As an avid movie watcher who just so happens to be queer, I’m always on the look out for LGBTQ content. I do this for one simple reason: I want to see myself in the content I consume. I want to see other men, women, and people who understand my experiences, journey, or woes. And in Peter Paige’s The Thing About Harry I see myself and more.
We’re not talking subtle queer either. There are no hints about who these gay and pansexual characters are or who they like. No little sprinkling of representation that leaves you going, “Were they gay? Because they really seemed gay according to reason A to Z.” These characters ARE gay. These characters ARE pansexual. And that’s ok.
This certainty about who these characters were left me feeling seen, accepted, and like a love story like theirs is something that I could also have in my life. And for someone who has barely felt that (Please name all the gay rep in movies where the leads are queer themselves. I’ll wait here.) all encompassing feeling of representation and acknowledgement of my life experiences, that matters.
I can meet the one. I can fall in like. I can fall in love. I can, I can, I can.
Just say those words to yourself.
Over.
And over.
Is this what straight people feel like when they watch romantic movies where people like them go through a journey that leads to love? Because if so, this is the most intoxicating feeling I’ve ever experienced in my life and I want more. Yes, having Love, Simon and The Thing About Harry is brilliant, but like The Little Mermaid, I want moreeeeeeee.
I want to see more of Sam and Harry. I want to see friendships between queer people develop, crash, burn, and build themselves back up again from the ashes. I want to see more of the AMAZING (CAPS IS NEEDED FOR THIS CHEMISTRY) chemistry between Sam and Harry, played by Jake Borelli and Niko Terho. I want to see people like them, like me, fall in love.
I even want to see more sex scenes between queer couples, because how often do we get hot and heavy scenes that leave us fanning ourselves that isn’t overly sexualized for the heteronormative gaze and involves usually two females? Not often enough! Sam and Harry had some of the hottest scenes between two men that felt intimate, gentle, and kind aka what we all want and deserve to see people like us get.
Point of the matter is, The Thing About Harry made me feel accepted, loved, and worthwhile.
Those are powerful feelings.
Those are transcendent feelings.
And I’ll never be the same because of The Thing About Harry.
