Do I Sound Gay?

directed by:
David Thorpe
documentary

“Occasionally, Thorpe comes off like the novice director he is: a
dinner conversation with two close friends (a gay male couple)
regarding their own experiences rambles on for way too long, and his
visualization of when he first realized how much the gay voice
personally bugged him is amusing, but too cute by half. He’s a much
more effective interviewer: some of the film’s most realized moments
come from an impressive corral of celebrities, including comedian
Margaret Cho, Project Runway guru Tim Gunn and columnist/activist Dan
Savage. Thorpe successfully gleans both entertaining and insightful
comments from all of them, none more so than humorist David Sedaris,
whose admittance that he’s glad when people don’t think he sounds gay
is movingly candid.

“Ultimately, Thorpe is less navel-gazer than seeker, willing to
continually question and re-examine his thesis by considering other
options, like interviewing a speech therapist to get at the
technicalities of speech (thankfully explained in terms a layman can
understand). He also keeps referencing back to Zach Huston, whom he
interviews early in the film. Huston, an effeminate 15-year-old in
rural Ohio was beat up by a classmate and made national news via a
viral video of the incident. In the interview, we see how comfortable
Huston is with himself, impressively so for someone of that age and
background. As Thorpe notes how admirable it is that Huston fully owns
his gay voice, he reveals the tenet the whole film hinges upon: rather
than working on changing your voice, you’re much better off embracing
it. I know, it sounds obvious, but when Thorpe finally arrives at this
conclusion, it feels rather empowering, and far more profound than
you’d expect from an amusing little thinkpiece about the way some
people talk. 4 cats

“(DO I SOUND GAY? screened at the 2014 Toronto International Film
Festival.)”