Check out this Craigslist ad. I love that we live in a time when straight guys can post ads on Craigslist seeking each other out strictly for friendship and "normal guy stuff." (And I liked the movie "I Love You Man," too. Where was Andy Samberg's character when I was in high school? Or more to the point: where was Andy Samberg when I was in high school?)
If I may momentarily delve into the jargon of feminist/queer theory academia, I would say that "I Love You Man," unlike a yucky little dud like "I Now Prounounce You Chuck and Larry," indicates that we as a society may be healing the schizophrenic break in what Eve Sedgwick refers to as the "homosocial continuum" that has been caused in the past by homophobia. (Note homoSOCIAL. Not "homosexual.") What that means in plain English: due to our puritanical heritage, we've had a double standard in this country where women being affectionate and intimate friends can lead into women being "more than friends" without any major backlash or outcry, while the same is not true of men. This doesn't mean that the homoerotic subtext of "I Love You Man" invalidates its heterosexual plotline. It just means that maybe we're reaching a point of maturity and acceptance where the POSSIBILITY of men being "more than friends" isn't something we have to automatically regard with revulsion or distaste.
I'm proud of us. We're growing up. FINALLY.
