Breakfast with Laurie Lynd

Laurie Lynd, a Toronto-based director whose film Breakfast with Scot is opening in limited release, is an interesting interview. He is thoughtful, articulate, and insightful about the place of gay culture in film. Breakfast with Scot is a gay-themed comedy, and one of the few positioned for mass appeal.

“We are very much hoping that it will play to a mainstream audience,” he says. “Of course I hope it will reach the gay audience, but that’s a bit like preaching to the converted— although it’s good for people to see their stories on screen. So I’m really hoping that it can cross over […] I think if people have seen the trailer, they really will go.”

In Breakfast with Scot, based on a novel by Michael Downing, macho hockey player and closeted homosexual Eric (Tom Cavanagh) is seriously injured during a practice. Five years later, he’s a popular colour commentator, and his romantic relationship with Sam (Ben Shenkman) is still a secret. Things get complicated when Eric and Sam unexpectedly become temporary legal guardians of Scot (Noah Bernett), a swishy, flamboyant child who is likely gay.

Embarrassed by his own homosexuality, Eric is downright humiliated by Scot’s, and tries to get the kid to tone down his personality by signing him up for hockey. But Eric must, of course, learn to accept Scot—and himself—for who he is. Despite its gay subject matter, Breakfast with Scot’s slick comedy aims for a broad audience.

The film has made a few headlines for being the first gay-themed movie made with the cooperation of a major North American sports league, in this case the NHL, a process that Lynd says was easier than anticipated.

“Whenever they’re asked about it, they always say the same thing, which is that basically they just really liked the script and liked its message of what it is to be a good parent and loving your kids for who they are.”

Breakfast with Scot is likable, and its heart is in the right place, though it has its flaws. I like its dramatic content more than the comedy, which is too dependent on Scot’s outrageous flamboyancy— a joke that eventually wears out its welcome. I also worry that a character as stereotypical as Scot panders to a homophobic demographic who can laugh at the gay jokes and grudgingly accept a message of tolerance at the end, Chuck and Larry-style (although there’s little basis for comparing Breakfast with Scot to I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry).

The drama, while uneven (the climactic scene is a little melodramatic for my tastes) and fairly predictable, is interesting in the way it shows a gay man coming to terms with his own homosexuality.

“I’m gay, and I think coming out is a lifelong journey,” says Lynd. “I think there are a lot of stages to it. And that’s one of the things that I think is really interesting about the film, is that, first and foremost it’s an entertaining comedy about misfit parents and an odd kid, but it’s also about the later steps of coming out. It’s almost like a second coming-out for that character.”

Unlike most gay-themed films, Breakfast with Scot is being marketed to appeal to a crossover audience, with posters and trailers similar in tone to the kinds that a big-budget American comedies would have.

But can homosexuality have a more consistent presence in mainstream film? Comparing to twenty years ago, Lynd says, “there are tons of gay movies, it’s just that most of them tend to be independent, smaller ones. The big mainstream ones tend to, I agree, be exceptions. I still think we’re a long way from being able to see a romantic lead actor being able to come out, or even a hockey player who can come out while he’s still playing. But, I do think, given Will & Grace and the greater gay presence on television, a mainstream audience is definitely more comfortable with it.”

“I think it’s all moving in the right direction. In a way, what I like best about our film is that it’s very nonchalant about the gay subject matter, and the writer of the novel, Michael Downing, said that when he saw it he felt is was the first time he saw himself as a gay man onscreen, because these are just guys who have a life who just happen to be gay.”

Breakfast with Scot opens in limited release on November 16.