Will Ferrell’s new film criticised for slew of gay jokes
By Josh Haggis
Will Ferrell’s latest film has been criticised for perpetuating homophobic and racist stereotypes.
Comedy Get Hard tells the story of an millionaire (Ferrell) who after being charged with embezzlement, enlists the help of the man that washes his car (Kevin Hart) to help teach him how to be “masculine” in an effort to stop him getting raped when he goes to prison.
During one scene in the film, Ferrell’s character takes an “older predatory gentlemen” into a bathroom cubicle and tells the man that he is going to “suck his dick”. However, Ferrell finds himself unable to go through with the act and ends up bursting into tears while resting his head on the still exposed, semi-erect man. According to Variety, another running joke in the film sees Ferrell inserting different objects into his anus in preparation for his time in prison. The entertainment publication has dubbed the film “the most high-profile comedy ever made about the subject of prison rape.”
During a Q&A session following a screening of the film, which appears at face value to be suggesting that there is absolutely nothing worse than the idea of gay sex, one audience member asked director Etan Cohen whether he believes that the film is “perpetuating stereotypes”.
“When you do satire, that’s a big problem,” he replied. “That’s a dangerous thing. It’s a very small window — that’s what we’re trying to find.”
Another audience member told Cohen that the film is “fucking racist,” to which the he responded: “The truth is, that was a delicate balance to find,” Cohen said. “When we were testing the movie, Ferguson was going on. It was hard to modulate, how far to push it.”
Watch the trailer for Get Hard below:
[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEqrpuU9fYI[/youtube]
More stories:
Read nine-year-old girl’s letter to her gay teacher
Meet the footballers stripping off to save their team…