Times Have Been Better

I watched a delightful little French movie called Times Have Been Better (Le Ciel sur la Tete--which doesn't translate to the English title, but whatever) on DVD this weekend.  The movie was about a 33-year-old guy who comes out to his parents, but rather than being a typical coming out movie where the person coming out is thrown into chaos, this movie focused on the gay person's parents being thrown into chaos.   His coming out exposed a lot of problems that had been simmering below the surface in his parents' marriage.  It's refreshing to see a movie about a gay couple whose relationship is stable while the straight couple's relationship is the one teetering on the brink of disaster.  Usually it's the other way around.  (Not that I'm wishing for anyone's relationship, gay or straight, to hit the skids, but you know what I mean.)  Of course it takes the French (or some other foreign country) to make a movie that deals with a man's homosexuality in a mature way.  The American film industry is far too conservative and restrictive when it comes to dealing with themes like these.  I wish they'd loosen the reigns a little and take a cue from their foreign neighbors.