val
This character really makes me mad. How dare he be so cold to Albert who cares about him so much. I could not like this character the entire movie for his lack of respect and being embarrassed.
shareInteresting; of course the whole farce/request is extreme, but I never interpreted it that Val hated his parents. He loves them, accepts the relationship, and sees Albert as a maternal figure. Before the engagement he had zero interest seeking out his biological mom.
He had no problem telling Barbara about them. The problem arises when the 2 kids want to get married and want both sets of parents to accept it. They already know that the parents would not be happy about them getting married so young in the first place. I don't even think Barbara cared that Val's parents were gay; she was more worried about her parents irrationally rejecting Val because of it. It seemed more to me that Val asks to put on the charade more for Barbara's sake than because he was ashamed of them.
I think people are seeing this through 2015 eyes. The more that time passes, the more the whole plot becomes more ridiculous. With my generation, this is no big deal because we were raised in a culture where tolerance and acceptance is valued and praised. Val wouldn't have lived with that experience, and probably had a hard time socially growing up in the 80s. I would say that 50% or more of people over 40 now would honestly have been a little nervous in a similar situation.
Another factor is that when people see this movie, they are seeing actors who were almost 30 at the time. If they remade the movie today and were casting true to the ages (19 and 20) they would cast actors like Ansel Elgort and Hailee Steinfeld, so it would be easier to understand why the young adults would be intimidated by the gruff senator.
I'm not excusing Val 100% because it is sad when he tries to hide Albert and was not sensitive about it. Plus causing a huge hassle for the parents. I just don't see him as a monster. I think this movie is universal because you don't have to have gay parents to be embarrassed or nervous about them when they are meeting the in laws.
THANK YOU. SOMEONE WIH SOME SENSE IN THIS THREAD!
shareWhilst Val is not a monster, he certainly behaves in a selfish manner. He never gets called out on it which he should have. After all, it's because of these requests that EVERYONE found themselves in this debacle in the first place. In short he put everybody in the hot seat.
Trying to hide Albert and send him away and asking his dad to "tone down" his behaviour and make him "act straight", the change of decor in the house by removing anything that is gay certainly doesn't win him any points at all. Yes he loves them but he is acting in a manner that is quite insensitive and at times outright offensive.
He's a loving son but one that overstepped his boundaries and should have gotten a swift kick up the backside because of it
Perfectly stated. I know Val redeemed himself in the end, but it bothers me every time I watch this movie, how he treats his Dad, Albert, and their maid so badly and no one ever calls him out.
I would at least have expected a "who the hell do you think you are?" from his Dad. I mean, it's the son's home but he doesn't live there anymore, so basically he just walked in, booted out those he didn't want there, and redecorated the place.
I would have been pissed if it were me, son or no.