Meet the Gay Best Friend, a figure whos evolved dramatically over the past three decades.
Here we identify the key players who changed the trope for the better.
Quite honestly, things were very stereotyped back then,Mannequincasting director Marci Liroff admits.
Everett Collection (2); Sanja Bucko/Warner Bros.
But Meshach was just funny.
He had it in his bones.
His timing was great, and there was something wonderfully endearing about him.
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But this was a fuller portrait, a major step forward in the onscreen depiction of queer couples.
Gareth is a spirited man in love with the relatively shy Matthew (John Hannah).
He pretends to be Juliannes (Julia Roberts) fiance.
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He acts as her conscience.
Typically, the GBF cheers from the sidelines; here, he plays the hero.
And he gets a love story yes, with a man of his own.
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But Tina Fey flipped the script withMean Girls Damian.
I was just trying to humanize him.
Oliver (Nico Santos) in 2018sCrazy Rich Asians
The GBF timeline overall is inescapably white.
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Hes also flamboyant which Santos says shouldnt be seen as regressive.
I hate that femininity in a gay men is a stereotype, says Santos, who is openly gay.
Femme people exist, and they are layered and they are complex and they are intelligent.
Rupert Everett and Julia Roberts in ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’.Everett Collection
Indeed, he adds: You dont encounter characters like thisever.
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