The past week has seen a lot of hubbub spring up around the Newsweek article suggesting it "never works" for gay actors to play straight. (Lots of actors called bullshit, and our own Dan Savage discussed the topic with Joy Behar on the teevee.)

All of which serves to remind me of one of the biggest, weirdest, floppiest, and worst-timed instances of gay playing straight: Mr. Wrong, the 1996 romantic comedy that explores Ellen Degeneres' kooky inability to find a husband.

One year later, Ellen would publicly reveal the real-life reason she keeps striking out with dudes, and over the next ten years she'd grow into America's most beloved person who happens to be a lesbian.

But we'll always have Mr. Wrong, which, to those of us who didn't need a Time cover to tell us Ellen was gay, remains a classic accidental portrait of life in the closet in the pre-Ellen era. The whole movie's insane and you should (try to) watch it. For now, here's a taste.