SBG 94: John Tucker Must Die with Rachel Scanlon

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Let’s go gays, it’s time to kill John Tucker. This week, Leigh (@lshfoster) and Ellie (@elliebrigida) hang out with Rachel Scanlon (@rachelsafety), standup-comedian and co-host of the podcast Two Dykes And A Mic (@twodykesandamic), to talk about the 2006 teen comedy, John Tucker Must Die.

If you have not yet seen this teen sleepover movie night classic, the first thing you need to know is that it stars Sophia Bush and Brittany Snow. Not only are they both impossible to read as straight anytime they are on screen, but also their characters Beth and Kate MAKE OUT in a JEEP.

The basic plot of this movie is that John Tucker is a serial cheater and his exes decide to team up and mess with him. This would be a satisfying thing to watch play out, if it actually ever paid off. Sadly, John never learns anything and doesn’t make a single improvement as a person. Imagine you’re watching Mean Girls and Regina George never falls from her pedestal and just keeps wrecking her classmates’ lives. That would be deeply unsatisfying, and it does not even come close to the frustration of watching this misogynistic playboy continue to be the reason we are glad we aren’t attracted to men.

Ignoring John Tucker himself, the movie is worth watching for the relationship between his exes. It’s impossible not to read these girls as queer. You’ve got the overachiever gay, the ‘But I’m a Cheerleader’ gay, and the vegan gay wearing a literal hemp bra. They’re all closeted except for Beth who we are convinced is openly bisexual. They team up in Do Revenge style and act like they’re all dating, because when you put several ‘straight’ teenage girls together things tend to get homoerotic. Beth and Kate didn’t need to go THAT HARD for the Jeep kiss, but baby gays everywhere are very glad they did.

Unfortunately while re-watching this movie in 2022, it is hard to ignore the things that really did not age well. Many of the pranks done to ruin John Tucker are to essentially make him into a girl, including giving him estrogen and making him wear a thong. This is a really interesting choice, but comes off as transphobic by today’s standards.

We still love this movie, mainly for the nostalgia of watching it as a closeted baby gay at a sleepover trying to not react when Sophia Bush and Brittany Snow kissed. The ending of the film was actually relatively progressive for it’s time with John ending up in a polyamorous relationship. We are pretty sure this movie resulted in a lot of queer awakenings and if it was your queer awakening, we want to hear all about it! We know one thing for sure, John Tucker Must Die Should’ve Been Gay.

Follow along on Twitter: Lez Hang Out (@lezhangoutpod) and answer our Q & Gay at the end of every episode. Leigh Holmes Foster (@lshfoster) and Ellie Brigida (@elliebrigida). You can also join us on Facebook.com/lezhangoutpod and follow along on Instagram (@lezhangoutpod).