The Gay Deceivers (1969) from Tuna

The Gay Deceivers (1969) is a hopelessly dated comedy. The IMDB plot summary is one of the best I have seen, "Danny and Elliot avoid military service by pretending to be gay, but they have to act the part when the recruiting officer doesn't buy it." In an attempt to convince the Army,  they move in together in a gay neighborhood, and have to keep their women at arms length. 

NUDITY REPORT

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Jo Ann Harris, as Danny's sister, shows breasts in trying to seduce Elliot, and find out for herself if he is gay or straight. While the film could have been better, her breasts were just fine.  

DVD info from Amazon.

  • bare bones

The film wouldn't mean much to those of you who didn't face the near certainty of being drafted and sent to Vietnam. Further, the film is full of broad caricatures of 60's stereotypes of gay people, which are supposed to be the main source of humor. I am not sure I would have found it amusing then, but I certainly didn't now. The film had some nostalgic value for me because of the costumes, hair and language, but was largely a disappointment. 

The Critics Vote

  • no reviews online

The People Vote ...

  • With their votes ... IMDB summary: IMDb voters score it 5.3
IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, this film is a C-.

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