I remember back in the day being shown Boat Trip by a housemate who was also gay. He said that it was a hilarious movie with almost every character being homosexual. I watched the film all the way through out of politeness (something that wouldn’t happen now) and thought it was the direct opposite of being a great film centred around ‘the gays’. Will my opinion of the film change after watching it more than 20 years later?

The film concerns Jerry (Cuba Gooding Jr), who has been jilted by his girlfriend after he took her up in a hot-air balloon to propose to her. Unfortunately, due to being queasy at being up so high, he vomits all over her (the film’s only funny gag). His friend suggests they go on a cruise as apparently loads of ‘hot babes’ go on them. A vindictive travel agent places them on a GAY cruise instead. And so we have the premise of this cinematic opus. Hilarity ensues (!)

The first striking thing about the film is that about 95% of it I didn’t remember. Maybe on first viewing, I just zoned out (a skill I learnt in school primarily during triple Physics) or dissociated at the sheer horror of it all. Boat Trip deals primarily with every gay stereotype that was prevalent at the time, with gay men being either crop-top wearing, excitable twinks or in-trim gays in their twenties and thirties, all whitened teeth and no stranger to a solarium or a chest wax. They’re also attracted to ALL men, including our two leads (which is utterly laughable). It’s depressing that gay people were seen like this in 2002. It’s also depressing that some gay people I met on the gay scene joyously fulfilled these stereotypes.

Roger Moore also stars as an older gay man, but even he can’t save proceedings.

I don’t often agree with Roger Ebert, but this is vapid, boring and utterly forgettable. In fact, it’s so lame that even though it trots out every stereotype imaginable, they’re delivered so poorly that it derides any kind of offence that should have been generated.

I actually think this film was made as some kind of tax loss that would underperform. It bombed at the box office, and critics despised it also. It was even nominated for Razzies but didn’t win, as 2002 was the year that Gigli was released.

This is a film for people who talk during films, move their lips when they read and have an IQ of below 10.

Appalling.

0 out of 5 stars