Queer Beacon

Frost/Nixon (2008) - LightShed 5

Frost/Nixon is a great movie, but I don't think it deserved an Oscar nomination for best film.

In this movie, Michael Sheen plays David Frost, an entertainer who scores a major interview with Richard Nixon (played by Frank Langella) soon after his defenestration.

My major problem with the movie, and I hope I'm not giving too much away, is that I felt there was not enough time for Frost (who had been upstaged and beaten to death by Nixon's trickydickyness for 4 out of 5 interviewing sessions), to be able to pull a Rocky and defeat Nixon in the last round with no real or meaningful chasing-the-chicken moments. That was a bummer for me. The acting is awesome, though. Langella is fantastic, and so is Sheen.

The movie has gay content, at least I thought so.

It actually was something that kinda held the movie together in a sense.  When Nixon is trying to study his opponent before the interviews, he notices Frost is wearing loafers and there's a whole back-and-forth on the subject between Nixon and his adviser...Nixon's adviser, played by Kevin Bacon, suggests the shoes are too effeminate -- the homophobic innuendo was pretty clear to me. Nixon had liked the shoes, apparently was actually challenged by the notion that shoes could come with no laces, but is easily led to see the shoes for what they are: gay.  At one point Nixon mentions the shoes to Frost as being something effeminate -- this as a way to bully Frost; put in him in his place, Nixon's bitch.  But Frost doesn't bite the bait and at the end even gives Nixon a gift:  a gay shoe, and Nixon seems to like it. I was ambivalent about the whole thing, but I thought it all was neutral to positive in the end.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) - LightShed 7

I wish we lived in a wold where, if they couldn't come up with a movie like Benjamin Button, they just wouldn't make a movie at all; we would have the guarantee of being completely swept away to another world for the price of a movie ticket. Seriously, movie-making doesn't get any better than this; and, if you ask me, I don't think this movie was nominated for enough Oscars (but for one or two scenes here and there -- which we could have done away with -- the movie is perfect).

In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Brad Pitt is a guy who is born old and grows younger with age. That superb circumstance allows the movie to portray the impossible and heartbreaking love story between our aging-challenged Brad Pitt and a person aging as we all do (played by Cate Blanchett). I started crying at the scene when a 7-year old Cate sees the old-looking Brad for the first time.

The acting is superb across the board (Cate easily deserved a nomination for her role here).

We had a tiny bit of gay content. In one scene, Cate Blanchett tells Brad that there are a few lesbians in her dance company and that one of them proposed sleeping with her, she seemed proud of that, she was very non-judgmental -- and so was Brad's character. Nice. Later on, when we see some of the people within her dance company, you could see some guys who could have been gay (ok, I'll say it: they looked pretty gay) -- but we don't really know that, so I'm leaving that out.

 

You absolutely must see this movie.

Milk (2008) - LightShed 10

What a great movie. I saw it at the Chelsea Clearview Cinemas in NY. Opening night. The audience was full of fellow homosexuals and they helped me boo at the end of a National Guard ad aimed at attracting young people. I felt like booing immediately and so did everybody else. The nerve on these people: to show an ad for an institution that condemns who we are right before the most gay-important movie of the year...

In Milk, Gus Van Sant tells us the story of Harvey Milk (played by Sean Penn), the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in the US.  

Early in the movie we see discrimination against Milk and unnamed gays -- we see gays being beaten up and harassed by the police and we see Milk shaking hands with a businessman who wipes off his hand right after touching the hand of a gay guy.  Sick of living in a homophobic society, Milk takes matters in his own hands and starts to campaign for change; the campaigning takes place in the few street blocks around where he lived with his boyfriend in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco, the hope was that the acceptance he'd be able to engender in those city blocks would spread throughout the country.

I was anxious to see this movie for many reasons but most of all because a good movie with a major gay theme comes by only once in a while (was Brokeback the last major gay themed movie before Milk?) -- when a gay movie like this does come by I feel like it needs to over-perform in order to get the greatest number of straight people into the theaters so that they can see we can actually be quite normal, if not heroic.Although I prefer a movie that shows us in the best light possible, I'm usually also fine with a movie that portrays us with our defects (or what can be perceived as defects).  This is what this movie does. We show up in full form. We see Milk dazzling big crowds with forceful speeches, we see him successfully arguing our case before allies and enemies alike, we see young gays who are intelligent and relentless in the pursuit of equality -- but we also see Milk picking up a handsome young thing (James Franco, who so continues to amaze me with his performances that he has become my "protégé" since after Pineapple Express) in a NY subway in the beginning of the movie (the ease with which gays pick up other gays is usually seen as bad by society, I think -- envious bitches); we also see all sorts of gays in bad shape one way or another -- they can come ashamed and in the closet, suicidal, and they can come really fucked up in the head (like Jack, one of Milk's boyfriends -- played by Diego Luna).  

I do think the movie (if seen as an ode to Milk's legacy) loses some of its force in its portrayal of Dan White (played by Josh Brolin).

 

 A Dan who is disgusting and purely homophobic would have suited the hero-biography style better -- it would make things easier (good vs. evil). But this is not it. In the movie, Dan is an ordinary loser who feels like he needs to upstage Milk, and upstaged he can't be.  Milk implies Dan is a closet case repressing his homosexual feelings and keeps constantly undermining Dan's political abilities (or lack thereof) -- I left the movie feeling like the assassination of Milk by Dan can be interpreted as more of a general mental instability by the ordinary loser, and not necessarily a mental instability that is gay focused and strictly homophobic. I'm yet to see The Times of Harvey Milk to see if that documentary sheds more light on that aspect of the story.

The movie is excellent and really grows on you -- I think I like it more now (a few days after I saw it) then right after it.  I think the "Dan not really being that homophobic" got to me a bit, but that was erased by the memory of the many outstanding scenes the movie has to offer (like the scene in which Harvey Milk picks up Scott in the subway).

One last comment: I hate the 70's look; so, I think everybody looks fugly in the movie (but they sure can act -- the acting is excellent across the board).

Shelter (2008) - Lightshed 10

Shelter is excellent.  The acting is solid across the board. Jonah Markowitz's experience with larger projects shows throughout -- bitch really kept everybody together. You should absolutely believe the hype. If the movie is playing at a theater near you (check out the venues at here!), you must see it.

In Shelter, Trevor Wright is an artist who flips burgers at a local joint -- he is clearly unhappy; he wants to go to art school but has decided to settle for the I-think-I-should-be-happy-but-I'm-not state of mind brought by the fulfillment of family responsibilities, in his case, that means taking care of his cute little nephew, a kid neglected by his mother (played by Tina Holmes, she delivers a nice performance). 

You can tell through Trevor's sad look that something big is missing (I must say that a few of his more pensive moments, like this one at a cliff by the ocean, were a little tacky -- you can almost hear the "hello...is it me you're looking for?" kinda deal).  Trevor's best friend, played by Ross Thomas, has an out gay brother.  This is the gay brother:

That's Brad Rowe. I've had my eye on Brad Rowe since Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss. I always thought he had the potential to become a true Hollywood lead and never understood why he didn't.  He is drop-dead-gorgeous and can act.  Not surprisingly, Trevor's character falls for him.  Or is he just confused?

While sorting out his issues, Trevor's character shows us how nice being gay can be after all.  Shelter is all about the normal guys, some of whom are gay.  The soundtrack is great too.  I can't wait for Markowitz and here!films' next release. Watch the trailer (but read my caveat first) after the jump.

There Will Be Blood (2007) - No Gay Content

In There Will Be Blood, Daniel Day-Lewis plays an oil tycoon in-the-making. He plays a man thirsty for oil power, does it all with his bare hands and will stop at nothing to get what he wants -- surprising, huh?  He nasty, of course. 

I thought the movie should have been shot in two parts, the first with his rise, the second with his, uh, fall.  As it is, the movie feels rushed towards the end (they tried to pass it off as artsy, but that didn't fly with moi).  Having said that, I still think the movie is excellent -- Daniel gave us the best performance by a male lead. Ever.

No gay content.

Juno (2007) - LightShed 6

Juno is excellent. In the movie, Ellen Page (remember her from Hard Candy?) is 16 and she is carrying Michael Cera's baby.  Too young to deal with it all and unwilling to do an abortion, Page decides to give her baby away to Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman, who play one of those perfect suburban couples.

The movie is a joyride despite the seriousness of the subject (teenage pregnancy). The soundtrack is full of first-rate alternative rock songs and the acting is really solid. Page certainly deserves the attention she is getting for her performance in Juno, but she is not alone. Olivia Thirlby, who plays Page's best friend (an unlikely friendship between a cheerleader and Juno, the screw-up goof-ball);  Allison Janney, who plays Juno's step-mom; J.K. Simmons, who plays the father, and Cera and Garner are all excellent.

We also have gay content, not all good though. In our first gay tidbit, Juno says that, ideally, she would give her baby away to be adopted by a nice lesbian couple. That is super nice. But then, later in the movie, when Garner is wondering about baby names, she suggests a name that Juno thinks is gay (I think the name was Marianne or sth like that).  Juno  said "gay" as though it was not necessarily a bad thing, there's no hate in her voice, but still we'd be better off if people didn't use " gay" to mean sth uncool (remember this post about whether it's okay to say "gay"?). Then, finally, Juno is just walking around in this mall with her best friend Thirlby when they bump into Garner, who was also shopping in the mall with her " girlfriends."  When Thirlby hears that, she asks whether Garner is gay. Of course, Thirlby just got it wrong, as Garner was referring to girls who are her friends, not actual girlfriends. That was pretty neutral.

You should definitely see this one on the big screen.

Waitress (2007) - No Gay Content

What a gem of a movie.  Waitress is excellent and you shouldn't miss it.

In Waitress, Keri Russell waits tables and bake pies at this small joint in the south.  She is married to a jealous Jeremy Sisto, she is sick of him and she wants out.  She bitches about life with her girlfriends Cheryl Hines and Adrienne Shelly (who is also the director, killed before her movie opened), and bakes great pies, all the while having an affair with her gynecologist Nathan Fillion.  This waitress story is well told.

Cheryl Hines and Adrienne Shelly deserve recognition for their work.  They are really great here. 

The soundtrack is excellent too. Waitress is out on DVD and Keri Russel is on August Rush, now in theaters.

Superbad (2007) - Shipwreck 4

Superbad lives up to its hype.  I think Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (the three main characters) do a terrific job -- that is especially the case for Mintz-Plasse, who plays the instant classic McLovin. 

In Superbad, Jonah Hill is on a quest to lose his virginity in his last days of high school, he drags his best friend Michael Cera and not so best friend Mintz-Plasse along for the ride.  The three are social outcasts.

Jonah's plan involves getting lots of alcohol for all people in this party he was (almost miraculously) invited to.  He thinks that if he is able to get this girl drunk he'll have a good shot at lovemaking.  The entire movie revolves around this one day in his life.

Unfortunately, Superbad is not so good for the gays.  There are a couple of "faggot" slurs used by bullies teasing Jonah Hill.  That is not so bad fo us, though: they are bullies who learn a lesson at some point.  But later in the movie, Jonah Hill calls Mintz-Plasse "faggol" (sounding like a mix of "fag" and Fogel, the name of Minz-Plasse's character).  Nothing really major, but we would be better off without that..."Gay" is also used a couple of times to refer to something bad or tacky. 

A potentially redeeming factor would come from the exchange of "I love you's" between Jonah and Michael (we see that scene in one of the trailers).  I thought they were going to make out or something, but we get nothing.  After the I love you's they sleep next to each other and Jonah Hill wakes up with an awkward attitude, as if he is embarassed by something that might have happened at night.

Also, Bill Hader's character briefly mentions an arrest of a man-she; the reference is kinda neutral to bad (it seems to me, trannies are always being arrested in comedies).

Sicko (2007) - LightShed 5

Michael Moore finally got it right this time, movie-making wise.  In terms of politics he has always, mostly, preached to the converted as far as this queer is concerned; but I always felt that his points were either weak or poorly argued (or both), and his movie-making abilities, lacking, at best.  But Sicko is excellent -- you absolutely must see it.

In Sicko, Michael Moore goes after the health care industry in the US and the picture ain't pretty: a lot of people are uninsured, and some of the people who are insured suffer too, with constant and abusive denials for health coverage.  We see how well France, Cuba, the UK and Canada do in the area of health for their population. 

I never loved the fact that I live in Canada more.

We get some brief gay content out of a scene from Paris, we see two guys strolling their kids together, and I am pretty sure they were gay, I mean, they could be just French, but by their demeanor to each other and how close together they were...I'm going with gay gay gay.

Seriously, go see this one whether you love or hate Michael Moore.  I hope he does a movie about the gays soon, now that he finally got a better hang of it all.

The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen - 2006) - No Gay Content

What an excellent movie.  The Lives of Others got the Oscar for best foreign language film this year (I think Volver deserved to win, but to win, Volver needed to be nominated -- it wasn't; and Lives of Others is pretty darn good, so let's move on).

In The Lives of Others, we take a look at the nasty practice that East Germany's Stasi had in the 80s: watching over other people's lives, following their every move, phone calls, etc.  All to make sure they were not a threat to the system.  Sounds familiar? 

Here, Ulrich Mühe plays the officer in charge of following the lives of theater director Sebastian Koch and his wife, actress Martina Gedeck, and the movie shows how all of that ends up.

You shouldn't miss this one, it's a great movie.  No gay content, though.