The Trip (film)



The Trip is a 2002 gay romance period film that takes place in the 1970s and 1980s between the Tommy and Alan. Tommy(Steve Braun) is a political activist in college during the 1970s, where at a party he meets Alan(Larry Sullivan), where Alan invites him to dinner. When he goes, thinking its a date, he actually finds out that Alan wanted to interview him for a book he is writing about homosexuals and that Alan has a girlfriend, the kooky Beverly(Sirena Irwin), who sees the chemistry between the two and leaves Alan.

The two become friends, but eventually have a fight, and Alan writes and publishes, under the advice of his attorney Peter(Ray Baker), his highly critical of homosexuals book, but as anonymous. Tommy comes to see him and they apologies are made. They become a couple, and we flash four years later to 1977.

Anita Bryant's crusade against homosexuality is going on full strength, and Alan's book is used as a tool to propel it. Its leaked that Alan was the writer, and his relationship and job are ruined. He ends up as a sort of pet for Peter, and lives there for the next eight years.

In 1984, Alan finds out Peter was the one to leak to the press that he wrote the book, and leaves, wanting to reunite with Tommy. They reunite, and take their dream of a road trip through Mexico, but Tommy is dying. As the road trip ends, Tommy dies, and Alan writes of the experience.

Not to be confused with the 2010 British comedy film of the same name.

This film provides examples of:

 * Bury Your Gays:
 * The Gump: Alan's book helps fuel Anita Bryant's crusade on homosexuality. In reality, there was no such book.
 * Straight Gay: Alan.
 * The Seventies: Most of the film is set here.
 * Queer Romance: Between Alan and Tommy.
 * Road Movie: What the last act of the film is.