'Uncle Frank' trailer - Directed by Alan Ball

I can't understand a word they're saying. I see Alan's given his BF a starring role. HARD pass.

Ugh, Peter Macdissi.

[quote]Ugh, Peter Macdissi.

He's terrible, isn't he? The weakest link from Six Feet Under.

I can’t wait. I love Paul Bethany and it looks good to me. That’s what I’ll be watching on Thanksgiving Day I guess. Cool.

This looks like it will be a bittersweet journey that will tug at your heartstrings.

Looks better than any Ryan Murphy drivel.

It looks exactly like the 70s.

Alan Ball can always make me cry.

Why wasn’t one of our finer elder gay actors given this role?

Peter Macdissi was so sexy as Olivier.

It’s great seeing Lois Smith have such a great third act!

I do like this young actress and since her show was canceled it’s good to see her in something new.

[quote] Why wasn’t one of our finer elder gay actors given this role?

Because Ball is not one of their faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaans!

[quote] Ugh, Peter Macdissi.

I really hated his character on Six Feet Under, especially when he hooked up with Brenda's mom.

I guess there just weren’t any out gay actors who had the box office star power of Bettany to cast in this.

[quote]It looks exactly like the 70s.

How old are you, plz?

[quote]I really hated his character on Six Feet Under, especially when he hooked up with Brenda's mom.

Ridiculous pairing. They did that just to keep him in the show. He was done after the art school.

[quote] I guess there just weren’t any out gay actors who had the box office star power of Bettany to cast in this.

Box office star power? Honey, in the Age of Covid, those days are over. The future of films will be direct-to-streaming products, where box office clout won't matter as much.

Besides, Bettany ain't that big of an actor anyway. However, he's a much better actor than Bomer or Quinto, so I'd rather see him in this role than those two.

R17 cannot read sarcasm.

TY R18

Only two out gay actors and they are both Americans. Yanks are so... what’s the word?...limited.

Beyond tired of straight men playing gay roles. Go away.

Suck our big Yankee cocks R20, you Limey Fruitcake!

Oh, dear. Hit a nerve with that one.

Looks great - 2 thumbs up!!

Two fingers up.

[quote] Only two out gay actors and they are both Americans.

Two? Mrs. Alan Ball - and who?

That looks PHENOMENAL. Sign my fat ass up

That's Mr. Jennifer Connelly?! I would never recognize him with that hideous moustache.

A poster suggested the Matt Bomer and Zachary Quinto as if they were the only out gay actors that could have been cast instead of Bettany. There are dozens in England alone and no reason a closeted or straight actor should have been given the role.

I have an Uncle Frank, but he’s a homophobic asshole.

I think I’ll send him this clip just to watch his head explode.

Isn’t that the point to acting? Embodying someone else who isn’t you?

Bettany looks great here. The movie will be maudlin shit however. Hey

I don’t have a problem with the sexual orientation of actors as long as it doesn’t limit the character they’re playing.

Gay actors do not just want to play gay people.

To a gay uncle with 15 nieces and nephews, this looks really good.

Posters on here make a good point. with the next year of movies likely going to be on streaming platforms, does an indie/arthouse type movie that wouldnt be setting the box office on fire in normal circumstances need a name actor? Take more risks on unknowns

It'll be interesting to see how much outrage is expressed over the casting of a straight white man to play a gay white man. Or is the outrage reserved for white actors playing black parts and cis actors playing trans parts?

This looks like it will be a bittersweet journey that will tug at your heartstrings = hard pass

[quote] Alan Ball can always make me cry.

Tell me about it.

Peter Macdissi is hawt!

My bad, R14/R18, I don't know how that went over my head. I'm usually good at detecting ironic comments.

It looks great. Can't wait to watch it.

[Quote] Looks better than any Ryan Murphy drivel.

Completely agree.

Yeah I also hated Peter Macdissi in “SFU” (though not as much as Mena Suvari), and he also played an asshole in Ball’s “Towelhead”. Based on the trailer it looks like he is playing a very different character in this one -sweet and supportive- so I am curious to see if he can pull it off. Overall this looks pretty good!

Anyone watch? I liked it a lot. It wasn't an epic for the ages, but the performances were all really good.

Although how many parts has Margo Martindale played where her character is named something like "Mammaw?"

Interesting looking. It (mostly) looks/feels like the 70s.

But... Paul Bettany? Jesus. Gay or straight, is he the best you can do, Alan Ball?

If you're going to cast your (still largely unknown) BF as the partner, you need to do better than Paul Bettany.

I just watched it and enjoyed everything except Ball's boyfriend. He ruined here and Now too. And the wig they had him in looked way off.

It's dead boring and no dongs to be seen whatsoever.

Two fists up!

I watched it this morning and I thought it was ok movie.

Any characters loosely based on me?

Total snoozefest going from moribund to morbid to implausible.

However, Paul Bettany was good, very honest and simple performance and I loved the young girl. Great supporting cast, all sadly playing silly cliches.

But Peter Macdissi? Honestly, I said to my husband as we watched: He must be Alan Ball's husband or boyfriend (I really didn't know). Most annoying performance in a long time. And that wig would give Nicole Kidman's a run for its money. Oy, and all that makeup he's wearing....what were they thinking?

****SPOILER: The only good scene was the surprise of the hot NYU kid trying to seduce Bettany early on. The movie could have gone in a much fresher and certainly more provocative and thought-provoking direction from there.

You have a great cast (with the NOTICEABLE exception of the guy playing Wally) but I do agree that the script leaves something to be desired. I wanted the movie to be better.

Still it is worth a watch, there is some good stuff there.

[quote]The only good scene was the surprise of the hot NYU kid trying to seduce Bettany early on.

Surprise? I called that from jump.

My problem with that scene is how quickly the kid makes this about face to gay lecherous villian. It was obvious he was going to reveal to be gay but I don't think an 18 year kid from flyoverville would be that much of a cynical cunt already.

[quote]I don't think an 18 year kid from flyoverville would be that much of a cynical cunt already.

Are you new here?

I watched this last night with my 91 year old aunt and my cat. My aunt kept asking " which ones are the homos again ?" my cat left in the middle of the movie to do a massive poopy in her automated litter box which scared my aunt and lead to another discussion before I slipped some bendryl in her Ensure to calm her ass down.

The straights might like it.

Comments like R54 is why I fucking LOVE Datalounge!

The young woman playing the niece is very winning and a natural actress.

I thought Bettany gave a great performance.

The Arab drag queen who played his boyfriend's acting was as bad as his wig. It was very distracting. It was like something Suzanne Pleshette would wear, only backward.

SPOILER: The "I was just swimming" reveal at the end made no sense. They would have taken his clothes with them. And called the police.

I enjoyed the film.

Paul Bettany turned down the role of Prince Philip in The Crown and yet he signed on to this? Did he know Alan Ball's BF would be playing his BF before he signed his contract?

The ending with all of the family happily sitting out in the back yard was such a cop out. Life isn't that simple.

[quote]The only good scene was the surprise of the hot NYU kid trying to seduce Bettany early on.

I thought he was way too aggressive for someone who really didn't want to have sex with her.

Ditto R56

Also notable is that the actors look like real people, more in the way of UK casting, versus the pretty people usually found in US movies and TV shows.

[quote]I thought he was way too aggressive for someone who really didn't want to have sex with her.

I thought so, too. He went from a confused closet case to rhapsodizing about his blowjobs to strangers in two seconds.

Are we supposed to believe that the NYU kid went after the niece right from the beginning because he wanted to have sex with her uncle? Or was it that he just wanted to get into the uncle's literature class? Or did he not know at first about the niece and uncle's family relationship? The motives of the kid are not very clearly explained.

The movie would have been so much better had it been about the triangle of gay uncle, niece and NYU kid.

[quote]The movie would have been so much better had it been about the triangle of gay uncle, niece and NYU kid.

Yes, and no Arab drag queen boyfriend in a $17 wig.

Alan Ball should be one of the most powerful men in television. He's a far more talented writer than Ryan Murphy or Greg Berlanti, who each have TV empires of their own (and net worths to match).

I can't help but think that he sabotages himself by making some poor creative choices. Like casting his BF in a project like this one (or 6FU).

It was fine, but the ending seemed too pat. This southern family in the 70s is totally ok with their son/brother coming out? And having a middle eastern boyfriend to boot? Um...yeah that sounds like a fairy tale.

Especially a boyfriend like.....him, r66.

[quote]And having a middle eastern boyfriend to boot?

You mean a middle eastern drag queen in a bad wig.

It was just ok. The script was really disappointing. It trite and already done a million times. Bettany was quite good though. I though Beth’s gay boyfriend was dreamy.

A disappointment. Good actors seriously hampered by some bizarrely implausible plot turns and a ridiculously 'heartwarming' ending. Would have been considered groundbreaking and much-talked-about as a movie-of-the-week in the late '90s and won a bunch of Emmys. Dead on arrival in 2020.

Awful. Just so out of date.

R71 eh its not nearly as bad as that Katherine Heigl lesbian movie with a script from 1992.

I thought it was "fine," but R71 is right about it being out of date. It felt very 2002.

I'm sick of seeing this actress in everything so I won't see it

Agreed. Not bad - but not groundbreaking.

I'm not looking for groundbreaking, I'm just looking for plausible. And engaging.

And no bad wigs.

Wigs must be plausible and his is not. And those painted on eyebrows!

I was loving it for the first 30 minutes, but once the histrionics started, I could hardly make myself keep watching -- though the actress playing the niece shined in every scene she was in.

Should I be knowing Paul Bettany?

Was having a brown bf who most likely comes from a muslim bg a thing in the 70's?

its damn gooood, highly recommend. but too many fukin cigs in franks cute mouf. to show wht???? dat him bein in closet made him nervous???

and i wasnt delighted with the choice of queen they made his lover....too silly .....gak.

Yeah, the first 1/2 hour is quite intriguing and provocative. But the relationship with the boyfriend was very implausible, they didn't make a convincing couple at all. And the notion of the boyfriend renting a car and following him down to South Carolina was ridiculous.

I could see the family accepting Frank, but not the overbearing bf. The movie would have been better without him.

It seemed like they decided to go with a happy ending instead of a realistic sad ending.

BF and I enjoyed it. And it is 99% more watchable than most gay films. If you Amazon Prime search gay films, all most all of it is unwatchable, believe me during quarantine i looked and there is some unbelievably horrible indie gay movies out there. At least this one was good and enjoyable to watch.

Plus DLers grip about no out gay actors in movies, here’s one and all you guys do is complain because he’s the the director’s BF. Fuck off assholes.

Really disappointing. Ball has done so, so much better than this. Talk about full of the movie clichés. How many times have you seen the teenage boys swimming, roughhousing in the water, only to have it turn romantic? How fresh is a homophobic relative interrupting teenagers in the middle of sex? How many times has that led to A suicide which haunts the living partner? How many times has an innocent turned up at a gay party unexpectedly? And on and on... And then of course there’s Wally. Unwatchably lousy actor. Who is going to start calling Ball out on this?

How incredibly stupid were the boys to have sex in the boy's bedroom (with the door unlocked!!) for the father to see?

They deserved to get caught!

I've been so dismayed to see several of my Facebook friends actually liking this film so it feels so good to come over to DL and read all these comments.

This seems like the kind of project that makes well-meaning straight people feel good about themselves for watching.

Some would call that "virtue-signalling."

The boyfriend was in some other movie, total miscast, like he was in a gay hallmark ha ha movie of the week. treackly

Peter Macdissi's overacting is annoying as hell. The wig and the cake make-up make him almost unbearable so you know he wouldn't be in it if he wasn't Alan Ball's partner. But the movie is not bad, saved by Sofia and Bettany's good acting and a troupe of interesting character actors.

[quote]He was done after the art school.

Agreed. Fucking Russel should have been the apex of Olivier's arc. The scene when Claire 'has it out' with him should have been that character's sendoff.

Bettany was better than expected, but the boyfriend was terrible.

Sophia Gillis looks sort of like Shawn Mendes in drag

[quote] I really hated his character on Six Feet Under, especially when he hooked up with Brenda's mom.

Olivier has one of the best couple of lines, directed at Claire:

"With first success comes corruption... and the work suffers... I toast you with the shitty wine!"

96 comments and no one has mentioned the spider in Aunt Butch’s hair?

[quote]But the movie is not bad, saved by Sofia and Bettany's good acting and a troupe of interesting character actors.

I agree, they were the best parts of the movie.

Have Lois Smith and Margo Martindale ever not been good?

Have Lois Smith and Margo Martindale ever played any other kind of roles?

Just kidding.....

The only memorable thing about Uncle Frank was the fact the lead actress looked and sounded like a young Amy Adams.

So happy to see 90 year old Lois Smith still acting, and doing a damn good job at it.

Margo Martindale was not great in this. There are no tears in her eyes when she's supposed to be crying hysterically. Did make-up run out of glycerine tears that day?

I was going to come here and bitch about the boyfriend. TBH, it took me a bit to place him, but I kept wondering why any scene with him was weak. Then I remembered him from Six Feet and that he was with Alan Ball. So annoying.

I thought it was a nice, little adult film. A bit slow, but nicely acted. Bettany was understated and quite good. It was refreshing to not have some big twist. Just a simple story. But, as others have said, nothing that special.

Margo was fine but the script gave her nothing to work with.

Sophia Lillis reminds me of a young Frances McDormand

The Saudi boyfriend character wasn’t that bad! Did any of you bitches consider that he might have worn a bad wig in real life? The swimming scene at the end was stupid - why would he suddenly take his necklace off? And why would they leave his clothes there or where would he find new ones? The look and pace of the movie was great and it was short.

R107 you are quite right, the swimming was ludicrous but otherwise it was a sweet little movie.

R101 Well Sophia did play a younger version of Amy Adams in flashbacks during the TV limited series Sharper Objects.

I love Ball, I even liked that woke series he did for HBO, but this looks dated and like any other gay themed movie I've seen in the last 15 years.

Why this obsession with the 70s? Walking stereotypes and saviors of the clueless frau. Gungles? WTF is this nonsense?

Bettany is always good is whatever he does. His dad is gay so he's gay-adjacent. Does that count?

"Sophia Lillis reminds me of a young Frances McDormand."

Let's hope she turns out saner than looney Frances, R106.

Lovedd the movie cept for the silly cornball way they did his lover....the indian guy....silly willy, ick

I loved it. The spider stole the show.

I watched this last night and my partner and I both hated it. The writing was just ghastly. The boyfriend was god awful. Ugly and what a terrible actor. It made me glad I wasn’t gay in NYC in the early 70’s if that was the only guy Uncle Frank could get.

I thought my eyeballs would fly out of the back of my head.

Yep the bf was godawful and then some. who cast and wrote such drivel???

How is this the same man responsible for six feet under?

I think some of the criticism here is justified but movies like this need to be made. It’s good for people who haven’t been exposed to these ideas get the chance to challenge their POV. Reruns of Glee abound for those who don’t want to leave their bubble.

I can't imagine that "people who haven't been exposed to these ideas" will tune in though it would be nice.