"Strength and Honor." It’s our Black Friday episode, and we’re celebrating Galicked this week and are discussing Ridley Scott’s long-awaited Gladiator II. An old-fashioned sword and sandal epic that both the gays and straights can equally enjoy, this might not match the prestige of its Oscar-winning predecessor, but there’s a lot of fun going on here. It’s nice to see this type of historic blockbuster embrace its gay Ancient Rome roots and lean more into the camp of its material. Get us a fan, because we’re verklempt from all of the insanely hot men on display here. We’d risk it all for a night with our boy Paul Mescal, and daddy Pedro Pascal is the type of man we’d have on our bedroom wall growing up. Even though this movie may not exactly pass the Bechdel Test, Connie Nielsen more than makes up for it as the fierce Lucilla. We’re also all here for the comeback of queer villains. Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger chew up the scenery as two twink brother Emperors adding some Caligula-level hijinks, complete with a monkey in a dress and a bisexual harem. We discuss the Denzel Washington hinted man on man kiss left on the cutting room floor, some brief thoughts on Wicked, and the iconic Liz Taylor 2001 Golden Globe appearance. Gllaaaaadiator!
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