Queer Beacon

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.

Breakfast with Scot - LightShed 10

What a cute movie. 

In Breakfast with Scot, Canadian hottie Tom Cavanaugh is a former Toronto Maple Leaf hockey player who is gay, he is married to the team's lawyer (Ben Shenkman) and they become the parents of an 11-year-old boy. The boy is super-fem and that challenges Tom's perception of what it means to be gay, a man, masculine, a father etc.  It's all good.

Breakfast feels like a holiday family movie -- that's probably intentional and could explain why our gays are asexual (all we get is one grandma-type kiss between Tom and Ben).  Still, great light for the gays; we are shown to be parent material; normal.

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007) - LightShed 10

I cannot believe how much buzz this movie got.  The actors (Kevin James, Adam Sandler, and Jessica Biel) were everywhere.  You turned on your TV and there they were, promoting Chuck & Larry. 

If you watched pretty much any TV show during the past month or so, you know that Chuck & Larry is about two firefighters (Kevin and Adam) getting into a domestic partnership in order for Larry (Kevin James) to maintain pension related benefits for his kids, a little girl and a little gay boy.

The movie is mediocre.  Maybe reading a few bad reviews will help you lower your expectations and allow you to enjoy the movie -- that kinda worked for me.

As for gay content, there is a lot of it, of course.  A lot of it, especially in the first half of the movie, is really bad on the gay side.  Really bad.  I will talk about that first, and then about what in the movie makes me think it deserves the highest positive gay rating on the Beacon: LightShed 10.  I will talk about the positive stuff after the jump because it will ruin the plot.

I see four really big problems with Chuck & Larry: (i) it suggests gays should not get rights lest people abuse the system with all sorts of fake marriages/domestic partnerships; (ii) Adam Sandler (whom we are made to like and stay on his side) uses "faggot" to refer to gays; (iii) Adam Sandler hits Kevin James hard on the face when Kevin approaches him with kissing intentions; and (iv) Kevin and Adam give Kevin's gay son a hard time for being gay-bound (the kid likes musical theater, etc.).

I think the movie overcomes the problems above, except for the first one, and that is very sad.  Gays are in need of rights and acceptance so that they can be happy and stop being bashed and killed on a daily basis.  I think that, despite the effort made in the movie to the contrary (I talk about that effort after the jump), there's still a message that fraud can occur, and that is a message that assholes like Bill O'Reilly, who might be looking for a cheap, idiotic, argument against gay rights, will find in Chuck & Larry.  So, that's really bad.

Beforing moving on to the positive aspects of the movie, let me address an important criticism the movie has received.  I read somewhere that one reason the movie was homophobic was the fact that the gays in the movie were mostly stereotypical characters, basically queeny, effeminate guys, particularly the gay son and this firefighter who is all macho and then, when it turns out that he is actually gay, he turns into a flaming 'mo the minute he comes out. 

I can see how stereotypes hurt people and how stereotypes shouldn't be encouraged.  But I think the argument against stereotypes of gays as super happy queens is actually based on a not so noble argument; the argument may actually be: If there were no effeminate / queeny gay men, it is possible that we would already have equal rights because we would have an easier case for how normal gay people are; it would be easier to show that we really are equal and "normal".  But that is not what life and happiness should be about.  Life should be about people being happy no matter how they look, talk, walk, etc.  What the hell is the problem with a guy being effeminate?  Again, I know society sees that as a problem, but why do we have to comply with assigned roles?  Here's what needs to be changed: people who see a problem in an effeminate man (or a butch woman, at that).  That's where the problem lies.  The mind of those people, that's what needs changing.  And, mind you, that sadly includes a lot -- I mean a lot -- of gays too.  People need to accept that a man can be effeminate and that a woman can be butch and everything else in-between.  Femmies and butchies are people just like you and me, and deserve the dignity all human beings deserve.  So, you need to seriously reconsider your views on effeminate men and butch women if you have a problem with them.  They must be embraced and that needs to start with us gays.

Just one last think before jumping into the reasons why I think the movie deserves a LightShed 10. The movie is surprisingly racist towards the Chinese.  Adam Sandler tries to get a few nasty laughs out of this Chinese guy in the movie.  Not nice.

Read on for the remaining of my gay discussion, or go see this mediocre, but very gay-important, movie.

Shock to the System (2006) - LigthShed 10

In Shock to the System: A Donald Strachey Mystery, Chad Allen plays Strachey, the private dick who is a bit of a dick himself.  He parks his car on a handicap spot when the parking lot is wide open; he gives his assistant a hard time about everything; but, he is a smoking hot homo who has no problem flaunting it to the world.

This is the second movie adapting Richard Stevenson's Donald Strachey mystery novels into film -- the first one was Third Man Out (2005).  In Shock to the System, our gay dick goes undercover at an ex-gay institution in order to investigate the death of a client.  Chad hotly handles every situation in which another guy is involved (he is one of those close-talkers, well, at least when it comes to talking to the many studs being investigated).

Hotness abounds.  There is frontal nudity (from the extra you can see in the middle of the pic on the right) and many hot scenes: most of the men in the movie are smoking hot.  And they are mostly much taller than Chad Allen.  Usually, they use all sorts of tricks to even the heights of the main characters, specially when the main character plays a tough guy (did movie makers ever let you notice that Tom Cruise is only, like, 4 feet tall?)  So, that was nice, Chad probably doesn't need to compensate.  And that actually worked for me, it goes to show that you can have a gay, short, dick who can deliver.  Very much so.

A problem I had with the movie is that I didn't really buy the relationship between Chad Allen and Sebastian Spence, who plays his husband (Chad Allen says they are married but the husband refers to him at one point as his partner, but whatever).  Their kisses are kinda cold, fast, barely touching lips.  That was a bit awkward; both are hot guys but there was just no chemistry between them.

Even with the few problems the movie has, you should absolutely not miss this one.  A hot gay private dick?  I'm all for it.  The movie is out on DVD.  Third Man Out (2005), also out on DVD, will soon to be reviewed here.

Reno 911!: Miami (2007) - LightShed 10

In Reno 911!: Miami we follow my favorite redneck cops from Nevada in their trip to a police convention in Miami.  All the cops in the city are stranded inside the convention center after a bio-attack, but our Reno cops had not been allowed into the convention center, so, they end up being the only ones who have a shot at saving the day.

You will get quite a few laughs, and if you are a fan of the TV series, you just can't miss this movie. 

As expected, we have a lot of gay content, all either neutral or kind of offensive (but it's that kind of offensiveness that comes within a context of redneck cops messing up everything they do -- everything). 

Our main gay is Lieutenant Jim Dangle, played by Thomas Lennon (who is also a writer on the show).  He is the boss of them all.  We also have lesbian Deputy Cheresa Kimball, played by Mary Birdsong (she is actually the only cop who is sort of competent); and, of course, Terry, the male hustler played by Nick Swardson, who follows the team of cops to Miami. 

Dangle and Cheresa don't really mention being gay.  Cheresa denies it, as a matter of fact.  In one scene of the movie, Raineesha (Niecy Nash) asks whether Cheresa is a lesbian, and while she denies it, we see her hanging out with some ladies who just look like they are ready bang her.  As for Dangle, the word "gay" is just not mentioned.

Maybe what's going on is that they are all from a small town (Reno) and saying the word "gay" may still be a problem in their heads.  I guess the characters kind of stay in the closet because they probably would be in the closet in real life.  I think there's this feeling that a small town will force you into the closet, sometimes so deep into the closet that a guy may not fully realize that gay is what he really is.  This process is what I think is at play with our Reno gay cops.  So, it is never really stated that Cheresa, Jim Dangle (or Terry the hustler) are gay, but come on:

On the TV show, Dangle's sexuality is pretty out there (again, the word gay is mostly avoided).  In one episode of the TV show though, we see that Jim Dangle has a one night stand with Jonesy (played by Cedric Yarbrough, the hottie pictured on the right), something Dangle got to after luring Jonesy into the house under the false pretense of helping out with a move.  In the movie Dangle continues to hit on Jones, while Rainessha (played by Niecy Nash) and Clementine (played by Wendi MacLendon-Covey) continue to fight for Jonesy, the show stud. 

Our gays are just as screwed up as the other cops.  In this circumstance, it would actually be far-fetched (and probably not funny) to have the gays be all smart and righteous while the rest of the group are all screw-ups...I guess it would be fine to have a smart gay bossing a bunch of rednecks around, but I actually think it is more effective, in this case, to have the gays be just as screwed up.  Equal.

I attended a special screening of Reno 911!: Miami, and Deputies Raineesha and Clementine were present and answered questions in character.  That was pretty funny.  Surprisingly, Clementine was quicker and funnier than Raineesha (but Raineesha is still my favorite on the show). 

Just FYI, according to Clementine, if you want to join this crazy police team all you have to do is show up, with a valid driver's license.  You also need to produce a utility bill with your address on it: and you're in.

Parting Glances (1986) - LightShed 10

By Guest Reviewer Jockohomo

Director Bill Sherwood died of complications due to AIDS in 1990, but his 1986 film Parting Glances was one of the first American movies to address the AIDS-HIV pandemic and many film critics consider it an important movie in the history of gay cinema. The bittersweet romantic comedy is a realistic look at urban gay life in the 1980s, and the then relatively-new disease plaguing the gay community.

Parting Glances occurs over a 48 hour period, with many of the scenes at a farewell party for Robert hosted by the couple's friend Joan (Kathy Kinney) and at a dinner party hosted by Robert's employer Cecil (Patrick Tull) and his wife Betty (Yolande Bavan); who have an unconventional marriage. The heart of the story revolves around a longstanding Manhattan gay male couple, Robert and Michael, who are in their late twenties and live in New York City, Robert (John Bolger), works for an international health organization and is about to leave for two years on a work assignment in Africa while his partner Michael (Richard Ganoung), a freelance editor stays behind. Michael's ex-boyfriend Nick (Steve Buscemi), for whom Michael cooks meals, looks after, and is still in love with, has AIDS.

Technically a drama, the film is comedic yet touching, the pacing and realistic dialogue lend authenticity to the portrayal of gay and gay friendly urbanites in the long gone Manhattan of the 1980's. While Silence=Death stickers designed by Ken Woddard started to proliferate ominously on the city streets around 1986/87 it's another four years before we see the film "Longtime Companion" and another seven before we have the even higher profile piece "Philadelphia".  Parting Glances was also one of the first motion pictures to even address the term HIV-AIDS and it is done so frankly and honestly.

Parting Glances gave both Kathy Kinney and Steve Buscemi their first major movie roles. Janet Maslin in her New York Times review said of Buscemi, "It is to both his and the film's credit that the anguish of AIDS is presented as part of a larger social fabric, understood in context, and never in a maudlin light."  Kinney, well known for her roll as Mimi on the Drew Carey Show is brilliant and funny as Joan the fag hag. A special mention must be made of John Bolger for playing the roll of a gay man in a film while a regular on the CBS soap opera "The Guiding Light" and later as a sexy police chief on the soap opera Another World.

This film isn't earth shattering in terms of social justice but it is perfectly realized depiction of gay men in the 1980s Manhattan, avoiding the usual trappings and stereotypes while expertly handling the subject of HIV-AIDS. The piece resonates with the particulars and complexity of friendships, life and love. Sometimes biting the scenes are equally funny as they are sad. There is a great scene that contrasts a seasoned gay man with a younger more idealistic gay man, a brilliant play between growing up gay in a Pre-Aids/Post-Aids world. The true crime is that AIDS claimed writer and director Bill Sherwood before he could make another film. Sadly this was his only movie, a somber example of how this disease robbed the world of a generation of talented individuals. In 2006, the UCLA Film and Television Archive announced the film's restoration and addition to its OutFest Legacy Project.

Available on DVD from Amazon 90 Min. Run Time.

Outfest Legacy Project's website.

Small Town Gay Bar (2006) - LightShed 10

By Guest Reviewer Pam's House Blend

At the last NC Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, I saw small town gay bar, a documentary by Malcolm Ingram (it was exec produced by Kevin Smith, yes, the director of Clerks). It was a wonderful look at what social life is like for gays in the rural South. I mean really rural -- the two Mississippi bars profiled were in Shannon (pop. 1,657) and Meridian (39,968). Durham, for comparison's sake has an estimated pop. of 204,845.

Watching this film is like going back in time if you live in a progressive area or large city; the closet is a necessity here, as you might imagine. Being out can be a death sentence for these people. The bar is their only refuge, their only time to let their hair down, be themselves and feel safe to be who they are, as gays, lesbians, trans, black, white -- all that matters is that you know you aren't alone. Drag queens had a home to perform out and proud at Rumors and Crossroads (now called Different Seasons).

The audience howled as Ingram interviewed the unhinged Rotting Cryptkeeper^TM Fred Phelps. Fred was his animated self, talking about "fanning the flames of fag lust" and it was clear he's energized and surprised by "all the fags that come out to protest him."

The Phelps Klan picketed the funeral of Scotty Joe Weaver, who was killed right next door in Alabama. The 18-year-old out gay teen, known to many at the Mississippi bars, was murdered by a trio of backwoods homobigots; he was tied to a chair in his trailer, beaten, stabbed, and partially decapitated. His body was dumped in the woods and then set on fire. No wonder these people remain closeted.

And since this is Mississippi, Ingram had to stop by the HQ and nexus of homohate, Don and Tim Wildmon's American Family Association, which is in Tupelo. Interviewees said that Tim Wildmon and the AFA had people scoping out a local bridge in a small town in Mississippi taking down the tag numbers of people who were going over the bridge to go to the gay bar.

The next day on his radio show, Don would read the tag numbers on the air. This, he said, "would keep people accountable." Evil does exist.

One of the queens in the film (who does drag at the bars by night and is a veterinary tech by day), and the sister of one of the bar owners, said that the Wildmons are a bunch of hypocrites because they have a homo sitting right there in the family circle.

And that's no surprise, is it?

You may ask, why on earth do these gay folks stay in these tiny towns? They are subjected to the possible loss of a job if someone outs you, shunning by family, or worse, you end up like Scotty Weaver. Kate and I talked about this for a while [QB note: Kate is Pam's wife], but it's pretty clear that for many gays in rural areas, their fear of living in a hostile world like this is actually less stressful than the thought of living in a large, urban environment. The "big city" for them may be a 2-3 hour drive away, and it seems an inhospitable, cold place in comparison to the world they know and make for themselves. back home, hidden in the shadows of bars tucked away, deep in the woods.

It's both easy and difficult to understand. But the overwhelming theme running through this film is that we are everywhere. No matter how tight the bible belt is pulled, your tiny town has LGBT citizens, and they are making their space. The battle for survival and to be out in small towns is the last frontier. It's coming, and people like Wildmon are desperate to lean on that closet door to keep it firmly shut with their hate tactics. In the end, these fundies are going to lose.

Hellbent (2005) - LightShed 10

What a nice gay flick.  I so wish I had this movie growing up. 

We gays can die in horror movies too, just like anybody else, but not because we are gay, of course, but because we are represented; and more than represented, we are right on the path of the killer, making the same stupid mistakes straighties make in their horror movies, and there are a lot of those mistakes here; you know, the moves that make you go "uh oh, don't go there, girl!" Yeah, those.

In Hellbent, five gay friends are out partying on Halloween night when a killer gets in their way. 

Hellbent takes place in a gay world, the few straight characters in the movie are barely extras. 

As is the case with straight horror movies, the cast is smoking hot; but instead of your usual stereotypical sorority cheerleader making out with Joe-the-football-stud, you get Bryan Kirkwood and Andrew Levitas (both stereotypically hot, the two hottest hotties in my opinion) making out with other guys.  Yay!

Bryan's character was called Jake, the butch loner who befriends our lead gay, a cop wannabe played by Dylan Fergus.  Andrew plays Chaz, a bisexual who will hump anything that moves.   

There are no big departures from straight horror (and that's what makes this movie so good), but this time you can watch a horror flick with your date and totally relate to the story.  I think it will make more sense to grope grab your loved one, tight, while watching Hellbent -- it did for me.  You have got to buy or rent Hellbent.

I will talk about an interesting fact in the movie but that will seriously ruin the plot.

[SPOILER AHEAD]

An Early Frost (1985) - LightShed 10

I only found out about An Early Frost after Richard told me about it.  He wrote a very passionate review for the movie here.  An Early Frost is very good, you should really see it. 

I wanted to review an important movie today, on World AIDS Day, and An Early Frost is just that movie. 

In the movie, Aidan Quinn plays a closeted gay attorney who is struck by AIDS.  He is forced to come out to his co-workers and his family.  The year is 1985 and the epidemic was barely being discovered. 

The light for the gays could not have been better.  Aidan's character is shown in a context much needed then, and much needed now.  In the movie, Aidan is a successful guy in the prime of his life, he loves his family, and he is in a committed relationship, yet he is struck by the disease.  You will need to see the movie to learn more about the plot, characters and the great, but painful, gay portrayal.  Kudos to Aidan Quinn for his brave performance as a gay man facing tough times.   

Seeing the movie made me think about an argument I once read, that said that the AIDS epidemic, as awful as it was and is, did have some positive effects for gay rights.  I was shocked to read that such a terrible disease could bring us any benefit.  According to the argument, the benefit is that AIDS forced many people out of the closet, and society had to finally see gay men, the gay men who got AIDS were forced out of the closet, and society has advanced in gay rights because it was able to see that we are people and we too suffer.  We are famous rock and movie stars, we are the regular neighbor next door, the son, the co-worker.  We have been there all along.  And for the most part, not knowing we were gay, people liked us.  With AIDS, visibility was forced on both homosexuals and society.  Also, embracing the argument would also help give meaning to the lives that were already lost.

I still react to that argument with mixed feelings.  I bet a lot of people would prefer a life in the closet and a life of no rights and of discrimination, than a life without many close friends.  Also, against the "benefit" argument, it could easily be argued that AIDS also reinforced the fear society had of the gays.  "Gays are sick people, stay away" would be the message read from the AIDS epidemic.  But there's little gain now in discussing how we would like for the world to be, how we would like for there to be no AIDS. AIDS is a reality with which we cannot argue, but with which we can fight.  Still with my conflicting feelings, I came to understand the argument, and see how important visibility is to us.

Gays have gained rights, and I believe discrimination has decreased (although I am not sure by how much), but we still have a long way to go.  AIDS is now associated with poverty, and race, but it is still very much associated with male homosexuals.  Gay men still cannot donate blood in most parts of the world.  There's still a lot to be done, and because of that, gays need to be safe and stay safe, and be visible and inform people. 

Today is a day that needs to be taken seriously.  It is a day that must remain with us and be remembered throughout the years.  Richard nailed it in the head: "To forget is to put yourself yet again in harm's way, a lesson that younger generations of gay men are wont to ignore."

Early Frost was released on DVD only in 2006, to mark the 25th "anniversary" of the discovery of AIDS. 

Stay safe dear readers! Stay out the closet!