A Lousy Movie Is a Lousy Movie

The tedious reactionaries at The Independent have seized upon the catastrophic failure of Oliver Stone’s Alexander as a chance to bludgeon American “homophobes.” I haven’t seen the film but have been told by enough people I trust that it was deadly dull (no matter what way its hero swung), so I have filed it under “life’s too short” and steered clear. To me that constitues time management but the gang at The Independent smells a rat. Other forces are at play than mere film quality (or lack thereof). Their James Hiscock (from Los Angeles!) and James Burleigh report:

But conservative Christians have loudly denounced Alexander as “pro-gay” propaganda from Tinseltown, insisting that Alexander was a firmly hetero hero.

Oh, really? Not being a “conservative Christian” or a Christian of any sort this is news to me. Who do they mean specifically? Unfortunately (no big surprise here!) Messrs Hiscock and Burleigh aren’t naming any names. Oh, excuse me. They do cite one, naturally anonymous, “online critic” who says the films failure was because its Alexander is “gay as a maypole.”

In fact, if anything, the reverse is true. The only interest in this obvious yawner of a movie has been dredged up by the minor controversy over its protagonist’s sexuality. Were it not for that, it might have had negative grosses. But don’t ask The Independent about that. Reality doesn’t interest them, only an opportunity to bash anything that has to do with America. [Do you think their reporters would be fired if they wrote the truth?-ed. Good question.]