Any film where cast members talk about chosen family and Dwayne ‘the Rock’ Johnson busts a cast off his broken arm by flexing his biceps has a place in the gay canon
Iam a 42-year-old lesbian who can’t drive. And, since I’m baring all, I will add that I loathe people who drive extremely fast in obnoxiously large cars. Which, unfortunately, seems to be every third person in the US. In short, I’d wager I’m probably not the target audience for the Fast & Furious films.
I’m sure I don’t need to explain the blockbuster franchise to you: the first instalment came out in 2001 and the series has generated billions. But if you are somehow unfamiliar with them, the basic premise is that a ragtag team of misfits and street racers travel around the world, driving cars fast and furiously, beating up baddies.
Target demographic or not, I’m a big fan. Ever since I watched The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006) on a plane I’ve been obsessed with the films. Which, I will concede, are very stupid (my four-year-old could come up with the “plot” for a typical F&F movie). But they are also great fun. And extraordinarily gay.
First, there’s the fact that they are completely over-the-top. As camp as they come; the drag queens of the cinematic world. In F9 they send a Pontiac Fiero to space for God’s sake: the film is so gay it defies gravity. F7, meanwhile, features one of my favourite super-camp scenes (don’t judge): Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson is in hospital with his arm in a cast but realises he has to drive fast cars and beat people up so busts open the cast by flexing his huge biceps while announcing, “Daddy has to go to work.” I mean, come on, talk about the performance of gender.
