Friday June 16, 2006 SGN.org |
 |
Volume 34 Issue 24 |
 |
|
Sunday, Nov 22, 2009
|
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
||||||||
 |
 |
Some great films that need to be on your Gaydar |
||
 |
||
| Some great films that need to be on your Gaydar | ||
| by Ron Anders
- SGN Contributing Writer
There are films with Gay appeal that are iconic because they are simply magnificent (Brokeback Mountain). Then we have movies which offer that peculiar ring of fantasy and yearning, often set to music (The Wizard of Oz). And, of course, there are those which deliver the concept of camp to our doorstep (Valley of the Dolls, any film with Mae West or Bette Davis). But what about those films which come in just under our Gaydar - those celluloid treats which did not get the Hollywood hoopla they deserved, those that are just a bit too edgy to appeal to the masses or those which need revisiting after many years? Some of these movies came and went quickly in theaters (or TV) - others may have created a stir when they were made, but have now faded from memory. Here are six gems that deserve another look. They are all available on DVD, except as noted. Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City just might be the best screen adaptation of a literary work we have yet seen. The characters at 28 Barbary Lane come vividly alive in all their humor, quirkiness and 1970s glory. Olympia Dukakis' Mrs. Madrigal, the mother of us all, lovingly presides over her tenants' lives in 1970s San Francisco. Whether you're lighting up a joint, working on a new macramé potholder, or just polishing your disco ball, Tales of the City (and its sequels, More Tales of the City and Further Tales of the City) has the stuff to cure what ails you. The uncanny casting includes Laura Linney in her first leading role, and an achingly handsome Billy Campbell. The mini-series format allows us a blissful roller-coaster ride into the days and nights of Maupin's beloved network of friends. Can a documentary be fabulous fun? In the case of The Celluloid Closet, the answer is a resounding "yes!" This is the That's Entertainment of Gay movies, a trip through the last 100 years of movie magic. Expertly directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, the Oscar-winning duo who made The Times of Harvey Milk and Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, this film adaptation of Vito Russo's groundbreaking book traces the emergence of Gay/Lesbian characters in film from the industry's birth. The film clips are endlessly entertaining. Commenting on the proceedings is a boatload of film luminaries, including Lily Tomlin, Harvey Fierstein, Shirley MacLaine and Susan Sarandon. Chuck & Buck is not just your average black comedy. It is filmdom's first warm-and-fuzzy stalker movie. This sad, funny take on arrested development centers on Buck, a 27 year-old man who is stuck in pre-adolescence, genuinely unaware of his bizarre affect and childish demands on others. The movie is appallingly comic in its depiction of Buck's obsession with Chuck (the childhood buddy on whom he is fixated), which escalates when he moves to Los Angeles to be near him. Mike White (who wrote the film), is superb as Buck, the goofy, sometimes scary man-child who is unrelenting in his pursuit of Chuck. Chris Weitz (co-director of "American Pie") stars as the object of his affections. Tennessee Williams' Suddenly Last Summer portrays smothering mother-love, cannibalism, thinly veiled homosexuality, and has Elizabeth Taylor in a very skimpy bathing suit. In other words, what's not to like? If that's not enough, this lurid drama also boasts Katharine Hepburn and Montgomery Clift, locked in a battle to determine the sanity of Catherine (Taylor), who claims that there were some very shady doings behind her cousin's violent death. The sublimely seedy twists and turns of this grand drama, along with some great acting turns, make Suddenly Last Summer intensely watchable. Bound is about as steamy as they get. Gina Gershon (of Showgirls infamy) and Jennifer Tilly play lovers embroiled in some serious gangster conflict with Joe Pantoliano (of The Sopranos). Made on a shoestring, this drama gets a lot of bang for its buck - as does the audience. There is a serious erotic charge to this movie - and some serious magnetism between these two women. Bound is the first directorial effort of the Wachowsky brothers, who went on to make the now-legendary Matrix movies, as well as V for Vendetta. Tea and Sympathy is the 1956 screen adaptation of Robert Anderson's groundbreaking play about a high school boy who is just plain sensitive. Tom Lee is a teenager who just doesn't like sports and rough-and-tumble activities. In short, he is a big old sissy - and so labeled "sister boy" by his peers. Though very dated, this film is a fascinating glimpse into the strictly repressed 1950s. Indeed, the Gay word is never spoken here, but the subtext is anything but subtle. Deborah Kerr anchors the film as the lonely faculty wife who is drawn to Tom's vulnerability. The film is directed by Vincente Minnelli (yes, the father of that other Minnelli), who was no stranger to Gay subtext himself. This film is only available on VHS. On the next rainy Seattle day (which offers you plenty of opportunities), if you can't think of what to watch - try one of these movies. You won't be sorry. |
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
||
International Readers |
  It's new! A blog created by the SGN staff so you can be heard |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
working for the freedom to
|
copyright Seattle Gay News - DigitalTeamWorks 2006