"The Crying Game."

[JenniferParisHusband]

So, I'm watching "The Crying Game" right now and realized it's been 20 years since that came out. Gotta admit, I still watch it and think Jaye Davidson is hot in it. Anyone else still think so, or has it lost it's appeal to people on here? Just curious.

[Merkurie]

Jaye was a real cutie in that movie.

[danthepoetman]

I found him hot too. If I remember well, it took me a while before understanding he was a t-girl…

[Willie Escalade]

Eh...never really had any specific feelings toward him.

Interesting note...my sociology teacher in high school showed all of his classes this movie...and this was a catholic school. Yikes!

[Stavros]

As eye candy at the time Jaye Davidson was ok -there was a thread a while back which shows how she, or rather he looks these days. The weaknesses in the film undermine its credibility. Few if any British soldiers were kidnapped in Northern Ireland, as happens in the film -the most famous person to be kidnapped, Capt Robert Nairac was working undercover and was murdered precisely because of his job in military intelligence. In the key scene where Dil undresses for Fergus, his immediate reaction is to rush to the toilet to throw up-I have never understood why vomiting would be the natural reaction of any man in such a situation. Surprise, bewilderment, rage seem to me more accurate. The sub-plot involving the IRA is uninteresting, merely serves to show how disinterested in the 'struggle' Fergus has become, and anyway most assassinations in the UK were performed by car bombing, if they worked, than that seen in the film. The closing speech in which Fergus repeats that old story about the scorpion and the frog is a feeble response, while the concept of the convicted felon who finds love on the outside, giving him a purpose in life has been used in films as diverse as Bresson's Pickpocket (in the context of that film, love becomes the most profound emotion and gives meaning to life) and American Gigolo. You could also argue that for a lot of the film Dil is just an hysterical queen. And so on. But it was unusual for a popular film to have a ts character and for the main character to fall in love with her. Pity it could not have been a better film.

[Merkurie]

It was the first mainstream film to have an attractive"transsexual" character" who was not a crazy killer.
It fucked with peoples heads.
It put butts in seats.
It did not embarrass me.

What I loved about it, was seeing a transsexual female character who was attractive intelligent and lovable (ie someone that the male leads in the film would be involved with in a relationship.) Her character could have been played as a genetic woman. She may have been sad or even troubled, but no more than most people. She was not a tragic figure and the story did not pity her.

I loved that she was mixed race too, for all the above reasons.

[JenniferParisHusband]

Stavros, that was what I was kind of wondering. Looking at it in hindsight, I have to admit that you have a lot of points there. I watched it for Jaye Davidson, to see if he was still hot to me, and yeah, gotta admit he was. But having seen my beloved Jennifer Paris, I've moved on to much better looking ladies. And the story is really weak, and doesn't hold up anymore. So, glad to know it wasn't just me thinking it was kind of dated.

That said, I'd have done Jaye Davidson over and over again.

[giovanni_hotel]

The Crying Game worked as movie melodrama, and as a niche genre piece.
Still my fave movie of that type, considering how few there are, a romantic love story featuring a transgendered character and a male lead.

Really was surprised that flick had so little discussion about it on this forum.
That and Paris Is Burning were my first real introduction to TGs in the mainstream media.

[Stavros]

Paris is Burning is the better film, because it is about real people. It is about people, some of whom possess only ideas and dreams, because they cannot afford to shop. But then go 'mopping' which was a new word for me, and it probably can't be called shopping; people creating and dismantling identities, people insisting that if they were rich they would share because the poor often share, even though if they did become rich they might suddenly become selfish (and probably should be or be returned to poverty as quickly as they became rich). Venus Extravaganza emerges as a deluded soul, unable to tell the difference between company purchased, and love that asks for no reward -and who was savagely and needlessly murdered shortly after filiming. I understand the appeal, even the importance of The Crying Game, but it cannot compete with reality.

[Merkurie]

Crying game was trying to be entertaining and push boundaries of what could be done with the typical thriller/drama.

"Paris is Burning" was a more serious film. It was'nt trying to be entertaining it was a "slice of life".

However, it was another "suffering minorities marginalized by society" film. Hollywood loves those kind of "fucked at birth" movies.

[bluesoul]

Paris is Burning is the better film, because it is about real people. It is about people, some of whom possess only ideas and dreams, because they cannot afford to shop. But then go 'mopping' which was a new word for me, and it probably can't be called shopping; people creating and dismantling identities, people insisting that if they were rich they would share because the poor often share, even though if they did become rich they might suddenly become selfish (and probably should be or be returned to poverty as quickly as they became rich). Venus Extravaganza emerges as a deluded soul, unable to tell the difference between company purchased, and love that asks for no reward -and who was savagely and needlessly murdered shortly after filiming.

i remember seeing this film when it first came out. there was a good review that had a summary that concluded it would have resonated more with a larger audience had the characters not been so "desperately superficial". in fact, as i remember, the one who is killed, admits in the film they wished they were born "a rich spoiled white girl." an odd request. i'd imagine being born with loving, understanding family and in a tolerant community would be enough- but i doubt they reflected on their desires as selfish.

[Chiba5]

Jaye Davidson was the main antagonist on a sci fi film when he played Ra on Stargate, Stargate (the movie): Ra gets OWNED - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfDMP2T5d0A)

[georgiaguy]

http://therecshow.com/whatever-happened-to-jaye-davidson/

[Ben]

Jaye's very hot....

THE CRYING GAME-THE METRO - YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLvYa0D-9wc)