Flirting and Skirting in "Boys on the Side"
In Boys on the Side there is an interracial friendship that builds throughout the movie up to a brief moment of lesbian love. Jane and Robin both head on the same journey to two different destinations for different reasons. In the beginning they stop by to pick up Jane’s friend from an abusive relationship. In the scene at Holly’s place it is obvious that Jane and Robin are completely different from one another, beyond the physical features of black and white. Despite their different approaches to solving Holly’s men problems, they find common ground in tolerating one another. On this journey which ends up to be hiding Holly from the police after her boyfriend was found dead, dealing with Robin’s AIDS and building a lifelong friendship between Jane and Robin. The journey is put on hold when they chose to settle in one place because of Robin’s condition, she felt that she had no place to go. This film flirts with the idea that beyond the interracial between Robin and Jane there is also a lesbian love building between the lines. Robin and Jane have a very close bond and Jane falls in love with Robin but does not admit it until the end. In the end of the film it is apparent that Robin has a deep love for Jane, but I still ponder about whether her love for Jane is family love, lesbian love, or close friendship love. Even though homophobia is seen when Robin’s mother comes to visit, it is never dealt with. Towards the end Robin’s mother accepts Jane for who she is, and in a way I feel that Robin’s mother also accepts Jane as a close partner of Robin.