Tucked away in the mostly pretty negative reviews of The Expendables 3, there has been scattered praise for certain moments of character comedy. Director Patrick Hughes opened up about one such scene to Grantland, seemingly confirming, or at least strongly hinting, that Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character was gay for Jet Li. I haven’t seen it yet, but I never would’ve imagined a film about a bunch of juiced up, oiled down beefcakes in sleeveless tees pointing phallic symbols at each other might have gay stuff in it. Tom Cruise would never stand for that.
[Hughes] is beside himself that, in the swell of The Expendables 3’s bombast, he managed to tuck in a few emotional beats. As Galgo, the team’s motormouth acrobat, Banderas brought comic relief and one of the film’s only true character arcs. And then there are the glorious moments of subversion: Late in the film, Schwarzenegger’s Trench and Jet Li’s Yin Yang get cozy at the Expendables’ go-to bar. Stallone ribs them: “Get a room.” But then the two seize the moment, nuzzling each other while laughing it off. Did the former-Governator just silently flip off Prop 8? Are two of the Expendables together by the end of the movie? “I believe they are,” Hughes says, like he just got away with something amazing. [Grantland]
Nice. That’s impressive work. Anyone who has ever tucked in their emotional beats knows how hard it can be to stuff them in there when your bombast is swelling, so I credit him for that. Oh well, boys will be boys, I guess!