In 2021, I joined comedians Matthew Schott and Chris Okawa on their podcast, The Adaptation Game. I was tasked to conceive my dream movie remake. I chose Jaws, and I reassigned the roles of Scheider, Shaw, and Dreyfus to actresses Kirsten Dunst, Lea DeLaria, and Tessa Thompson, respectively. I also developed a romantic storyline between Quint (DeLaria) and Hooper (Thompson). I believed this casting to be a pipe dream. However, after reading Jen Corrigan’s piece “Three Men on a Boat” in the groundbreaking essay compilation It Came from the Closet, and seeing The Shark is Broken on Broadway, I think we may be approaching a time when a queer remake is entirely possible. While Jaws is subtextually queer to some viewers, overt queerness could enliven the story for the millennium. For too long, horror fans have been dissatisfied with stale remakes of iconic horror films; we’re looking at you Friday the 13th (2009) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010). It is time for a fresh approach.
We Deserve a Queer Remake of Jaws.
On the surface, Jaws is a straightforward story of three men on a shark-hunting expedition. Subtextually, this story is brimming with male intimacy and vulnerability. The trio face their fears, talk about past trauma, and share constricted quarters. The tension built over days at sea, though thick, is often eased by moments of levity through touch, song, jests, and storytelling. The cast dynamic is fostered by genuine off-screen admiration and frustration for each other as people and actors, pushing themselves and their fellow actors to go further and do better.
Jaws does pass the Bechdel test… once. Aside from a brief geographic conversation between wives, Jaws is homosocial and guided by men and their respective traumas and egos. “In the context of Jaws,” advocates author Jen Corrigan, “homoeroticism can flourish because women are taken out of the equation, but it’s not positioned as a reaction to the lack of women present.” Women are mentioned during the film’s second half, but merely as wives and past lovers. In a film centered around men, it is no wonder, then, that myself and other fans sense something queer is afoot, and maybe it’s time for Jaws to be loud and proud.
Male Intimacy in Jaws (1975)
Heather O. Petrocelli surveyed 3,774 queer horror fans for her new book Queer for Fear: Horror Film and the Queer Spectator (2023). Jaws did not appear in the top 25 favorites list among participants. However, Petrocelli reveals the adoration for haunting/paranormal films by queer viewers (91.6%), as well as monster movies (86%). “To be queer is to be haunted,” asserts Petrocelli. Stories of hauntings resonate with queer viewers, for we know what it is like to hide or be hidden away for our queerness. Who aboard the Orca isn’t haunted by something from their past?
While in Amity and aboard the Orca, Quint, Hooper, and Brody discuss and face their myriad fears: drowning, shark attacks, being underestimated, losing communication with loved ones, and, of course, the erratic behavior of one of their crewmembers. Corrigan finds tenderness in their interactions and sees them as quite queer, especially when things get physical. “My queer reading stems from two aspects of covert communication,” states Corrigan, “the gaze and innocuous touch… Historically, queer interactions were dangerous, and, really, still are. The looks and touches between the men signal intimacy that is easy to overlook…” She then points to an early scene, when Quint asks to see Hooper’s hands. “Touching with hands has a significance in queer intimacy. It is a touch that is both erotic and personal yet can easily be perceived as casual… [Quint] takes Hooper’s hands in his and pulls Hooper toward him as if they are about to embrace…” The intimate moment abruptly turns sour, as Quint cheekily proclaims Hooper has “city hands,” used to handling money. Quint seems to relish intimidating and teasing Hooper. The two dominating personalities clash, but there is a twinkle there, an ineffable connection between the two men and characters that makes them captivating to watch. A romantic storyline does not seem too implausible in any adaptation (please, no more sequels!).
The class difference between Quint and Hooper is a driving force for conflict. As extrapolated by The Shark is Broken, it is the acting methods of Shaw and Dreyfus that cause them to bicker off-screen. In the play, this resulted in a complicated yet sweet relationship between the actors, but not one without its blowups.
The Shark is Broken (2022)
Written by Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon, and based on Shaw’s father’s drinking journals he kept while on set, The Shark is Broken is about the downtime between Robert Shaw (Ian Shaw), Richard Dreyfus (Alex Brightman), and Roy Scheider (Colin Donnell) as they wait for the shark to be, well, not broken during the approximately five-month shoot. Most Jaws fans know about the real-life tension between Shaw and Dreyfus, and how this tension fueled Quint and Hooper’s on-screen animosity. Shaw was a traditional theater actor, eventually moving into television and film. Dreyfus, who also found himself in theater and television, was on a quest for Hollywood stardom and fame. Though the two men clashed, often due to either Dreyfus’ ego or Shaw’s addiction, Dreyfus pined for Shaw’s approval and blessing as an actor. The Shark is Broken had a playful monotony that lent itself to both casual and intense conversations. There are tears, embraces, emotional and mental breakdowns, and painful revelations about alcoholism. And, in his downtime, Brody stripped down to a tight Speedo to sunbathe! While these moments were left off-screen, they allow audiences a glimpse at the type of intimacy that fostered the amazing chemistry between the three Jaws stars.
So, where do we go from here? Why make the subtext ‘text?’ I ask, why not? Recent sequels, including those of the Scream franchise, have been infused with new queer characters and/or plot points to much success. Hellraiser, the 2022 remake, was applauded for casting the talented Jamie Clayton as Hellpriest/Pinhead, which is more aligned with Clive Barker’s original vision from “The Hellbound Heart.” Perhaps Jaws is too iconic to tinker with. But, Queer horror is having a big moment, and remakes have the power to boldly go where they were unable to go before.
Sources:
Corrigan, Jen. “Three Men on a Boat.” Essay. In It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror, 95–104. New York: The Feminist Press, 2022.
Green, Jesse. “Review: A Bloodless Postscript to ‘Jaws’ in ‘the Shark Is Broken.’” The New York Times, August 11, 2023.
Petrocelli, Heather O. Queer For Fear: Horror Film and the Queer Spectator. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2023.