‘Best in Show’s’ Scott and Stefan Have Gone from Groans to Gay Goals in 20 Years

A whole lot can change in 20 years. Hell, 2020 has taught us that a whole lot can change in 9 months, or two weeks, or in the time it takes one to write a post about the 20 year anniversary of a movie. Life comes at you fast, and we, a people obsessed with pop culture, can use movie anniversaries to mark how (hopefully) far we’ve come.

Christopher Guest’s cult classic mockumentary Best in Show might not seem like a candidate for such a thought exercise, because it miraculously doesn’t seem dated despite hitting theaters when Bill Clinton was still president. People are still obsessed with their pets, the annual National Dog Show is still very much a thing, and—come on—Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara are better than ever in 2020, and they have the Emmys to prove it.

In fact, the most dated thing about Best in Show is, at least for me, my reaction to watching it for the first time on DVD some 17-18ish years ago—specifically my reaction to the film’s gay couple, Stefan (Michael McKean) and Scott (John Michael Higgins).

Twenty years ago, Stefan and Scott seemed—to my Southern Baptist, deeply closeted, high school self—flaming gay. Hilariously gay. Upsettingly gay. They seemed just too gay. They were, like, two men… together… with froufrou dogs and leather pants and kimonos. I loved Best in Show way back when I was a clueless “straight,” and you better believe that Parker Posey’s Busy Bee meltdown became a part of my vocabulary (how a Parker Posey obsession didn’t tip me off to my own gayness, who knows?). But I hadn’t rewatched Best in Show in a while before my husband put it on and he, like I, both came to a realization: Stefan and Scott are nowhere near as ~*¡GAY!*~ as we remember. They were real, they were kinda us, and they were kinda goals.

Despite being played by two straight actors in a movie directed by a straight man, there’s something so true about the gay experience in how Stefan and Scott interact. Scott’s the cattier one, never missing a beat with basic, sometimes bizarre innuendo (he makes “pulling out membranes” sound sexual in front of a grocery store butcher). But McKean’s Stefan isn’t annoyed by this, not like uptight Mitchell’s low-key disdain for the flashy Cameron throughout much of the much more recent Modern Family. He’s used to it, and sometimes he’s even tickled by puns about Scott seeing a man with “two members.”

In retrospect, it’s Stefan’s accepting response to Scott that rids Best in Show of any gay panic, any “aren’t gays ridiculous?” vibes. Viewers take their subliminal cues from Scott’s partner, and since Stefan never snaps at Scott to cut it out, since Stefan agrees that yes, a hotel room that they will be in for two days maximum needs a feng shui makeover, it helps make Scott’s flaming behavior feel absolutely normal—which, as a man that has now been in a committed relationship with another man for 10 years, I can tell you, it is absolutely normal.

For example: the kimono scene. It’s a quick scene. Scott and Stefan packing for their trip to the dog show. Stefan points out that Scott has packed six kimonos for a 48-hour trip. Scott hears him—and realizes he should pack at least two more kimonos.

Twenty years ago, this scene played as, “Haha, the gays are so extra.” But today? Let me tell you, this scene plays out between my husband and I every single trip as he stares at me with resignation as I pack more speedo options than I could possibly need for a trip where there’s just the possibility of pool time. And don’t even get me started on the drug store’s worth of haircare and skincare products that have to be packed between the two of us (TSA’s limits on liquids/gels/creams is hateful). Now this scene between Scott and Stefan standing on opposite sides of a bed overflowing with relatable amount of luggage, is funny because I know it’s true.

That’s the magic of rewatching Best in Show in 2020. Today, you realize that Scott and Stefan aren’t just a silly, over-the-top gay couple. They’re a real couple, the most well-adjusted and supportive one in the entire film. The only thing dated about Best in Show is, truly, how we all interpreted those “jokes” 20 years ago. Now it’s clear that Scott and Stefan aren’t a joke. They’re total goals. And it took us all this time to get to where Best in Show already was back in 2000.

Stream Best in Show on Hulu