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Sunday, Oct 12, 2008
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The Real Spin: Gay fluff movies perfect fare for summertime heat and long nights |
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| The Real Spin: Gay fluff movies perfect fare for summertime heat and long nights | ||
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by Ron Anders -
SGN A&E Writer As we approach mid-summer, when we've traded our sturdy Seattle umbrellas for paper umbrellas in a sweet summer drink, our excursions to movie-land become sheer escapism. Who's in the mood for serious drama while the sun is out in our fair city? Here are some movies on DVD that are light as a feather: funny, frothy, romantic - and just over-the top-enough to take us away from doing laundry, paying bills or mowing the lawn. When you enter the realm of Dante's Cove, don't expect the expertly written, sober tone of Queer As Folk or the superb irony of Six Feet Under. Instead, prepare yourself for an entertainingly silly, sudsy combination of serious beefcake (and some cheesecake) and supernatural hijinx. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Gay gothic has finally arrived in TV-land! I found the TV series to be completely (and intentionally) unbelievable - and a lot of fun. Dante's Cove, a resort with a supernatural legacy of sleek witches and hunky warlocks, is now populated with the buffest of young studs and the loveliest of lipstick Lesbians. Searching for true love (but not adverse to a quickie), the cast is given every opportunity to shed their clothes. Would a soap opera have it any other way? It's porn-lite with a sprinkling of the supernatural thrown in for good measure. Amidst all the exposed flesh in Dante's Cove, there are some familiar faces: Charlie David, (an openly Gay actor), Thea Gill (late of Queer as Folk) and Tracy Scoggins (a veteran of Dynasty and Nip/Tuck). In addition to the human eye candy, the tropical scenery is gorgeous as well. (The series is shot in Hawaii.) I found Dante's Cove to be a very tasty guilty pleasure. The first and second seasons are available on DVD. In the mood for some animated mayhem? Then Queer Duck: The Movie is your cup of (iced) tea. The adventures of America's favorite Gay duck (alias Adam Seymour Duckstein) make this one of the funniest movies I have seen in eons. Originating on the Internet as animated shorts, the show's characters now inhabit this feature-length musical romp. It is a funny, campy, raunchy way to celebrate Gay pride. Along for the ride are Queer Duck's partner, the gravelly-voiced Openly Gator (sounding very much like Harvey Fierstein), BiPolar Bear (reminiscent of Paul Lynde on steroids) and Oscar Wildcat (beware this sophisticated older cat's withering wit). All sorts of pop-culture icons are skewered with delicious aplomb as Queer Duck tries to save the world from an anti-Gay television evangelist. The filmmakers even throw in Barbara and Liza for a few laughs (at the stars' expense, of course). There are some humorous extras as well - particularly the interviews with the (mostly straight!) creators of the film, including writer Mike Reiss, a veteran of The Simpsons. I've become a Queer Duck groupie. I think you will too. Three days before the first Gay wedding ceremonies in Spain, we follow the frantic exploits of five handsome, neurotic Gay couples and their beautiful, neurotic mothers in Queens, a screwball comedy of (bad) manners. Although the grooms supply the eye-candy, the mothers steal the movie. Director Manue. Gomez Pereira has cast the film flawlessly with some of Latin cinema's greatest divas, many of them fresh from their films for Pedro Almodóvar (Marisa Paredes and Carmen Maura, among others). The movie cleverly manages to steer clear of stereotyping: pre-wedding hysteria cuts across all sexual orientations. Queens is stylish and sexy fun. I could trash Eating Out and Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds as amateurish, silly and inconsequential movies - but hey, why get so serious? These films take great pleasure in mixing up homos and heteros - until we're not quite sure who's doing what to whom - or why! They are comedies of errors (many of which were made in the script) that move very fast. In fact, I didn't get a chance to catch my breath before they came to their outlandish conclusions. In Eating Out, the shy-but-studly Caleb, a straight guy who can't seem to score with women - pretends he is Gay. Why? Because his Gay friend says that straight women love Gay men - and it's the quickest way to get close to them. Are you still with me? Whether you are or not - the comic complications arise from there. In Eating Out 2, the tables are turned - sort of. Kyle pretends he is straight in order to make a move on Troy (a sexually ambiguous hunk). The plot, such as it is, includes a satire on "ex-Gay" support groups. Both films are high on the hunk factor, and most of the guys are blandly interchangeable. A standout in both films is Emily Brooke Hands, whose goofy comic timing as the high-strung, sex-crazed Gwen goes a long way in saving the films from the shoals of disaster. Mink Stole (a John Waters veteran) steals a few scenes as Kyle's manic mother. When you get back from seeing Hairspray, this summer's neon-colored extravaganza (now in theaters), fire up your DVD player and check out these flicks. You may not remember them a day later, but you'll sure have a good time while you watch them. |
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