In the last couple of weeks we've spent a lot of time covering the Warriors-- the game, the re-release of the DVD, etc-- but somehow, we missed a glaringly obvious angle. Queerty fills us in:
The Warriors takes place in New York. The major gangs have called a truce. A gang leader is killed at a gathering of all of NYC’s gangs and The Warriors are framed. The movie follows their journey back to their home turf of Coney Island. Along the way they fight various gangs.
The premise sounds tough. And as kids we thought The Warriors were badasses. But now in the age of gangsta rap and semi-automatics The Warriors appear to be one thing: big flaming fags.
Um, hello? Leather vests with no shirts? Face make-up and baseball bats? Roller-skates, striped shirts, and overalls? These weren’t gangs. They were choruses from Broadway shows.
Maybe we are too young to know what gangs in the 70s looked like. But something tells us they did not look like the cast of Rocky Horror. The film's campiness is what saves it from the ridiculous plot and horrible acting.
We giggle when at the end of the film the gang returns to Coney Island for one last fight. The gang leader who framed them calls out "Warriors, come out and play." Come out and play? Indeed.
The Warriors was the first gay gang film. And it will likely be the last.
The last?! We seriously hope not. Can anyone think of another great NYC gay gang film?
