Reverend's Reviews: Love is On the Screen

Valentine’s Day is here, and Cupid has his bow and arrows ready.  Some of us hope to be struck, while some of us may do everything we can to dodge his arsenal, but there is no doubt that love will be in the air.

Lots of people turn to romantic movies this time of year for both encouragement and solace, which got me thinking about those LGBT-themed films that can be considered the most romantic.  I have my personal preferences but I also enlisted the help of nearly thirty gay and lesbian Facebook friends to identify their favorites.

The notion of romantic movies geared toward our community is actually fairly recent, with few such films made before the 1990’s.  Pioneering productions in this regard include Midnight Cowboy (1969), Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Making Love (1982) and My Beautiful Laundrette (1985).  Things really started to change with 1987’s Maurice.  This gorgeous Merchant-Ivory adaptation of E.M. Forster’s autobiographical novel (which Forster refused to allow to be published while he was living) focuses on the repressed feelings shared between two young, upper-class British men.  While their relationship doesn’t endure, the title character is more successful with a dark and handsome groundskeeper (memorably played by Rupert Graves).  Maurice was mentioned by several of my FB friends.

Pre-90’s romantic favorites among the ladies include Silkwood (1983), in which Cher cares for a radiation-exposed Meryl Streep; Desert Hearts (1986), a passionate, 1950’s-set love story between a divorcee and the Nevada ranch hand she meets; and Personal Best (1982), Robert Towne’s graphic-at-the-time exploration of love between two female athletes and the male coach who threatens to come between them.

For many LGBT people, the most cherished romantic movies are coming-of-age stories.  Frequently cited in my survey are 1996’s Beautiful Thing, the British tale of tentative first love between two put-upon high school boys (based on Jonathan Harvey’s hit play); the similar but lesbian-themed The Incredibly True Adventure of 2 Girls in Love (1995); and Get Real (1998), in which a brainy gay boy crushes on his school’s star athlete and finds his attentions reciprocated, at least for a time.  Two of my personal favorites in this subgenre are 1996’s Lilies, about a tortured love triangle in a Catholic school for boys, and Come Undone (2000), a no-holds-barred French drama about two toned and tanned young men who fall in love on the beach during summer vacation.

Love and loss often seem to go hand-in-hand in real life, so it isn’t surprising that a few gay-themed films considered the most romantic also involve death and dying.  The Oscar-winning gay cowboy saga Brokeback Mountain (2005) is the undisputed champ in this regard, and the film resonates even more strongly in the wake of co-star Heath Ledger’s tragic death just a few years after its release.  Other tragic love stories mentioned by my Facebook pals are the revolutionary AIDS dramas Parting Glances (1986) and Longtime Companion (1989), Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy (1988), the fact-based Soldier’s Girl (2003), A Home at the End of the World (2004) and, the most recent of the bunch, Peru’s Undertow (Contracorriente).  I would add here David Lewis’ 2009 film Redwoods, starring gay fave Matthew Montgomery and the beautiful Brendan Bradley as two men who embark on a life-changing relationship that endures beyond death, as well as Tom Ford’s exquisite A Single Man (also 2009).  Colin Firth scored a deserved Academy Award nomination for his moving yet frequently funny turn as a gay university professor grieving the sudden death of his partner.

As if being homosexual, bisexual or trans wasn’t considered unorthodox enough, a few recent movie gems feature unexpected romances between unusual pairings.  From Beginning to End is a 2009 Brazilian film about an Olympics-bound swimmer in love with another man.  The catch?  The two are half-brothers who were raised together from a young age.  So controversial it was never released theatrically in the US, it is worth seeking out on DVD.  And then there’s Plan B from Argentina, in which two heterosexual men bond as friends over one’s messy breakup with his girlfriend (whom the other man is now dating) but ultimately become lovers.  I found this film refreshing in its disdain for sexual labels and very touching in the end.  Finally, 2010’s Paulista, also from Brazil, boasts a male-to-female trans title character who knowingly has an affair with her initially in-the-dark but increasingly vulnerable father.  It isn’t for everyone but some trans viewers may find their dilemma intriguing, to say the least.

Trick, Jeffrey, Fried Green Tomatoes, Yossi & Jagger, The Wedding Banquet, Carrington and Big Eden wrap up the remainder of my Facebook friends’ nominees for most romantic LGBT films of all time, and I agree with most of them.  Wherever you find inspiration, we wish you all a happy Valentine’s Day!

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest, Rage Monthly Magazine and Echo Magazine.

Reverend’s Reviews: Skinny, Wise & Out

This time of year is generally regarded as the doldrums at local movie theaters, Oscar contenders aside.  Fortunately, there are several new DVD releases of interest to gay viewers, if of mixed quality:

The Skinny
From Breaking Glass Pictures/QC Cinema
Reverend’s Rating: B-
The latest from Noah’s Arc creator Patrik-Ian Polk is a dramedy centered on five college friends (four gay men and a lesbian) who reunite in NYC over Pride weekend.  Their host, Magnus (former child star Jussie Smollett from The Mighty Ducks, all grown up and cuter than ever), uncovers secrets about his boyfriend’s behavior while Sebastian (Blake Young-Fountain) plots to lose his virginity to the promiscuous Kyle (Anthony Burrell) before their time together is over.  The film is more explicit than previous Polk productions but also more heavy-handed than usual, especially when it comes to talk about STDs and bottom-training/-cleansing.  Welcome cameo appearances are made by Noah’s Arc alumni Darryl Stephens and Wilson Cruz.

The Wise Kids
From Wolfe Video
Reverend’s Rating: B+
This thoughtful coming-of-age drama with a religious bent racked up numerous awards on the LGBT film festival circuit over the last two years.  A trio of high school seniors, including gay Tim (the talented Tyler Ross, who has more recently starred in the indie hit Nate & Margaret), experience tensions and revelations while working on their Southern Baptist church’s Christmas program.  Refreshingly humane and non-hysterical, the movie was written and directed by Stephen Cone (In Memoriam), who also plays the students’ closeted pastor.

Luna Park
From Ariztical Entertainment
Reverend’s Rating: C
An unusual plot entailing a successful, female producer of erotica, her many secrets, and the stable of hot gay porn actors in her employ.  Although Alexia (Laura Reilly) and her company are based in New York, her younger brother Christi (who is gay, mute and played by Taylor Caldwell) has essentially been banished to the title apartment community in Fullerton, California.  When Christi gets into trouble with some other tenants, Alexia dispatches her trusted assistant Maxwell (former Calvin Klein model Michael Brent) to keep an eye on him.  It isn’t long before a decidedly non-professional relationship develops between Maxwell and Christi.  Writer-director Steven Vasquez employs considerable full-frontal nudity as well as some stylish touches that are all the more impressive given the film’s obviously low budget.  On the negative side, the acting quality is inconsistent, there are some continuity gaffes regarding clothing/costumes, and a distasteful incest subplot eventually figures in.  Still, a unique film all in all.

Out in the Open
From Breaking Glass Pictures/QC Cinema
Reverend’s Rating: D
A disappointingly dated and tedious documentary about the coming out process of various gay celebs, despite the promising participation of Carson Kressley, Greg Louganis, Eric Roberts and his wife (who aren’t gay but apparently have a briefly-mentioned lesbian daughter), and American Idol/Tarzan on Broadway star Josh Strickland.  They reveal little that we didn’t already know, and the movie is hampered by a faux 1950’s framing device about “the horrors of the homosexual lifestyle.”  Director Matthew Smith, who doubles as one of the film’s subjects, may have broken ground with this approach 10-15 years ago but now it just seems embarrassingly retro. To top it all off, the film’s music score is repetitive and irritating.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest, Rage Monthly Magazine and Echo Magazine.

Awards Watch: The 2012 Dorian Awards

Earlier this week, the Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association (GALECA), of which I and my fellow Men on Film Chris Carpenter and Neil Cohen were members this past year, announced the winners of the 4th Annual Dorian Awards. These awards are designed to honor not just GLBT-themed films and television programs, but all films and television programs... albeit as seen through a "queer eye".

Topping the list for as the Film of the Year is Ben Affleck's Argo, fresh off its wins at the Golden Globes and the Critics' Choice Awards. The Film Performance of the Year Awards (now split by gender) went to Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln and our Dearie Award-winning Woman of the Year Anne Hathaway in Les Misérables. All three of these winners are poised for possible victory at next month's Academy Awards.

The searing gay drama Keep the Lights On, which was also nominated for Film of the Year, took the prize for LGBT-Themed Film of the Year, while the Oscar nominated How to Survive a Plague won Documentary of the Year. In the new category Visually Striking Film of the Year, Ang Lee's Life of Pi was deemed the most, well, visually striking.

A triple feature of Matthew McConaughey movies round out the film awards, with Steven Soderbergh's Magic Mike and Lee Daniels' The Paperboy tied for Campy Film of the Year and Bernie named Unsung Film of the Year.

On the TV side, Homeland and American Horror Story: Asylum not only tied for TV Drama of the Year, the shows' respective stars, Damien Lewis and Jessica Lange won in the TV Performance of the Year categories.  TV Comedy or Musical of the Year went to Girls, while LGBT-Themed TV Show of the Year was shared by Modern Family and the Dearie Award-winning The New Normal. The Campy and Unsung TV Shows were the tragic biopic Liz & Dick and the sitcom Happy Endings.

Capping off the Dorians are a few prizes for individuals, including the "We’re Wilde About You" Rising Star of the Year Award, which went to The Perks of Being a Wallflower's Ezra Miller. "Wilde Wit" and "Wilde Artist" titles were bestowed on The Daily Show's Jon Stewart and Glee/American Horror Story/The New Normal creator Ryan Murphy.  And last, but certainly not least, the "Timeless" Award (the Dorian version of a lifetime achievement honor) went to the one and only Sir Ian McKellen, seen this year in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Congratulations to all of this year's Dorian Award winners! The awards will be presented on February 17 in Los Angeles at the Fourth Annual GALECA Dorian Awards Winners Afternoon Tea. See the comments section below for the full list of this year's nominees, and be sure to follow GALECA on Facebook and Twitter.

Reverend's Reviews: Road Movie

Numerous filmmakers have attempted over the decades to bring Jack Kerouac’s Beat Generation classic On the Road to the big screen.  Walter Salles, who hit it big with The Motorcycle Diaries in 2004, has finally done so.  I hesitate, though, to say that he has succeeded with his adaptation.  It is well-cast, with relative newcomer Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy) and Twilight star Kristen Stewart revealing previously unseen emotional depths.  The film also boasts a number of cameo appearances by such big name actors as Terrence Howard, Amy Adams, Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst and, in a surprising gay turn, Steve Buscemi.

Kerouac’s novel is autobiographical and deeply personal, which can be difficult to translate to film.  Indeed, trying to “open up” the source material to make it more accessible while remaining true to the author’s rebellious spirit is what stymied most of Salles’ predecessors.  Also, much of the narrative is comprised of road trips that naturally take place in the cinematically-unfriendly confines of cars.  Salles and screenwriter Jose Rivera achieve decidedly mixed results.  On the Road is a great-looking production thanks to Eric Gautier’s beautiful photography of an array of American landscapes, but much of it remains interior and inert.

On the plus side, the movie features considerable gay and bisexual content.  Hedlund’s character, Dean, has sex with women and men (including the aforementioned Buscemi), and occasionally with both at the same time.  Tom Sturridge plays the poetic, defiantly gay Carlo Marx (a stand-in for Kerouac’s friend, fellow beat writer Allen Ginsberg), who doesn’t hide his attraction to Dean and ultimately helps Dean embrace his bisexuality.  Subsequently, gay viewers with an interest in classic American literature may best appreciate On the Road.

Reverend's Rating: C+

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest, Rage Monthly Magazine and Echo Magazine.

Dearie Awards 2012: Movie of the Year

Movie of the Year: KEEP THE LIGHTS ON

Ira Sachs’ authentic, explicit, occasionally bruising but ultimately hopeful depiction of the ups and downs of an addiction-fueled gay relationship over the course of a decade emerges as the finest gay-themed drama in several years.  Danish actor Thure Lindhardt and Zachary Booth(best known as Michael Hewes on TV’s Damages) command attention throughout as they dance their codependent tango but, to its great credit, the film never becomes histrionic and Sachs treats both wounded men with nothing but compassion.  (Booth’s character is actually bisexual, a big-screen rarity.)  Contemporary gay-themed movies just keep getting better and better — see previous Dearie Award Movies of the Year A Single Man and Weekendfor further evidence of this — and Keep the Lights On now takes the crown.

Honorable Mentions: THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER and LES MISERABLES

Perks, starring a post-Harry Potter Emma Watson and rising stars Ezra Miller and Logan Lerman, emerged as one of the year’s biggest indie hits after doing consistent business at the box office for several months.  While not primarily LGBT-themed, Miller gives an exhilarating performance as an unapologetically gay high school student in this cross-generational success.

And though the long-awaited movie version of the long-running stage musical Les Miserablesdidn’t please all fans or critics, it is suffused with enough emotional and spiritual intensity, tortured romance and visual flourishes to fill several movies, not to mention a spectacular lead performance by Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean.

By Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest, Rage Monthly Magazine and Echo Magazine.

Dearie Awards 2012: Documentary of the Year

Winner: BULLY

Despite the ratings controversy this timely film engendered (egged on by its distributor in the interest of free publicity), Bully is essential viewing for teens and adults and ought to be shown in every high school.  In focusing on the plights of five students harassed by their peers for one silly, inexcusable reason or another (including, in at least one case, sexual orientation), director Lee Hirsch exposes the utter cluelessness of well-meaning parents and the horrific ineffectiveness of school administrators at protecting the children in their charge.  Simply put, this is the year’s one must-see documentary because young people’s lives truly are on the line.

Honorable Mention: HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE

A riveting recollection on the formation of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) in mid-1980’s New York City.  After hundreds of deaths and thousands of HIV infections, a diverse assortment of young people came together to take on church and state in support of people with AIDS.  Their efforts resulted a decade later in the introduction of the first protease inhibitor, literally saving lives today.  The film serves as both a necessary eulogy and an inspiring celebration of our history.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest, Rage Monthly Magazine and Echo Magazine.

Reverend’s Interview: Family Man

Some of us have no doubt noticed attractive actor Garret Dillahunt in our living rooms each week as one of the ensemble cast members of Raising Hope.  Dillahunt plays Burt Chance, patriarch of the Fox comedy series’ trashy but lovable family co-headed by Martha Plimpton.

He can also currently be seen on the big screen in the acclaimed independent film Any Day Now.  Dillahunt and out actor Alan Cumming star as a gay couple in West Hollywood, circa 1979.  They cross paths with Marco (Isaac Leyva), a neglected teenager afflicted by Down Syndrome, and soon undertake a legal battle to adopt the young man.  Scheduled to open in Los Angeles and New York today and in other cities soon after, the sweet but ultimately heart-wrenching Any Day Now has racked up an impressive number of audience awards for Best Feature at multiple GLBT and mainstream film festivals, including Outfest.  Cumming has also been honored several times as Best Actor for his performance.

The friendly, easy-going Dillahunt, who just turned 48 in November, recently spoke with Reverend from the set of Raising Hope.  Though straight and married to actress Michelle Hurd, Dillahunt is no stranger to gay roles.  “Oh yeah, I’ve played gay lots of times,” he told me.  “I played Prior Walter in Angels in America for nine months, among other gay roles.  The stigma (that historically kept straight actors from taking gay parts) certainly seems to be gone.”

Dillahunt spoke appreciatively of one actor he credits with helping to eliminate the stigma.  “I’m probably dating myself, but I was so impressed by Daniel Day-Lewis in My Beautiful Laundrette.”  The 1986 British drama marked Day-Lewis’ film debut as the tough, unapologetic boyfriend of a closeted Pakistani man.  Day-Lewis has since become one of the most respected actors in the industry, having won two Academy Awards to date and likely to be nominated again this year for his turn as Lincoln.

Of his decision to take the role of Paul in Any Day Now, Dillahunt said “I thought it was a good script and a really interesting character that would be a challenge.”  Paul is a closeted lawyer in the District Attorney’s office and, as a result, is both excited and frightened by the prospect of being half of a same-sex couple adopting a child.  “I was just coming off another project and was going to take a hiatus with my wife when the script came along,” Dillahunt recalls.  “My wife read it and said, ‘You should do it.’  So much for taking a vacation,” he laughed.

The actor has been surprised and edified by the response to Any Day Now.  “I’m not surprised it was good or I guess I’ll say important, but I didn’t think it would be so well-accepted.  I’ve been in some award-winning films (including Winter’s Bone, The Road and the Oscar-winning No Country for Old Men) but I don’t think I’ve been in one that has won every audience award where its played.”

Dillahunt also speaks highly of his co-star, Alan Cumming.  “He’s something, I dig him” he said initially before going on to rave: “I’ve been a fan of his since (the 1995 movie) Circle of Friends and had seen him in Cabaret on Broadway.  It was so easy working with him; he’s like a little piece of joy.  He’s hopeful and really good for the character of Rudy (Paul’s drag-performer partner) in that way.  He’s also really strong and forceful, and he never breaks eye contact with you when you’re speaking with him.”

Cumming sings a number of songs in Any Day Now.  These include a climactic rendition of Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released,” which Dillahunt describes as one of his favorite moments in the film, and “Come to Me,” the disco classic originally sung by France Joli.

Isaac Leyva, who plays Marco and has Down Syndrome himself, also drew praise.  “Nothing against Alan or me, but Isaac is probably the best actor in the thing,” Dillahunt admitted.  “He is a very emotional young man and that shows, which is also due to the director Travis Fine.  Isaac was also completely focused all the time.  If Alan and I would get out of hand, he would rein us in (laughs).”  Other, well-known members of the film’s supporting cast include Doug Spearman (Noah’s Arc), Frances Fisher (Titanic), Mindy Sterling (Austin Powers) and Michael Nouri (Flashdance).

Dillahunt has more often than not throughout his career played villainous roles, including in the recent time-travel hit Looper, so he relished working on Any Day Now as well as his continuing comedic turn on Raising Hope.  “We’re about halfway through our third season and I love it,” he said of the series.  “I love the cast, especially Martha Plimpton; I’m very lucky.”  Comedy legend Cloris Leachman also appears on the show as the family’s demented Maw Maw.

He also got to break from his acting norm in 2006, when Dillahunt played the recurring role of Jesus Christ on the controversial, short-lived religious TV series The Book of Daniel.  “We had our hopes for that show but it got hammered before it even got on the air,” he recalls.  “But regardless, I liked it and appreciated the effort of it.  I had just come off HBO’s violent Deadwood and maybe had to atone for my sins (laughs).”

Before concluding our time, I asked Dillahunt if he had any thoughts in general on the rapidly-accelerating recognition of same-sex marriage and GLBT rights in the US.  “I’m personally pleased about it,” he replied immediately before pausing and remarking, “I want to say something beautiful” and laughed.

Dillahunt then continued: “There have been too many people in my life who have been influential or important to me who were gay that it seems insane to me at this point that they don’t have equal rights.  Everyone should be free to choose who they want to spend their lives with.”

I probably couldn’t say it better myself.  Click here for more information about Any Day Now.

Interview by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.

Reverend’s Reviews: Silence is Golden

Homosexuality remains a largely taboo topic in mainland China, but that hasn’t stopped filmmaker Simon Chung from setting another gay-themed movie there.  Speechless,now available on DVDfrom Breaking Glass Pictures, follows Innocent and End of Love as the writer-director’s latest, most provocative look yet at Asian men who love other men.

The film opens with the discovery of a naked man from the West (French actor Matthieu Vital) along the banks of a Chinese river.  Taken into custody by the local police, the stranger seems either unwilling or unable to speak.  He is transferred to a hospital, where a cute, kindly orderly, Jiang (Gao Qilon), takes an interest in him.  When Jiang learns the new patient is to be committed to a psychiatric asylum, he decides to spirit him away to his uncle’s remote home in the country.

Although the stranger remains speechless (hence the film’s title), the two men bond further and even sleep together in a non-sexual way.  Jiang gradually begins to discover clues to his new friend’s past.  This leads to the recounting of a secondary love story between Luke -- which is eventually revealed to be the patient’s name -- and a fellow university student named Han (the very attractive Jiang Jian).  Unfortunately, Han has a girlfriend, Ning (Yu Yung Yung), who proves to be dangerously jealous.

Filmed in Mandarin with English subtitles, Speechless provides an intriguing exploration of modern Chinese culture’s acceptance (or lack thereof) of homosexuality and of East-West relations in general.  While there is a minimal amount of sex in the film, what is depicted is about as graphic as a Chinese filmmaker dare show lest they risk the censors’ wrath.  And whereas the romance between Han and the then-still speaking Luke is engrossing, it is the more subtle growth in love and understanding between silent Luke and Jiang that has stayed with me.  Chung also gets strong yet sensitive performances from his young cast members.  See Speechless, and join me in continuing to keep an eye on its bold, talented director.

Of course, more than a few religious institutions remain intolerant of homosexuality too, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints may well be the most repressive.  The LDS’ (or Mormons’) mistreatment of gay members has been explored previously in the 2003 movie Latter Days as well as the powerful play Facing East, (which is currently raising funds toward a film adaptation via Kickstarterthrough December 14th; please consider contributing).

Jon Garcia’s directorial debut The Falls, available on DVDtoday, is the latest entry in this growing gay-Mormon subgenre.  Relative newcomers Nick Ferrucci and Benjamin Farmer are impressive as, respectively, Elder Smith and Elder Merrill, 20-year old Mormon missionaries assigned as “companions” in Oregon (the film was shot in Portland over two weeks for only $7,000).

Even though Elder Smith has a girlfriend whom he is planning to marry and Elder Merrill is son to one of the church’s highest-ranking leaders, they soon find themselves attracted to each other.  The pair has to keep their relationship secret, however, lest they be publicly exposed and excommunicated.  As Elder Smith hopefully observes while discussing their perilous position with his new BF, “We’re both on the brink of something new.”

The first half of The Falls is noteworthy for its casual, authentic glimpse into the faith and daily lives of LDS missionaries.  It loses its footing somewhat once the new lovers, having tasted forbidden fruit and liked it, also try smoking marijuana and drinking with a military vet they are ostensibly trying to convert.  As the Southern-bred neophyte drawlingly states upon noticing his instructors’ heightened closeness, “You two seem to be in a slightly different disposition.”  Not unpredictably, the men’s affair is discovered and Elder Smith, at least, has to face his local church council.  Ferrucci gives an excellent, heartfelt reading of a particularly well-written monologue during this climactic scene.

The Falls covers much of the same ground as Latter Days when it comes to the struggle between devotion to one’s faith and one’s sexual longings but The Falls is, thankfully, less sensationalistic.  Neither Elder Smith nor Elder Merrill has to endure shock treatments or ice baths here, even if those have been the regrettable, worst-case experiences of some GLBT Mormons.  Here’s hoping and praying that GLBT people of all faiths find acceptance from their communities sooner, not later.

Reverend’s Ratings:

Speechless: B

The Falls: C+

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.

Reverend's Reviews: Dark, Blond & Red

Another Halloween may have come and gone, but that doesn’t mean the holiday’s scary and comedic aspects have to end. I’m a year-round follower of Ghost Hunters as well as other paranormal-themed reality series and the spate of “found footage” horror movies. They are genres ripe for satire and one actor-turned-director, Derek Lee Nixon, has taken advantage of that. His Supernatural Activity will be available on DVDand digital download from Well Go USA Entertainment beginning November 6th.

In the spoof, hot-and-he-knows-it Damon Dealer (the funny and, yes, hot Andrew Pozza, obviously channeling hunky but obnoxious host Zak Bagans of TV’s Ghost Adventures) headlines a myth-debunking reality show. At his girlfriend’s insistence, Dealer leads his crew to a remote Texas town to investigate reported sightings of the Samsquatch, a smaller-than-usual variety of Bigfoot. They soon encounter odd characters and phenomena as Nixon satirizes such movies as The Blair Witch Project, The Last Exorcism, Cloverfield and, of course, the ongoing Paranormal Activity series.

Not unlike many of the shows and films it is sending up, Supernatural Activity is crudely-made and goes on for too long. A number of unintentional misspellings in title cards used throughout the movie also irritated me greatly. However, there are quite a few funny to very funny visual and character gags to be enjoyed. Nixon as well as Pozza and most of the cast possess talent and an obvious affection for their source material that overcomes the film’s low budget and lack of subtlety. Most viewers familiar with the found footage genre will get a kick out of it.

Alas, there are no pleasures to be found in the new DVDrelease Becoming Blond (from Ariztical Entertainment). This simply awful wannabe comedy by writer-director Kevin Duffy involves dead romance languages, nudist octogenarians, scheming gangsters, pampered poodles and sexual confusion. These coalesce about as effectively as oil and water. Casting John Waters favorite Mink Stole would, one could reasonably assume, guarantee some degree of camp credibility but no such luck. Every element of Becoming Blond — the direction, the acting, the photography, editing and sound mix — is just plain bad. Perhaps Duffy inhaled too much hair coloring dye during production? I hate to rail against a movie so thoroughly, but I would feel guilty to learn someone bought or rented this one based on any perceived recommendation from me. Avoid it at all costs.

I can much more enthusiastically recommend a new DVD box setof uncut comedy specials by that flame-haired vixen of stand up, Kathy Griffin. Available now from Shout! Factory, The Kathy Griffin Collection: Red, White & Raw boasts seven of her no-holds-barred shows, with five of them on DVD for the first time. Riffing on everything from reality shows to politics and everyone from Tiger Woods to Sarah Palin, Barbara Walters, Bruce Jenner, Nancy Grace and so many more, the set is a must-have for K Grif fans whether you have previously seen them all individually or not.

While it isn’t a comedy, I would be remiss before concluding my latest review column if I didn’t mention the above-average gay romance, Morgan. Now on DVDfrom Water Bearer Films, not only is Morgan assured, moving and sexy, but it is important for its focus on a seldom-seen population within our community: paraplegic gay men. Leo Minaya gives an excellent performance in the title role, a former athlete confined to a wheelchair in the wake of a tragic accident. He is angry, sexless and hopeless until the day he meets handsome, well-meaning Dean (Jack Kesy). Morgan is scared by his renewed feelings of attraction and love, so the relationship that develops between him and Dean is frustratingly but realistically halting. Director Michael Akers (Gone, But Not Forgotten) deserves kudos for his sensitive handling of their story. Well worth seeing.

Reverend’s Ratings:
Supernatural Activity: C+
Becoming Blond: F
The Kathy Griffin Collection: Red, White & Raw: A-
Morgan: B+

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.

Reverend’s Reviews: Restoration Station

“Restored” and “extended” directors’ cuts of movies are all the rage today, largely due to demand from home video cinephiles. A film doesn’t have to be a bonafide classic to warrant such treatment; sometimes the director him- or herself revisits even a recent work in an effort to improve it. See Oliver Stone’s 2004 Alexander as one example, which underwent two revisions prior to the “final director’s cut” available on Blu-ray that still has critics and viewers divided.

Increasingly, though, a long-lost film is found, restored to its original glory as much as possible, and presented anew to modern audiences. Such was the case at Los Angeles’ historic Orpheum Theatre on October 13th, when Germany’s 1919, pro-LGBT Different from the Others (Anders als die Andern) made its US premiere nearly 100 years after it was made. The screening was the most spectacular of several highlights at this year’s Outfest Legacy Awards gala.

The annual Legacy Awards presentation has become my favorite of all the great events and festivals Outfest sponsors annually. Funds from ticket sales, auction items and donations solicited during the evening go to the Outfest Legacy Project for LGBT Film Preservation. Administered in partnership with the UCLA Film & Television Archive, the Legacy Preservation Project has grown to more than 20,000 elements in only seven years. It is the largest collection of LGBT images in the world. Feature films and documentaries previously restored through the project include Mona’s Candle Light Footage (1950), Queens at Heart (1965) and Bill Sherwood’s beloved Parting Glances (1986).

Different from the Others saw all of its intact prints, along with virtually all gay media in Germany, destroyed once the Nazis rose to power. Conrad Veidt, of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari fame, stars as a gay violinist who falls for one of his young male pupils (the doe-eyed Fritz Schulz, who struck me as a precursor to Sal Mineo’s closeted teen in Rebel Without a Cause). Soon after, Veidt’s character finds himself being blackmailed by a homophobic predator who discovers the men’s relationship. The film is a startlingly frank and compassionate work, even by today’s slightly more enlightened standards, co-written by then-renowned sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld as a protest against Germany’s anti-gay Paragraph 175.

Approximately 40 minutes of film fragments were discovered in Russia a few years ago. Purchased by the UCLA Archive and lovingly restored by the Legacy Project (with descriptive title cards filling in for the missing footage), it made its debut at the Orpheum with live Wurlitzer organ accompaniment before 1,000 enraptured attendees who couldn’t stop talking about the film’s impact at the lively after party. The current version is naturally somewhat stilted, as it is missing large chunks of exposition, but its historical and cultural relevance can’t be denied. With any luck, the missing footage will yet be found; after all, the silent sci-fi epic Metropolis was believed to be as complete as it would ever be in a truncated 90-minute version until its missing hour was discovered four years ago in South America. Outfest and UCLA will soon be re-introducing Different from the Others to the world via theatrical exhibitions and student screenings.


The annual Legacy Awards event also recognizes one or more contemporary filmmakers whose work has advanced positive portrayals of the LGBT community and its members. This year’s Visionary Award honorees were film, television and Broadway producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron. Their achievements include the Oscar-winning movie version of Chicago as well as the 2007 stage-to-screen transfer Hairspray, both film versions of Footloose, yhe made-for-TV movies Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story and Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows, the current NBC series Smash, and the recent Broadway revivals of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Promises, Promises.

Out actors Michael Urie (Partners, Ugly Betty) and Sean Hayes (Will & Grace) as well as gay-for-pay Glee star Darren Criss, all veterans of Meron’s and Zadan’s stage productions, were on hand to fete the pair. Urie opened the presentation in hilarious style with his unsolicited audition to be the next Academy Awards host (Zadan and Meron are producing the 2013 show), while Criss performed a rousing, same-sex version of the song “Happy To Keep His Dinner Warm” from How to Succeed. Criss and Hayes both spoke personally, sincerely and gratefully of their relationships with Zadan and Meron. It was definitely a night to be remembered.

Frank Oz’s 1986 movie musical Little Shop of Horrors isn’t as significant a cinematic achievement as Different from the Others, but it is an enjoyable romp featuring a stellar comedy cast that includes Rick Moranis, Steve Martin, Bill Murray and the late John Candy, among others. Adapted from the 1982 off-Broadway stage success written by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken (who went on to score Disney’s animated modern classics The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin prior to Ashman’s premature death from AIDS) which was itself inspired by Roger Corman’s ultra-low budget 1960 movie, Little Shop of Horrors spins a bizarre tale of Skid Row-set love, sado-masochism and an invasion by alien, man-eating plants.

The stage version has a memorably dark finale that was expanded on by Ashman and Menken and shot by Oz. However, test audiences hated the original ending in which the hero (Moranis) and his girlfriend (the delectable Ellen Greene) are eaten by the vicious “Mean Green Mother from Outer Space,” Audrey II. Oz was forced to shoot a happier ending and the original version was locked away in a Warner Bros. vault save for a brief, black and white DVD release in the 1990’s.

Fans — myself included — who have been clamoring the last 26 years for Oz’s original version don’t have to wait any longer: the restored, full-color director’s cut of Little Shop of Horrors was just released on Blu-raylast week. The extended, 20-minute ending is very different, even from the stage version, but it blends in seamlessly and is well worth seeing and comparing to the earlier incarnations. It actually goes overboard with the elaborate visual effects now depicting an army of giant Audrey II’s destroying various US cities.

Most welcome though are an additional appearance and song by the musical’s African-American “Greek chorus,” who simply disappeared from the final quarter of the 1986 theatrical release until its second-to-last shot; a genuinely moving reprise of the signature song “Somewhere That’s Green,” performed by the aptly-named Greene as she is dying; and a sinister appearance by character actor Paul Dooley, who was cut entirely from the re-shot version and replaced by the decidedly less-sinister Jim Belushi.

The Blu-ray includes a booklet and numerous extras that relate the movie musical’s tortured history. Oz & Co. can now rest, and all but the most die-hard devotees of the 1986 theatrical version (which is also included on the Blu-ray) can rejoice.

Reverend’s Ratings:
Different from the Others: B+
Little Shop of Horrors Director’s Cut: A-

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.

Reel Thoughts Interview: Shores Del-ivers

Saying things other people don’t even want to think much less say, Del Shores is a take-no-prisoners fighter for GLBT equality and the perfect person to take on so-called Christians who use their religion to shame and demonize the GLBT community. Shores, who many people know from his hit Logo series Sordid Lives and the hit film of the same name starring Olivia Newton John and Leslie Jordan, is finishing a tour of his new show Naked. Sordid. Reality., as well as promoting his latest DVD Del Shores: Sordid Confessions.

A follow-up to his hilarious DVDMy Sordid Life, in Sordid Confessions he jumps right in and addresses how his life completely blew up last December when he and his husband Jason Dottley (who played Ty in the Sordid Lives series) divorced. “I’m living a Tammy Wynette song,” he jokes in the show, although he has no regrets about showing his anger toward his ex.

Shores grew up the son of a Southern Baptist minister, and he tried to live life the way the Church dictates, getting married and having two daughters whom he cherishes. After the success of his first play Daddy’s Dyin’, Who’s Got the Will?, Shores went on to write Sordid Lives, which ran forever in Los Angeles, and he got into television writing, first on Ned & Stacey (starring Debra Messing and Thomas Hayden Church), then Will & Grace and Queer as Folk. “I can point to the day that changed my life and it was the day the review (of Daddy’s Dyin’) came out in the LA Times. That show ran for twenty-two months in LA, and it changed my life. I started getting the chance to do television and movies, and to this day, that is still my most-produced play,” Shores explained, as he prepared to do a show in Oklahoma City.

Sordid Confessions is just what the title infers, and Shores does not hold back on his feelings about such “celebrities” as Bristol Palin and former Saturday Night Live has-been Victoria Jackson. The most hilarious part of the show is when Shores, who knows his Scriptures, turns the Good Book back on the bad people who like to wield it like a club. His standard P.S. on responses, which he actually sends to these people, is “P.S.: F*** you!”

I had the opportunity to ask Shores about his life and his decision to go back on the road after his divorce, and he was just as honest as he is in his writing and on stage:

On Sordid Lives:“It’s the gift that keeps on giving, and I’m very grateful for that franchise.”

On Sordid Confessions: “I’m really happy with that. You know, I scheduled a taping of that and then my world was rocked with my husband leaving, and I had to delay it. I was really worried about being funny. I was going. “Can I do this?”, but then I stepped on stage at the Rose Room and I felt like it was one of my best shows in my career. I just loved the audience and they allowed me to go off my roadmap and do some really funny ad-libs that made it onto the DVD. That whole bit about AOL chat rooms and the “9 ½ inches” who show up was completely on the fly.”

On Bristol Palin: The untalented TV personality gets special treatment by Shores when he reads from her book, where she claims that she got blackout drunk from wine coolers and doesn’t remember having sex with Levi Johnston. “I read from that book during my shows, but legally, I couldn’t show that,” Shores explained. “It really is comedy at its very best. The fact that she wrote what she wrote and thinks that that’s okay. It amazes me that she claims she has no memory of her encounter with Levi and had to be told the next day by a friend. I always say, “Where was that friend (who knew she had sex)? I always say that the reason that Bristol Palin was the only contestant to gain weight while on Dancing with the Stars was that the whole staff was gay,” Shores joked, adding that they probably steered her to the craft service tables, pulled her hair back in unflattering buns and put her in a flamenco dress that Shores swears in a copy of his Sordid Lives character Brother Boy’s funeral outfit.

On Sarah Palin claiming that John Kerry “diminished himself” by talking about her: “We all have. We all have diminished ourselves by keeping her relevant, and all the Palins.”

On his sold-out shows: “I think the poster (pictured above) had a lot with it. I say in my show, “I deserved that photo shoot after all the angst I went through with my divorce. I also talk about Leslie Jordan’s reaction, “Oh Del, what were you thinking? That picture! It’s so… airbrushed!” and I said, “Yes it is, Leslie, and you should try it.”

On his divorce: “I don’t hold back. In the new show, I don’t tell all the gory details, but I definitely challenge the philosophy that we have to rush to forgiveness and not be angry. Do we really wish our exes well?” Shores worried about how that would be received at first. “I have had such an outpouring from people who’ve gone through breakups or even other conflicts in their lives where they feel less guilty now for having a human response to something. Quite frankly, using my humor and using my no-censor attitude has been very healing for me. It’s the therapy I needed. And certainly I needed to hear those laughs, I needed to feel the applause. I needed to just marinate in love, if you will. I could have closed down creatively, which I did for a while, or I could have embraced this and done what I do best and tell stories. I strongly believe that tragedy, hurt, pain, anger, is the gasoline that’s needed to ignite your creativity.”

On his new film: Blues for Willadean marks the big screen adaptation of Shore’s serio-comic hit The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife, starring the incomparable Beth Grant, one of Shores’ muses, as well as The Help Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer, Dale Dickey from Winter’s Bone, David Steen and Debby Holiday. Shores admits that he resisted changing the title, but that the name now fits the feeling of the piece better, which is a fairly dark story of spousal abuse. The film is now playing in New York and Los Angeles, and will premiere On Demand soon, so everyone can enjoy Grant’s amazing performance.

About those ladies with C.L.A.P.: Sordid Confessions opens with Shores being accosted outside the theater by a number of women protesters calling themselves Christian Ladies Against Pornography, or C.L.A.P.. He and Jordan pitched a mock reality show where Shores and Jordan would play two Christian women who try to stop homosexual depravity wherever they exist, like gay pride parades and festivals. While the show didn’t happen, Shores really wanted to bring C.L.A.P. back in some way.

About Tennessee State Senator Stacey Campfield: The notorious author of Tennessee’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill engaged in a nasty correspondence with Shores after Shores challenged the ill-informed legislator to a debate. Campfield, who claims that it is virtually impossible for people to get HIV from straight sex, proved himself to be just as ill-informed about legislative ethics when he demanded $1,000.00 to debate Shores. Word of the demand has prompted the State Attorney General to open an ethics investigation against Campfield.

About the future: Shores is excited to bring his play Southern Baptist Sissies to the big screen by filming it in the style of classic television shows like Playhouse 90. The format will allow him to film economically and use original cast members like Leslie Jordan.

Interview by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.