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There is only one thing I look for in a successful documentary: Does it make me feel guilty about an issue I didn't previously feel guilty about? Blackfish did, obviously, and Hoop Dreams, and all the ones about food. Even Jiro Dreams of Sushi made me feel bad for not working harder.
Writer-director David Thorpe got me right out of the gate. He opens his documentary by asking a bunch of strangers on the street the titular question, "Do I sound gay?"
I don't want to judge him. I don't think I'm judging him. But when he asks, it's exquisitely obvious to me that I've been making subconscious judgments this whole time. And now I've been blackfished into assuming somebody's sexual orientation because of the way they talk.
Do I Sound Gay? is a Kickstarter-funded, semi-autobiographical documentary Thorpe started working on after being dumped in his 40s and worrying that his voice was one of the reasons he can't find love. Thorpe is gay. But he worries that his voice sounds annoying and too feminine, so he embarks on an experiment to speech-pathology his way out of sounding gay.
The strongest part of Thorpe's film is how he blends his personal story with the larger issue. It's funny—and a little sad—watching him practice his "straight" vowel sounds at home, as prescribed by the voice coach who specializes in making actors sound less gay. Yes, he is more sing-songy, ends his sentences up instead of down and puts S sounds in the front of his mouth. But the real issue is that society labels people based on those sounds. In the film's most poignant moments, Thorpe interviews teens who have been bullied mostly because of how their voices sound.
I just want Thorpe to love himself. And he gets there in the film, kinda. His friends (who all seem like the coolest) mostly advise him to be himself. His panoply of celebrity interviews (Earth's most delightful human Tim Gunn, David Sedaris, Dan Savage, et al.) mostly advise him to be himself. But while the lovefest helps Thorpe on his path to self-acceptance, he takes a few parting shots at the rest of us. Playing clips from various comedy skits, he reminds us of how often we laugh at characters just because they have effeminate voices. These aren't from the '80s, they're recent comedies that should know better: Louie, Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock. The clips he plays aren't even good jokes, but they seemed harmless when I saw them the first time. Now, thanks to the guilt-inducing power of a well-made documentary, I can't help cringing. ALEX FALCONE.
SEE IT: Do I Sound Gay? opens Friday at Cinema 21. GRADE A
WWeek 2015