SGN Page 36

The Reel Spin

Memorial Day fare makes you glad to say, Good-bye, school! Hello, summer!
by Lorelei Quenzer - SGN A&E Writer Whoo hoo! With temps near 80 degrees this week, its clear: summer is finally nigh. Here are four selections for your long weekend that will remind you why youre happy to be out of school. Bad Education (2004, Spain) This is a difficult film to explain, since half the fun is trying to unwrap its layers. Fele Martínez is Enrique, a filmmaker who is looking for his next subject when he gets a surprise visit from his old school chum, Ignacio (Gael García Bernal, The Motorcycle Diaries), who just happens to have written a short story about their mutual experience with a pedophilic priest. Ignacio also happens to be an actor looking for work. Hmm. Ignacio will give Enrique the story if Enrique will think about casting Ignacio. Sounds pretty straightforward, but this entire premise gets set on its ear in the first 15 minutes. Who is this man who calls himself Ignacio? His stage name is Angel; is he also the drag performer, Zahara? Bernal is fascinating, and Martínez does a great job with a subtle part. Warning: there are two versions of Bad Education out there, one R-Rated and one NC-17. What was cut to give the film an R rating? Not the scenes where the priest Father Manolo (Daniel Giménez Cacho) works his seduction on a young Ignacio no, the most offensive part, according to the MPAA ratings, is the simulated blow job, not the pedophilia. The R-Rated version has the blow-ers head blurred out, while the NC-17 version is digitally unexpurgated. Good to know what really tweaks the censors and where they draw the line. Ive seen Bad Education three times now, and it just gets better and better. I especially appreciated the commentary track by Almodóvar, but I wish that we could read the subtitles for his commentary and the subtitles for the movie at the same time; I know Ive seen this done better on other foreign-language DVDs. (Memo to Sony Pictures Classics: Thats the best use of the widescreen format, folks.) Prom Queen (2004, TV) I know, it sounds like a bad Bravo series, but Prom Queen: The Marc Hall Story is a based on actual events film that, despite some stifling sincerity manages to tug at some heartstrings. Aaron Ashmore is Marc, an out high school student in Quebec, Canada, who is looking forward to going to his prom with his boyfriend Jason (Mac Fyfe). His Catholic school principal (Dave Foley, Kids in the Hall) is adamant that This Shalt Not Happen, and the brouhaha that ensues moves the case from Marcs school board to circuit court. His lawyer (Scott Thompson, also from Kids in the Hall) smells a Big Story and before you can say, Media Blitz! Marc and Jason find themselves the cover boys for Out Canada. Its a kind of fairy-tale, pardon me, that most of the school is behind Marc (with the exception of at least one uber-prick, who, as it turns out, is staunchly behind his closet door), but the resolution of the case is pretty real. Will Marc get to go to his prom with Jason? Would this have been made into a movie if he hadnt? Saved! (2004) This black comedy practically lived at the Egyptian Theater last year, but if you missed it Id encourage you to pick up the DVD. In a misguided attempt to save her boyfriend from experimenting with his sexuality, Mary (Jena Malone, Cold Mountain, The United States of Leland) astonishes her supercilious friends at her Baptist school when she gets pregnant. Mandy Moore yes, that Mandy Moore walks a fine line between parody and hysteria, managing to poke fun at her own squeaky-clean image; Macaulay Culkin - yes, that oh, never mind - is convincing as a sarcastic wheelchair-bound student who is happy to welcome Mary over to the dark side. Youll also recognize Heather Matarazzo (Welcome to the Dollhouse) and Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous). Theres an especially funny scene with a 20-foot tall Jesus and an aberrant van. Saved! will make you pray you never have to go back to high school again. Gilmore Girls Complete Third Season (2002-2003, TV) - A number of teen-centered, if not school-centered, TV series made their way to DVD, with mixed results. (You would think that The Partridge Family The Complete First Season would be a no-brainer, wouldnt you? It made its first appearance this month, as did the complete fifth season of Dawsons Creek. As if you havent already seen enough of Katie Holmes, glomming on to Tom Cruise.) My pick of the litter is, of course, The Gilmore Girls The Complete Third Season. Maybe its because I have to love any show with a main character named Lorelei (even if they do spell it wrong), but Ive been hooked on this series from the get-go. I love the banter, the quirky characters, and yes, the parade of hot, albeit mostly jail bait hunks who are in and out of the main characters lives. Lauren Graham (Seeing Other People, Bad Santa) plays Lorelei okay, Lorelai Gilmore, who is a single mom raising teenaged Rory (Alexis Bledel, Sin City, Tuck Everlasting). Lorelais nemesis is her mother, Emily (Kelly Bishop, best remembered as Babys mom in Dirty Dancing); the relationship between these three Gilmores makes up the heart of the show. Cute features of this six-disk set include a documentary, a montage, and a short called Our 80s Moves, where many of the talented cast show off their favorite dance steps. Season three is possibly the meatiest one so far, with the exception of the season that just ended. This is one DVD that makes me look forward to the fall: I can hardly wait to see if Rory goes back to school!