The latest clip from Glee found here, where Burt sits his teenage son down to have “the talk”.
I can’t really watch any of these father-son talks on Glee without blubbering like a baby, but just wanted to say I’m really proud of the work that Mike is doing. It’s superb. I am not surprised – after all, he was awesome as the Pharaoh in his college production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat – but I am very proud.
This is revolutionary content, too. Just want to get that in there, too. Revolutionary. Picture being a gay kid now who has no one to talk to, and watching this clip. It would be like Burt Hummel was talking directly to them. Potential life-changer.
Oh, that made me cry!
I love what Mike is doing on Glee. He is so natural – it feels so real and organic which is so vital to his impact in the show. A lot of Glee is silly and over the top (I LOVE it, mind you), but the way Burt Hummel loves and accepts his son just gets my heart up in my throat. And Mike just makes you forget that he’s not Burt. You watch him with Chris Colfer on screen and you just believe that he loves this kid so much. It makes my heart happy.
Incidentally – I promised to send a hardcore Gleek buddy of mine that amazing piece you linked to on here that Mike wrote about playing baseball with his son – and I had it saved (because I emailed it to 20 people) but I can’t seem to find it now. Do you still have that link?
I don’t usually watch glee – but my wife had it on and i heard the the scene – it was fantastic – but your cousin has always been good – I loved his ESPN commercial as the Rick -, he was great on Yes Dear – God knows I don’t know anything about acting but you “you know” good when you see it, it doesn’t seem forced – anyway just throwing my 2 cents in
Marisa – Yes, here is the piece! Things You Already Know. He’ll be touched you remember!
I’m also planning on posting a guest-article from him in the next couple of days – we were just talking about it yesterday – so stay tuned!!
Looking forward to it! And thank you for the link. It was a joy to read that piece again before I pass it on. :)
What I think is particularly fantastic is the way Mike plays Burt (and how Burt is written) not as some sort “I’m so enlightened and this is all so easy” character, but as a real blue collar guy who has clearly struggled with his own discomfort with his son’s being gay and all the attendant issues…and yet a guy whos unwavering devotion to his son has forced himself to work past all that…that his love for his son trumps everything.
And though I agree it IS as if Burt is talking to some gay kid out there with no one to support them, I also feel like Burt Hummel provides a point of entry for the parents of any gay kids out there as well…along with anyone struggling to reexamine their own preconceptions.
Yep, saw that the other night. FANTASTIC scene. Well done by both.
You know, I watched that scene and immediately commented on it on FB, then took my comment down because — I don’t know — I felt like I should wait to hear what you might say. (I don’t know. I’m a weirdo.) It was a beautiful scene. I held my breath the whole time. Honestly, when Cousin Mike is on the screen, something completely different happens on Glee. And I LOVE Glee, but like Marisa said, so much is over the top. But *fabulous* over the top.
I think that show NEEDS Cousin Mike for a counterbalance. When he has a scene, I see real life and a real person. I see humanity. I’m taken out of some of the fantasy, but in the very best, most gentle way. I just see this total man’s man, this real guy, loving his kid, trying his best to understand everything, fumbling sometimes, but, damn, the love, the LOVE is palpable. I bawled at that scene. He’s so good. (Take that Emmy away from Neil Patrick Harris and hand it to Mike O’Malley, please.)
Also, I loved that it ended with Burt saying something like, “So can I make you some toast?”
I absolutely agree with Bill that it makes a difference – that it adds to the impact that Mike doesn’t just rattle off those lines. He doesn’t make it sound easy. You get this palpable sense of Burt absolutely willing himself to figure out situations he doesn’t completely understand and find the right way to raise Curt even though it’s a lot of work for him to grasp everything Curt is going through.
I love that. This scene reminds me of a conversation I had with my Dad back in the day. It’s wonderful to know your parent loves you because they say the easy things – encouraging words, expressions of affection. But there is a HUGE impact when your parent sits down and says things that you know are incredibly difficult for them – because they love you THAT much. SO much that they don’t want navigating the world of developing happy, healthy physical relationships to be a negative thing in your life.
Hmm. I guess I need to write about that.
Bill – I love your thoughts (and it is so nice to hear from you, friend!) – I think that is one of the main reasons for the success of that relationship, and Mike in it. Gay kids grow up with all kinds of parents – they aren’t just hippie-dippie everything’s okay parents, and they aren’t just rightwing fundamentalists who shun their children … Things morph and change – this is true in all relationships. Burt is allowed to have FEELINGS about his son’s sexual orientation – and he is allowed to work it out – WITH his son. It’s truly incredible. I can’t think of an equivalent on any network show.
Tracey – I love the line where Mike says, “This is gonna SUCK for both of us …” hahahahaha But dammit, it’s what a parent should do. If their kid is straight or gay, it doesn’t matter.
And yes: palpable love mixed with agonizing discomfort. So real.
Marisa –
// palpable sense of Burt absolutely willing himself to figure out situations he doesn’t completely understand and find the right way to raise Curt even though it’s a lot of work for him to grasp everything Curt is going through. //
So true. It’s like they’re both making it up as they go. What a revelation. I can’t help but imagine teenagers watching this and maybe understanding the humanity of their own parents a little bit better.
Also that Burt has done his homework enough to know that it’ll be different because it’s two guys – not better or worse – but different … “Don’t throw yourself around.”
Any father who lets their child, on the cusp of sexual knowledge, to know that they have value, that they matter, that having sex means giving of yourself and to think long and hard about who you give it to … is doing a great job.
Amazing scene.
Oh, and Marisa – and everyone else – guest post up now by my cousin Mike. He’s such a wonderful writer!
Sheila, your cousin was so good in that scene that I turned to my wife as they went to commercial and immediately said “I hope I’ll be that eloquent when it is time to talk with my son (who’s 6) and daughter (who’s 2) about sex and more importantly the weight and responsibility you carry for someone else’s feelings once you sleep with them”. I know when the time comes I’ll be thinking back to that scene. I think it is the best example of what television can be in our culture and your cousin was magnificent in it.