" series was controversial within the LGBT community. "David will say something to me and it will cut to me and I'm smiling. Eastern Time to 8:00 p.m., Fox censors began exercising more editorial control over the sketches. Damon Wayans reported that after Fox moved In Living Color from its original 9:30 p.m. According to series creator Keenen Ivory Wayans, the chairman of Fox sat down with him to try to persuade him to pull "Men on Films" from the premiere episode. Saturday Night Live sketch featuring Chris Farley as Roger Ebert. "Men on Videotape Rentals" – March 29, 1992."Men on European Vacation" - February 23, 1992.
"Men on Film Festival" – November 24, 1991."Men on Film: The Return" – September 29, 1991.Now I don't know if it was a gay thing, but it was also a very black thing." Sketches Now at that time, if a gay person was going to read you - to tell you off - it was always accompanied by snaps. So a lot of it was hijacked from what I heard in the theater and what was permeating around. Speaking to NPR in 2012, Grier explained the inspiration for his characterization: "I had already done Dreamgirls on Broadway, and being in a musical and working with other performers who were gay, I was privy to that vocabulary backstage. The variations included "two snaps, and a twist" (Men on Film), "two snaps in a circle" (Men on Art), "a rare Zorro snap, in Z formation" (Men on Books), "two snaps and your back field motion" (Men on Super Bowl), "two snaps, and wipe yo mouth" (the "Chef Boyardee" snap in Men on Cooking), "around the world snap, and back" (Men on Vacation), and a special snap for the "Men on Fitness" episode that was difficult to understand due to the actors laughing. With each installment the sexual puns would become cruder and more abundant, the costumes would become more flamboyant and the "snaps up" (Men on Film) would become more and more elaborate. Subsequent sketches would explore other aspects of popular culture, including art, books and television. īlack Widow and Miss Firecracker, both of which feature women in the leading roles, are dismissed with a simple "Hated it!" Blaine initially praises Dangerous Liaisons for its courage in casting Glenn Close in a female role Antoine informs Blaine that Close is actually a woman, prompting Blaine to exclaim "Clutch the pearls, what a sneaky thing to do!" The pair signify approval of a film by giving it "two snaps up!" Do the Right Thing is praised for its supposed message of "Do the right thing, come on out the closet, don't be afraid to be who you is", whereas Karate Kid is panned for not exploring the possibility of a pederastic relationship between Mr. In each instance the film is reviewed with an extreme gay male interpretation regardless of any actual gay content or sensibility in some cases, the review of the film is based solely on the film's name or the name of its stars. They review Do the Right Thing, The Karate Kid Part III and Great Balls of Fire! and upcoming video releases for Black Widow, Miss Firecracker and Dangerous Liaisons. Hosts Blaine Edwards and Antoine Merriweather introduce themselves and explain that they will be discussing films of the day "from a male point of view". Over the strains of " It's Raining Men" by The Weather Girls, an announcer introduces the public access program "Men on Films". ", "Men on Films", established the basic pattern for the sketch series. "Men on Books", six weeks later, shows how in just a short time Blaine and Antoine became much more stereotypically flamboyant. " as having affected how African American men view homosexuality within their communities. African-American cultural critics have identified "Men on.
Some LGBT people and organizations felt this portrayal was insulting to gay men, although response within the community was split. Both Blaine and Antoine were portrayed as extremely effeminate. " engendered controversy for its portrayal of black gay men. The sketch was revived on the late-night comedy series Saturday Night Live when Wayans hosted. " first appeared on the premiere episode of In Living Color and continued throughout Wayans's tenure on the series.
The sketch featured two gay cultural critics, Blaine Edwards ( Damon Wayans) and Antoine Merriweather ( David Alan Grier), commenting on aspects of popular culture, including movies, art and television. " (colloquially known as "Men on Film") is the umbrella title for a series of comedy sketches that appeared in episodes of the Fox sketch comedy series In Living Color. " sketch, "Men on Films", broadcast April 15, 1990