December 12, 2024 The Newspaper Serving LGBT Los Angeles

“Rise” Risks Nothing

At the movies recently, I saw a trailer for a film “inspired by true events.” From the two-minute trailer for “Miracle Season,” I could see that the film combined all the usual tricks – including a swelling, Danny Elfman-style score and tear-jerking performances – to tell a story no one could possibly find controversial. We see films like this every season when things start to slow down, in between the final Oscar push of the winter and the onslaught of summer Blockbusters. They exist to remind us that not that hope exists or that true stories are often box-office shoe-ins, but to flex the muscles of a certain kind of movie made possible by a fail-proof style of film language.

That manipulative, “Schindler’s List”-approach to filmmaking that allows us to root for a home team, or be inspired by the story of a kid with a degenerative disease, or feel outraged by a tale of injustice that happened at least 50 years ago without thinking for a one second, “wait a minute, are these tears honest? Are they real?”

It’s this kind of tack that the new NBC series “Rise” takes, a show heavily criticized for choosing to change the protagonist of its source material – a book called “Drama High” – from a gay man to a straight man with a large, traditional family.

Why is this important to think about in the context of “Miracle Mile” or “The Blind Side” or even “Glee?”

Because, unlike the rest, “Rise” might have actually been something. The story of a group of ragtag theater kids trying to mount a beleaguered production of “Spring Awakening” in a working-class Pennsylvania town with the help of a passionate drama teacher might have combined the best parts of “Glee” and “Dead Poets Society” to create something that actually looks like real life. With a cast of queer and trans characters – some of them out of the closet, some not – diverse outcasts, jocks, and homeless kids running from the foster system, “Rise” definitely took pains to paint a more realistic portrait of the average middle-American high school. However, with a main character who seems to have no clear motivation for being this jazzed about musicals or getting kids to find their true selves, “Rise”, at least in the early episodes, makes no narrative sense. Not only does Lou Mazzucchelli, Josh Radnor’s now-straight English lit teacher-turned-drama coach not seem to have any clear passion or motivation for starting a high school musical program, he doesn’t have the time. With three kids, one of whom is a burgeoning alcoholic, and a wife who has to pull double shifts teaching piano (kindly overlook the economic implausibility of this) just to make ends meet, “Mazzu” isn’t exactly in a position to go volunteering for underpaid extra-curricular work. Yet he does, and it’s never exactly explained, just as it’s never explained why he gets so frustrated when his “vision” for the show isn’t met, or why he decides to ignore casting the best-known singers and actors in the school for relative unknowns. While these decisions make sense as ways to advance the plot, they don’t make sense for Mazzu. This is why, four episodes in, the character is still underdeveloped, and at times mildly nonsensical.

Now I’m not saying that if the character had remained gay, all this passion for the Theater would miraculously be explained. On the contrary, that would feel offensively stereotypical. But having a gay character in the lead would help us learn a bit more about why he’s so interested in shaking things up by casting queer misfits and outsiders in a play about queer misfits and outsiders. It might even make him seem – dare I say – interesting?

It’s tempting to blame the producers of the show, who were behind the twin smash hits of “Friday Night Lights” and “Hamilton,” for making what they might have seen as an attempt at simplification on the level of plot. If it’s supposed to be a true ensemble story, what does it matter who, or what, the lead is? However, a true ensemble story “Rise” is not.

If it were, it wouldn’t keep its queer characters in the background while keeping heteromances front and center. And it certainly wouldn’t leave us without anyone to root for three episodes in.

Related Posts

MJ Rodriguez, 1st Openly Transgender Actress to Win Golden Globe

January 18, 2022

January 18, 2022

Michaela Jae “MJ” Rodriguez has made history by becoming the first openly transgender person to win a Golden Globe.  The...

Animal Shelter Donations In Honor Of Betty White

January 18, 2022

January 18, 2022

Animal shelter donations have increased exponentially in honor of late actress gay icon and animal lover Betty White. Over the...

Netflix Launches LGBTQ Podcast ‘The Gay Agenda’

January 6, 2022

January 6, 2022

Netflix has launched “The Gay Agenda,” a new podcast that will look at the lives of LGBTQ+ creatives at the...

Hollywood Star and Gay Icon Betty White Dies Aged 99

January 6, 2022

January 6, 2022

Hollywood Star and gay icon Betty White died peacefully in her Brentwood home in West LA  on December 31st.  She...

Team Trans* Walk-Out At Netflix Office In Hollywood

October 18, 2021

October 18, 2021

Netflix’s trans employee resource group is planning a Team Trans* employee walk-out on October 20th at the Netflix office located...

Sex and the City Star Willie Garson Dead At 57

September 28, 2021

September 28, 2021

Acclaimed actor and Los Angeles resident Willie Garson passed away on September 21 after a short battle with pancreatic cancer,...

GLAAD Responds To Historic Emmy Noms

July 26, 2021

July 26, 2021

GLAAD has responded to the historic Emmy nominations after it was announced that out trans actress MJ Rodriguez and out...

MJ Rodriguez Makes History As First Out Trans Woman Emmy Nominee

July 26, 2021

July 26, 2021

Actress Michaela Jaé, formerly known as  MJ Rodriguez, became the first out trans woman performer to be nominated in a...

“Gayest Episode Ever” An LGBTQ+ Podcast

June 29, 2021

June 29, 2021

Gayest Episode Ever is an LGBTQ+ podcast hosted by journalist Drew Mackie and screenwriter Glen Lakin. The podcast looks at...

Buzzfeed’s Docuseries “The Andrea Mares Project”

June 11, 2021

June 11, 2021

BuzzFeed’s As/Is presents “The Andrea Mares Project,” a docuseries that shadows Andrea Mares, a trans-feminine Latinx, as she embarks on...

2021 Pride Announces “Thrive With Pride” Theme

May 15, 2021

May 15, 2021

LA Pride has announced its 2021 pride theme this year called “Thrive With Pride”.  Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in...

Ellen DeGeneres Ending 18 Year Talk Show

May 13, 2021

May 13, 2021

After more than 3,000 episodes and 19 seasons it is confirmed that Ellen DeGeneres is ending her talk show The...

Ellen DeGeneres Under Fire For Admitting To Driving Under The Influence

April 30, 2021

April 30, 2021

Ellen DeGeneres is under fire for admitting to driving wife Portia DeRossi to the hospital while under the influence.  While...

Tina Turner Documentary Breaks Records

April 4, 2021

April 4, 2021

Singer, song writer and gay icon Tina Turner released a documentary on HBO Max as a farewell to her fans...

First Gay Teen Captain America Revealed By Marvel

March 28, 2021

March 28, 2021

Marvel Comics has revealed the first look at a new Captain America who happens to be a gay teen.  The...