2006-01-16 - 10:06 a.m.

At the weekend I went with Bruce and Jennifer Girlsdontcry to see Brokeback Mountain (i.e. this year�s seemingly compulsory film, as opposed to last year�s Sideways) � and what better way to wash away the rancid aftertaste of the frankly excremental Match Point (though I did enjoy trying to guess which accent Jonathan R-M was going to deploy next) than with the wholesome, gooey outpourings of a couple of ordinary, everyday, bisexual cowboys in love?

I liked it quite a lot, though of course, the film isn�t as controversial as has been suggested, and simply follows in the strong tradition of gay westerns. You probably remember such titles as:

The Outed Josie Wales, Male Rider, The Legend of James the Jessie, A Fistful of Dollies (and, of course, For a Few Dollies More), True Girth, Bitchfight at the OK Corral, �Butch� Cassidy and Just Who Does She Think SHE�S Kidding?, and that all time classic, The Magnificent Steven.

Talk about squeezing into a pair of tight chaps.