Schwarz is an American Emmy Award-winning film producer, director, and editor. He is known for an extensive body of documentary work including Commitment to Life, Boulevard! A Hollywood Story, The Fabulous Allan Carr, Tab Hunter Confidential, I Am Divine, Vito, Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon and Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story.
Shelter is a 2007 American romantic drama film produced by JD Disalvatore and directed and written by Jonah Markowitz. It stars Trevor Wright, Brad Rowe, and Tina Holmes. It was the winner of "Outstanding Film–Limited Release" at the 2009 GLAAD Media Awards, Best New Director and Favorite Narrative Feature at the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, and the People's Choice Award for Best Feature at the Vancouver Queer Film Festival. Shelter represents the feature directorial debut of Markowitz.
Shadowhunters, also known as Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments, is an American supernatural drama television series developed by Ed Decter, based on the novel series The Mortal Instruments written by Cassandra Clare. It premiered in North America on Freeform on January 12, 2016. Primarily filmed in Toronto, Canada, the series follows Clary Fray, who finds out on her eighteenth birthday that she comes from a long line of Shadowhunters, human-angel hybrids who hunt down demons, and has to deal with the struggle of forbidden love.
Karamo Karega Brown is an American television host, reality television personality, author, actor, and activist. Brown began his career in 2004 on the MTV reality show The Real World: Philadelphia. He currently stars as the culture expert in the Netflix series Queer Eye.
Uncle Frank is a 2020 American comedy-drama film written, directed, and co-produced by Alan Ball. The film stars Paul Bettany and Sophia Lillis. Set in the 1970s, Uncle Frank is a road movie about a gay man who confronts his past.
Levi Schmitt, M.D., is a fictional character from the medical drama television series Grey's Anatomy, which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character is portrayed by Jake Borelli.
Michael Kennedy is an American screenwriter, known for co-writing the 2020 comedy slasher film Freaky with Christopher Landon, writing and producing the 2023 Christmas comedy slasher film It's a Wonderful Knife, and co-writing the upcoming 2025 romantic comedy slasher film Heart Eyes. His work is often associated with gay horror. In 2024, It's a Wonderful Knife was nominated at the 35th GLAAD Media Awards for Outstanding Film - Wide Release.
The depiction of LGBTQ characters in Western animated series in the 2000s changed significantly from the previous decade. This included series such as Queer Duck, the first animated TV series with homosexuality as a predominant theme, The Boondocks, American Dad, bro'Town, W.I.T.C.H., The Venture Bros., Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World, Moral Orel, Lizzy the Lezzy, and many others would include LGBTQ characters.
The portrayals of pansexuality in the media reflect existing societal attitudes towards pansexuality and current media portrayals. Although pansexual characters are not often characters in mass media, they have appeared in various films, TV series, literature, video games, graphic art, and webcomics, sometimes embodying certain tropes in cinema and fantasy. Musicians, actors, and other public personalities have also, in recent years, come out as pansexual, and are focused on with this page.
Gay is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term's use as a reference to male homosexuality may date as early as the late 19th century, but its use gradually increased in the mid-20th century. In modern English, gay has come to be used as an adjective, and as a noun, referring to the community, practices and cultures associated with homosexuality. In the 1960s, gay became the word favored by homosexual men to describe their sexual orientation. By the end of the 20th century, the word gay was recommended by major LGBT groups and style guides to describe people attracted to members of the same sex, although it is more commonly used to refer specifically to men. At about the same time, a new, pejorative use became prevalent in some parts of the world. Among younger speakers, the word has a meaning ranging from derision to a light-hearted mockery or ridicule. The extent to which these usages still retain connotations of homosexuality has been debated and harshly criticized. This page examines gay characters in fictional works as a whole, focusing on characters and tropes in cinema and fantasy.
The Christmas Setup is an American-Canadian romantic comedy television film, directed by Pat Mills and broadcast in 2020. The first LGBTQ-themed Christmas film ever broadcast by Lifetime, the film stars Ben Lewis as Hugo, an uptight New York City attorney who comes home with his best friend Madelyn to visit his mother Kate for Christmas, and is forced to consider what he really wants in life when he reconnects with his high school crush Patrick just as he is offered a promotion to his firm's office in London.
Fire Island is a 2022 American romantic comedy film directed by Andrew Ahn, written by and starring Joel Kim Booster. The film co-stars Bowen Yang, Conrad Ricamora, James Scully, and Margaret Cho. The plot follows a group of gay friends on vacation at the titular New York island, where romance becomes complicated by classism in a story inspired by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Distributed and produced by Searchlight Pictures, the film was released June 3, 2022 on Hulu, to generally positive reviews.
This article features the history of the representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) characters in animated productions under The Walt Disney Company, including films from the studios Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar, and programming from the Disney Branded Television channels as well as the streaming service Disney+. From 1983 onward, Disney struggled with LGBTQ representation in their animated series, and their content often included LGBTQ stereotypes or the content was censored in series such as Blazing Dragons. Some creators have also criticized Disney studio executives of cutting LGBTQ scenes from their shows in the past, or criticized that their shows were not seen as part of the "Disney brand", like The Owl House.
Crush is a 2022 American coming-of-age romantic comedy film directed by Sammi Cohen and written by Kirsten King and Casey Rackham. The film stars Rowan Blanchard and Auliʻi Cravalho in a story about a teenage girl joining her high-school track team to get closer to her crush, only to find herself falling in love with her crush's twin sister. Crush was released digitally on April 29, 2022, on Hulu.
Karamo is an American syndicated daytime talk show hosted by Karamo Brown. The show premiered on September 19, 2022, and is distributed by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios.
Niko Terho is a Barbadian actor. He made his screen debut playing the title role in the 2020 romantic comedy television film The Thing About Harry and in 2022 began starring as Dr. Lucas Adams in the ABC medical drama series, Grey's Anatomy.