Making Love

For other uses, see Making love (disambiguation).

Making Love
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Arthur Hiller
Produced by	Alan Adler Daniel Melnick
Written by	A. Scott Berg (story) Barry Sandler
Starring	Michael Ontkean Kate Jackson Harry Hamlin Terry Kiser Wendy Hiller Arthur Hill Nancy Olson John Dukakis
Music by	Leonard Rosenman
Editing by	William H. Reynolds
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	February 12, 1982
Running time	113 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$11,897,978 (North America)

Making Love is a 1982 American film. It tells the story of a married man coming to terms with his homosexuality and the love triangle that develops around him, his wife and another man. It stars Kate Jackson, Harry Hamlin, and Michael Ontkean.

Plot summary

Zack Elliot (Ontkean) is a successful young doctor in the Los Angeles area married to Claire (Jackson), an equally successful television network executive during the early 1980s. They have been married for eight years and are generally happy in their relationship, sharing in common a love for Gilbert and Sullivan and the poetry of Rupert Brooke, to whom they were introduced by their elderly former neighbor, Winnie Bates (Wendy Hiller). Intending to start a family, the couple buy a big house together.

Unknown to Claire, Zack has been struggling with feelings of attraction to other men. He picks up men in his car and starts frequenting gay bars in West Hollywood on his lunch hour, although he does not follow through sexually. This changes when he meets Bart McGuire (Hamlin), a gay novelist who comes to see him for a medical check-up. Bart leads a fairly hedonistic single lifestyle, picking up multiple sexual partners, frequenting gay bars and clubs, occasionally taking recreational drugs. Zack and Bart are mutually but unspokenly attracted to each other and go out for lunch. A few days later, Zack calls Bart and asks him on a dinner date. He lies to Claire, saying he has to work late. At Bart's house, Zack and Bart talk and it becomes clear that Zack is not yet able to identify as gay, instead labeling himself "curious". That night Zack and Bart go to bed together, which is the first time Zack has ever had sex with another man. Afterwards, Zack wants to stay the night, but Bart, following his usual pattern, brushes him off. Angered, Zack leaves but returns the next day to confront Bart further about Bart's fear of intimacy. Bart makes plans for them to get together during the weekend.

Claire, concerned about the growing distance in her marriage, goes to her boss seeking a year-long leave of absence. Instead, he promotes her and sends her to New York City on a weekend business trip. Zack takes advantage of the opportunity to spend more time with Bart, but they end up arguing. Zack calls the outline for Bart's new novel less than honest, and Bart confronts Zack about his own lack of honesty about his sexuality. That night in bed, Zack tells Bart that he loves him. The next morning, fearful of his own growing feelings for Zack, Bart pushes him away again.

Eventually, Bart realizes that he does have feelings for Zack but that he is not ready for the level of commitment that Zack needs. He is last seen in the film back out in the bars, cruising.

With Claire home from her trip, Zack tells Claire of his feelings for other men. Although she said she could handle anything he could tell her, she reacts very badly and Zack leaves the house. A few days later, an emotional Claire trashes some of Zack's clothes and finds a matchbook with a man's name and number written in it. She locates someone Zack had picked up, and they talk. She learns from him that gay people can live normal and happy lives. Claire attempts to get Zack to remain in the marriage, even claiming that she would be okay with him having affairs with other men, but Zack advises her that she must let go. Zack then tells Claire that he has a job prospect in New York City, working with cancer patients. In the end, the two agree to a divorce.

The film ends a few years in the future, with the death of Winnie Bates, Zack and Claire's former neighbor. Zack is living in New York and in a committed relationship with another man by this time, but he returns to Los Angeles for the funeral. Claire has re-married and has a young son named Rupert. After the funeral, Zack and Claire discuss their lives and express their own happiness and their gratitude that the other is happy.

Throughout the film, Bart and Claire deliver several mini-monologues, speaking directly to the camera about aspects of their lives and their feelings about the scenes that had just played out on-screen.

Production

Director Arthur Hiller approached Tom Berenger, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, William Hurt and Peter Strauss to play Zack before giving the part to Michael Ontkean. According to Hiller, the reaction of most actors he approached was to tell him not to even consider them for the role.^[1] The film reunited Jackson and Ontkean, who had previously costarred in the 1970s crime drama The Rookies.

Themes

Making Love was the first mainstream Hollywood drama to address the subjects of homosexuality, coming out and the effect that being closeted and coming out has on a marriage. The film contrasts two visions of the so-called "gay lifestyle". Zack wants to settle into a long-term relationship similar to a heterosexual marriage, while Bart represents the somewhat stereotypical view of gay men as being promiscuous and uninterested in forming commitments.

Issues of the tension many women felt over pursuing careers are also touched on in Claire's fears that she is being forced to choose between her career and having a baby. By the film's end, she does have a child, but it is unstated whether she is still working, so that issue ultimately remains unresolved.

Making Love was one of several mainstream Hollywood films to be released in 1982 dealing with themes of homosexuality in a more tolerant and sympathetic light. Others included Personal Best, Victor Victoria, and Partners.

Critical reaction

According to gay film historian Vito Russo's book The Celluloid Closet, straight critics found the film boring while gay critics, glad for any attention paid to the subject, praised it. Making Love opened strong at the box office its first week, but poor word of mouth led to a large drop-off in box office receipts the following week.

Cultural critic Camille Paglia calls Making Love "intelligent" and states that "it remains my favorite film to date about gay men."^[2]

DVD release

Making Love was released on Region 1 DVD on February 7, 2006.

Awards and nominations

• Golden Globe Award nomination, Best Original Song - Motion Picture; Burt Bacharach (lyrics), Bruce Roberts (lyrics/music), Carole Bayer Sager (lyrics)

Notes

1. ^ Rutledge, p. 102
2. ^ http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/54/paglia.php

References

• Rutledge, Leigh (1987). The Gay Book of Lists. Boston, Alyson Publications. ISBN 1555831206.

External links

• Making Love at the Internet Movie Database
• Making Love at AllRovi
• Making Love at the TCM Movie Database