Not every gay film *has* to be politically correct, the characters don't *have* to be non-stereotypical, and it doesn't *have* to "send the right message about the gay community," and it can *still* be fun, funny, and a treat to watch. Part of the reason that the characters were so outrageously stereotypical is because the real people on which they were based were themselves screaming queens - and, last I checked, there's nothing wrong with that. These were people who celebrated who they were - everyone else's opinions of them be damned. Moreover, their differences were what brought them together to win the championship, defy the odds, and defy perceptions of what they *should* be like. It puzzles me that other readers focus on the "negativity" of their behavior, when the story is about acceptance, fighting ignorance, and celebrating the differences in us all.