Really? Pike?

she surely must have been ok with knowing that a relationship with a possibly bisexual man has its risks?

Interesting question. The mayor, Anna, does pick up on the Henry-Pike chemistry at the Thanksgiving table, when all the glances are shown. In fact, that scene happens just after the Henry-Dean kissing scene where Dean "can't." Henry and Pike are exchanging almost flirty glances, when Dean picks up on that and looks unnerved by it (which leads to Dean following Henry into the closet saying he wants "to try again"). Nevertheless, Dean's own glances at the table shift to Anna quite quickly. Henry has already resigned himself to the fact that his fantasy with Dean is just a fantasy.

We don't know what happened between the time that Anna comforts Dean crying in the truck and what actually lead to the Anna-Dean relationship. Anna strikes me as a pretty smart cookie, so I doubt she would dive into a relationship wih Dean unless she was sure he was indeed straight. Also, Anna--along with the rest of the villagers--knows all about Pike's feelings for Henry. There's a quick little moment, when Henry is getting ready to leave town and dashes off to see Pike, where Anna is seen giving a knowing and approving glance. She's also the one who told Mary Margaret about "the Indian." (Mary Margaret to Henry: "I had to hear about the Indian from the mayor?")

when Dean puts his hand over the mayor's, a guy quickly comes bi and it looks like he leans in to kiss her but he's made to change his mind. Who is he? Why did he change his mind, when he clearly went over there knowing and seeing she was there with Dean and Henry?

From what I saw, the guy didn't change his mind. He walked over and went to kiss Anna, but she was the only who quickly pulled away.

As for the chemistry between Pike and Henry, I really still not feel it. And given that the (let's call it) passion between Dean and Henry was so blatant (compared to Henry and Pike's), it does feel like there is none between Pike and Henry, even if you want to explain it by saying that they had a different connection, so the chemistry would be less physical than Dean and Henry's.

Fair enough. I too would have liked to see at least one more scene between Henry and Pike that led up to their getting together.

The way I view the movie is this: I see Pike as the lead character, not Henry. (Yes, I know they are both "lead actors" and Henry does have a bit more screen time than Pike.) Sure, the movie is very much about Henry's "running away" from Big Eden and spending "years in therapy" to get over his crush on Dean.

But I get the feeling that, in the twenty years that Henry was in New York, it wasn't that Henry had no personal or sexual life. But the Dean crush was always there in the back of his mind and may have kept him from being open to forming "real" romantic relationships. In fact, Henry wasn't even expecting Dean to be in Big Eden when he returned to take care of Sampa. He hadn't even kept in touch with him enough to know that Dean had been married and had kids.

Back to Pike: he is pathologically shy (he avoids any kind of crowds and large gatherings, not even attending the big 4th of July gathering), but the townspeople clearly love the guy. Pike has never left Big Eden and, due to his extreme introvertedness, it's hard to imagine he's been in any kind of relationship. Heck, he might even be a virgin.

I'm not sure how many people would have known that Pike had a 20-year unrequited love for Henry, but Grace seemed to know that from the beginning. She was the one who made sure that Pike delivered the meals from the Widow Thayer. There was no real reason for Pike to do that, as Jim even said he could easily do the same. But Grace insisted that Pike do it personally. I've also noticed that Grace did not seem at all amused by the playful/sexual banter between Henry and Dean. I have no idea exactly how Grace knew that Pike loved Henry--I can't imagine Pike confiding that to her--but she must have picked up signals along the way.

Pike must have made little comments here and there over the years about Henry. Jim even says that Pike has talked about Henry's being an artist in New York. When Pike begins making the meals, it's quickly realized by everyone in town that he loves Henry. Even Sampa knows ("I'm sorry, son."). This, to me, is when the movie becomes more about Pike than Henry. Of course, everyone gets behind Pike and even assist him, while keeping his secret as long as they can hold out.

The kiss: I understand how it could seem forced, as there weren't any scenes of real sexual chemistry leading up to it. But, up until the point that Henry and Pike get together as a couple (just after Pike returns from the airport), Pike's love for Henry has been as unrequited as Henry's long-term love for Dean. For Pike, it has been even more unrequited, since he and Henry never had much of a relationship at all. Considering Pike's incredible shyness, it's hard to even imagine him getting to the point where he could have a physical relationship with anyone at all. But, at the end, there is Pike, finally at the 4th of July gathering he avoided his entire life. And, when the two of them are dancing, Pike is the one who stops dancing and kisses Henry, in clear view of everyone. For me, Pike is the one who undergoes the biggest personal transformation and is the real hero of the movie.

if the mayor was there to pick up the pieces after Dean's breakdown (which is number two of my list of most touching moments in this movie, and I always find myself rewinding it a couple of times each time I watch the movie - great acting by both)

Okay, I'll bite: which touching moment in the movie is your number one?

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Ok but to me that's still a bit more than the classic college experience.

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Straight guys play around when they are young. It happens sometimes. Sexuality can be fluid.

True dat. We don't really know if Dean and Henry "played around" when they were young. Of course, the beauty of this film is that we, as viewers, can imagine a lot of the unseen scenarios in whichever way we want.

I didn't get the feeling that Dean and Henry actually had a physical/sexual experience together when they were young, but I do think Henry had a mad crush on his best friend and was emotionally paralyzed by it.

As for Dean being straight or bi, that's a tough call. Another poster (perhaps in another thread here) pointed out that gay men sometimes go through an experimental period of dating women and even sleeping with them, as a way of figuring out their own sexuality. I went through this in high school. I was attracted to guys and had some gay sexual encounters. But I was the only boy in the family and felt pressure to get married, have kids and carry on the family name. So I tried. After a couple of tries with girls, I went through exactly the same thing as Dean ("I can't"), with reverse sexual orientation.

In order to make others happy, I wanted to be straight. But it was not to be and, thank goodness, I quickly accepted my true sexuality and got on with my life.

Dean is coming off of a divorce. His ex-wife must have had major issues, since Dean has custody of the kids (husbands rarely get custody). So the marriage, more than likely, was a very unhappy one. After the "breakup" with Henry, it didn't take Dean long at all to begin a relationship with the mayor.

In the pantry-closet scene, Dean says to Henry, "you may be in love but it's not with me." I think it's pretty obvious Dean is referring to Pike. Two scenes lead up to this: when Henry asks Pike to Thanksgiving dinner, Dean is already sizing up the chemistry between Henry and Pike, to the point where Henry says to Dean "what's wrong with you?" Then, at the dinner, Dean notices the glances between Henry and Pike and is unnerved by it.

(One more thing, just my opinion: I think Henry is a lousy kisser! In the kiss with Dean, Dean is the one who passionately plants one on Henry. For me, that kiss seems particularly forced, because Henry is so passive. Plus, it never goes beyond the closed-mouth stage. In the kiss between Henry and Pike, it's much longer and romantic but, even then, it looks like Pike is really into it and Henry's just kind of a limp dishrag. Maybe Dean and Pike should have been a couple! Lol!)

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