Sidelining his culinary studies to be a pastry chef seems a fair exchange for Joe's sudden decision to follow his other passions. London, circa June 1984, is the site of a Gay Pride march where 20-year-old Joe (George MacKay) is inadvertently lured into joining the parade in spite of his meek efforts to avoid holding a sign that reads 'Queers - Better Blatant Than Latent.' Still insecure about his own gayness, shy Joe comes out of his shell after being welcomed into the fold of a local gay rights group, home-based in a cozy neighborhood bookstore called Gay's the Word. Newbie screenwriter Stephen Beresford plays a game of hide-the-protagonist that further distracts from a diluted 'feel-good' movie that should have by all rights been a slam-dunk. All attempts fail at forcing a by-the-numbers narrative template on a fact-based story about unlikely bedfellows uniting against Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's mid '80s reign of anti-union and anti-gay rhetoric and public policies.
