MovieChat Forums > The Fan (1981) Discussion > Is Douglas supposed to be gay?

Is Douglas supposed to be gay?

posted 8 years ago by I_Love_Hutch
2 replies | jump to latest

He's obsessed with Lauren Bacall, who I guess is a pretty attractive, middle aged woman, but huh??? He is a good-looking, though admittedly strange, 25 year old man, and she's total camp. Did the people who made this movie intend for his attraction to be received by the audience as full-blown sexual attraction? Because that is not at all how it plays out. I mean Douglas Breen couldn't be more gay if it was Paul Lynde.

I do like this movie, though.

I thought I was gonna die! - Roseanne Roseannadanna

[–] Pedro645 7 years ago

I supposed he was. I got the impression his attraction for Sally Ross was more an obsession of what he yearned to be as opposed to wanting to bed the singer.

[–] kurtlodernot 7 years ago

In the book, which is epistolary--only back-and-forth letters between the various characters--he is quite sexually attracted to her.

The gay bar and rooftop killing scenes are on par with what happens in the novel. In the novel afterward, Douglas writes a letter deriding gays and calling them names like disgusting, perverted, etc. Which, to me, indicates homophobia and possible latent tendencies.

So the short answers is who knows.