Disney’s Jungle Cruise is the newest ride to big-screen adaptation by the mega studio. Following close on the heels of Cruella, this live-action film is truly fun for the whole family and provides a sweet message amongst boatloads of action. When plucky English adventurer Lily, (Emily Blunt) hires Frank “Skipper” Wolff, (Dwayne Johnson,) she and her foppish brother get way more than they bargained for.
New But Different
When you watch the movie, you may be stricken by a deep pang of familiarity. That’s because Jungle Cruise is the result of The Mummy and Pirates of the Caribbean having a baby. And with Indiana Jones as the godfather. Yup, we said it. While this movie is far from fresh or original it still delivers in all the ways that matter.
All that aside what we really want to talk about is one particular scene from Jungle Cruise that resonated with us here at GayTucson.com. If you have seen the movie, you know what we are talking about and if you don’t, spoilers ahead! British comedian Jack Whitehall plays McGregor plays Lily’s campy brother who also happens to be gay.
Whitehall originally took some backlash from the community in 2018. When it “came out” (pun intended) that the straight actor would be playing an openly gay character. There were fears that the character would fall prey to Hollywood stereotypes and be flamboyant and too campy to pallet. We happily report that this is certainly not the case.
All the Feels…
In what turns out to be a touching scene McGregor mentions to Skipper that he’s had three marriage propositions. He turned them all down because “my interests happily lay elsewhere.” He nervously looks at Skipper, perhaps expecting derision from such a hulking man’s man. The burly boat captain raises his glass of the spirits they’re sharing and toasts “to elsewhere.” We bet you didn’t expect that in Jungle Cruise.
While some are saying that this “coming out” scene doesn’t go far enough and Disney is essentially tiptoeing around actually using the word gay, over here at GayTucson we really appreciate the way it was handled. It was elegant in its simplicity. Ultimately no big deal which is how we hope it’s going to be someday.
“I felt that the scene was really exactly what it was, which was two men talking about what they loved, and who they loved.” Johnson told reporters at a press conference. Whitehall told SlashFilm that he “totally understood the significance” of the scene, adding that he was “very nervous” about getting it right.
Well done, we think you nailed it.
Please enjoy this trailer to get a peek at Disneys Jungle Cruise:
