1. Why does the title avoid any gay reference? Just like Philadelphia, the title is a place name. How safe. At least it doesn't sound hetero, like Will and Grace.

2. Doesn't anyone remember the sad old pre-1969 novels? You know from the start that it will all end badly. No living happily ever after for gays. Somebody has to die. Ennis winds up in his own Well of Loneliness.

3. Why, when it shows the two cowboys together, it is always in the fabulous Rocky Mountains, the cowboy's own Garden of Eden. And when they are apart we see gritty, dusty, prairie towns where it looks like it hasn't rained since the Korean War. Aren't we being emotionally set up?

4. Why is it so sexist? Ennis' oppressed wife has some gumption, gets a job of her own and dumps him. But two hot women, one rich, have nothing better to do than to drag the inhibited cowboys off to bed, though they show little interest. They're really dumb. And a third babe is the mindless wife who can never stop talking, never stop talking, never stop talking.

5. The movie is full disconnect from reality. These aren't the kind of gays moviegoers will ever meet. The location is as exotic and far away as King Kong's island. Dusty Wyoming. Pre-Calvin Klein. Grade 8. Rodeos. Nothing to convince your neighbours that nice normal middle class gays and lesbians live in their city.

Risky? Cutting edge? No. Safe. Safe. Safe.

Douglas Sanders is a retired Canadian law professor living in Bangkok. He can be contacted at sanders_gwb@yahoo.ca.