Ron Howard Defends 'Gay' References in The Dilemma

Winona Ryder ( here with Ron Howard)  is spotted with another man by her husband's best friend, played by Vince Vaughan

Ron Howard, director of family friendly fare like Splash, Parenthood and Cocoon, has returned to comedy-drama with his new film The Dilemma. The Oscar winner has been thrown into a battle with US gay rights groups and forced to defend the freedom of artistic speech over a scene in the movie's trailer.

It sees best friends and business partners Ronny and Nick, played by Vince Vaughan and US TV comic Kevin James, attempting to market a new kind of electric engine which will feel and sound like a gas-powered beast.
Its selling point, as Vaughan points out, is that the electric cars currently look and sound "gay".  He supports his hypthesis with a power-point presentation featuring a display of  pictures of small effeminate dogs wearing pink ruffles.

"I was surprised because it shows up on television all the time, it's part of American slang and used with a non-sexual connotation," explains Howard. "But then I thought about it and realized it was really being called into question  because it was out of context in the  advertising materials."

The scene was condemned by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (Glaad) who had support from CNN journalist Anderson Cooper, who told TV host Ellen Degeneres that it was "unacceptable".

"I was not going to take it out of the movie because I thought it informs a lot about the character and the fact that he is willing to say inappropriate things and make inappropriate choices and we have everybody reacting to it and that is what's funny about it," says Howard. However, the 56-year-old appears to agree that the scene's controversial inclusion in the film's trailer may not have the desired comedic effect.
"A piece of marketing is a different thing, no-one paid their money to see it, no-one turned the channel to see it, they're not trusting in a storyteller's aesthetic.   "It's just thrust upon them and it is a significant issue. I understood people using the opportunity to make a point and the studio wanting to remove it, but as it related to the the movie, I also didn't feel it was appropriate to take it out."

The film sees Vaughn's character grappling with the dilemma of whether of not to tell his best friend that his wife, played by Winona Ryder, has been cheating on him with a young tattooed himbo. Adding to the conundrum is the fact that his pal has been working flat out to seal a lucrative deal with a motor company.
The idea came up during an after-dinner conversation in Rome, while promoting Howard's film Angels and Demons - the prequel to Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code. Brian Grazer - Howard's partner in Imagine Entertainment - posed the question of whether to tell or not to tell.
"The conversation would not end, all the way through main course and on into dessert," recalls Howard.