co-stars), Tanner has all the aesthetic trappings of early archetypal portrayals of gay men in 50s and 60s cinema. Besides the Ken doll hair and the perfect teeth, Tanner quotes Shakespeare, weaves flower crowns, and is prone to singing in falsetto.
“Like Me” also serves as the introduction to the film’s other major queer storyline — Mack and Lela’s friendship, which is arguably the queer core at the movie’s centre. Lela is an über-feminine, flirty, and often ditsy biker girl, but she’s immediately drawn to Mack — the tomboyish surfer who not only challenges Lela’s ideas on how to dress, but also encourages her to explore interests that she was previously afraid to try.
Their relationship culminates in what can only be described as a coming out scene where, in a moment of vulnerability, Lela confides in Mack that, despite being the sister of the leader of the biker gang, she’s always wanted to try surfing.
It’s about as thinly veiled as a coming out scene in a kid’s movie can get, and one that could only have come in a film that already shares a number of other traits with classic queer cinema staples:’s Dr. Frank-N-Furter, and the film even features a cameo appearance from Barry Bostwick himself.