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.

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.

Monthly Wallpaper - January 2013 - 2012: The Year in Film

As 2012 comes to a close, it is time to look back on the year in film, and what better way then with the Movie Dearest calendar wallpaper for next month!

Several of 2012's most talked about movies make up the collage, so you can spend all of January 2013 gazing at the likes of Abe, Bilbo, Cosette, Erik & Paul, Hitch, Hushpuppy, James, Merida, Magic Mike and Richard Parker. What a way to start off a new year!

Just click on the picture above to enlarge it to its 1024 x 768 size, then right click your mouse and select "Set as Background", and you're all set. If you want, you can also save it to your computer and set it up from there, or modify the size in your own photo-editing program if needed.

Reverend's Reviews: The Best & Worst of 2012 - Homos, Heroes and a Hushpuppy

Not only was a gay-themed movie the best of this past year, in my humble but educated opinion 2012 was a great year for GLBT and mainstream films on the whole.  I counted more movies rating A- or higher in my log than I’ve seen in several years, which made coming up with my top ten very easy.  I’ve actually “cheated” and linked together a few films of equal critical assessment and related themes, so you will find more than ten movies on my list below.  I also must confess there were a few much-ballyhooed holiday releases (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Zero Dark Thirty and Django Unchained) that I haven't been able to screen yet.

1.    Keep the Lights On (Music Box Films):  Writer-director Ira Sachs’ semi-autobiographical exploration of love and addiction between two gay men, played with admirable honesty by Thure Lindhardt and Zachary Booth, is the one perfect movie I saw all year.  While it has been criminally neglected for year’s-end awards by the Golden Globes and mainstream critics’ groups thus far, it is up for several Independent Spirit awards and won the Berlin International Film Festival’s Teddy Award for best GLBT film.  There is plenty to appreciate — and learn from — here whether one is homosexual, heterosexual or otherwise.

2.    Amour (Sony Pictures Classics):  Similarly, Michael Haneke’s powerful depiction of the cost of romantic commitment between an elderly man and his wife (the stunning Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva) has universal applications.  A couple of horror movie-ish moments are the film’s only missteps, even though it ends up being something of a ghost story.
 

3.    Beasts of the Southern Wild (Fox Searchlight):  This instantly lovable, amazingly accomplished low-budget feature film debut by director Benh Zeitlin boasts fantastic performances by non-professionals Quvenzhane Wallis (as its 6-year old heroine Hushpuppy) and Dwight Henry.  It is also a timely affirmation of family and community as the greatest strengths against threatening forces.  The film has racked up numerous awards, including the Grand Jury Prize at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.

4.    Moonrise Kingdom (Focus Features):  It isn’t often that a movie comes along that is best and most immediately described as charming, but Wes Anderson’s latest is just that.  This saga of pre-teen lovers on the lam from an all-star adult cast including Bruce Willis, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Frances McDormand and — best of all— Tilda Swinton as the nameless, villainous “Social Services” is a beautifully designed, totally enjoyable hoot for kids and adults alike.

5.    Robot & Frank (Samuel Goldwyn Films):  Frank Langella gives a lovely performance as a cantankerous, elderly ex-thief in the not too distant future whose children arrange for him to have an artificially-intelligent caretaker (voiced by gay fave Peter Sarsgaard of Kinsey and Green Lantern fame).  An unlikely and ultimately touching friendship develops between the two.  Oscar winner Susan Sarandon and another gay fave, James Marsden (Hairspray), also star in this gem, which won the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Prize at Sundance.

6.    Cloud Atlas (Warner Bros.):  A lengthy, heady and visually spectacular adaptation of David Mitchell’s time-traveling novel that was an undeserved flop at the US box office.  Tom Hanks heads the big-name cast in multiple roles, and a gay romance is a key component of its puzzle-box plot.  The film was helmed by the trio of trans director Lana Wachowski and her brother Andy (of The Matrix fame) and Tom Tykwer, whose last movie was the bisexuality-themed Three.

7.    The Avengers (Marvel/Disney) and The Amazing Spider-Man (Sony Pictures):  Just when I was feeling worn out by the recent glut of increasingly-indistinguishable superhero movies, along came these two smart, thrilling epics by offbeat filmmakers (Joss Whedon and Marc Webb, respectively).  The long-awaited teaming of Marvel Comics’ greatest do-gooders as well as a seemingly-needless “reboot” of the web-slinger’s origins both struck gold dramatically and at the box office, with British actor Andrew Garfield proving to be a particularly inspired casting choice as Peter Parker/Spider-Man.

8.    Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (Sundance Selects) and Somewhere Between (Long Shot Factory/Ladylike Films):  The two best documentaries I saw all year found their origins in China, though both are made by American filmmakers.  The former is a no-holds-barred biography of the famed artist and blogger, who has consistently defied government censorship in calling for greater freedom of speech in the People’s Republic.  Somewhere Between, meanwhile, provides an intimate, insightful look into the challenges facing children adopted from China by US parents.  Both films reveal it’s not such a small world after all.

9.    Bully (The Weinstein Company):  A timely, potentially life-changing documentary focusing on several young people bullied by their peers for one ridiculous reason or another.  It shows, shockingly but also somewhat predictably, that the juvenile perpetrators may not be so much to blame as their ignorant parents and impotent teachers, who repeatedly turn a blind eye to the abuse.  The movie sparked a silly ratings controversy but was ultimately released in a PG-13 version that ought to be required viewing in high schools nationwide.

10.    Skyfall (Sony Pictures) and Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007 (Epix):  It is certainly fitting, though initially hardly guaranteed, that the 50th anniversary of James Bond’s cinematic exploits in 2012 would result in one of the very best and most financially-successful films to date featuring the superspy, as well as in an exceptional documentary tracing the often-tortured history of the Bond films.  Bond-age is obviously alive and well.  Oh, James!   

Honorable Mentions (movies that rated a B+ in my critic’s log but in no particular order): The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Silver Linings Playbook, Life of Pi, The Sessions, Return, The Grey, The Invisible War, Sassy Pants, Brave, Love Free or Die, How to Survive a Plague, Argo, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Flight and The Cabin in the Woods.

And my considered picks for the five worst movies of 2012 are:
1.    Magic Mike (Warner Bros.):  Along with many of my fellow gays, I was suckered into seeing this male-stripper epic with a gaggle of my pals during its largely sold-out opening weekend.  The stripteases are coyly shot, the characters are way too hetero given the setting (with the possible exception of the club’s impresario, played to the hilt by Matthew McConaughey), and the central love story dull.  Give me Christopher Atkins in 1982’s One Night in Heaven any day over this!

2.    The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye (Adopt Films):  I’m not sure which irritated me more: the obnoxious trans musician/performance artists at the center of this documentary or the in-your-face style employed by filmmaker Marie Losier.  At any rate, I’m sorry to say this is one GLBT-interest tale best left unseen by our community.

3.    Prometheus (20th Century Fox): This much-hyped prequel/sequel/reboot of the classic 1979 shocker Alien turned out to be baffling bordering on the incoherent.  Though stylishly made in 3D by the original’s director, Ridley Scott, and featuring memorable turns by Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender, it ultimately commits the sin of being more pretentious than terrifying.

4.    One for the Money (Lionsgate):  The bounty-hunting Stephanie Plum character created by novelist Janet Evanovich is definitely deserving of big-screen treatment.  Alas, this halfhearted effort wasn’t it.  Katherine Heigl gives the role her best but she seems stifled, as do her gay-friendly supporting cast members Debbie Reynolds, John Leguizamo, Debra Monk and Daniel Sunjata.

5.    The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 (Summit):  Calling this closing chapter of the teeny-bopper vampire quintology the best in the series is fairly faint praise, since its predecessors are arguably the most artistically-deficient blockbusters ever made.  Credit gay director Bill Condon for the finale’s more adventurous spirit. 

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

KEEP THE LIGHTS ON

KEEP THE LIGHTS ON
Written by Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias
Directed by Ira Sachs
Starring Thure Lindhardt, Zachary Booth and Julianne Nicholson

Paul: Would you turn the light on above the bed? I don’t want to be in the dark with you.

It’s funny to me how complicated we can make relationships between lovers. We can wallow around wanting more when we are single, only to have our eyes wander, and our minds wonder what other worlds exist outside our own, once we get what we thought we wanted. Writer/Director, Ira Sachs (MARRIED LIFE) shines a light on one particular relationship that spans more than a decade in his latest film, KEEP THE LIGHTS ON. And in staying true to his title, he never allows his subjects to do what so many of us so often do in situations like these, which is to run and hide where the light can’t find us.

When we first meet Erik (Thure Lindhardt) a Danish documentary filmmaker living in New York City, circa 1998, it is the middle of the night and he can’t seem to get to sleep. It would appear that the only way Erik would find peace that night would be in the arms of a strange man (Zachary Booth). He thinks he finds an anonymous lover to get him through, but by the time their encounter is over, he finds himself wanting to see this beautiful, blond boy again. The boy’s name is Paul and Paul is a literary agent who still lives in the closet. Unbeknownst to either man at the time of their tryst, they would each go on to form the next chapter in each other’s lives. And that is when the real fun begins, right? That is when you learn about your partner’s debilitating drug problem or that is when you have to face your own addiction to promiscuity and always wondering who might be around the next corner. As difficult as overcoming some of these issues might be, this is the time when you actually stand the chance of truly falling in love with another person.

KEEP THE LIGHTS ON is a tender and engaging film that perfectly captures the tiny nuances exchanged between people struggling to let someone else in. Sachs, who based this story on his own earlier life experiences, clearly knows what he is talking about here, and the manner in which he tells us his story exemplifies his abilities as an independent filmmaker and his bravery as a storyteller. It is a very personal and very intimate film that aims to portray the intricacies of a modern relationship from start to finish. It accomplishes its goal with ease and grace but it goes one step further than that too. Keeping the lights on keeps people honest, and in doing so, allows for the healing process to begin. This film’s heart confirms that Sachs knows this elusive place. That he shares this place with us is just an honour.

KEEP THE LIGHTS ON opens in Toronto at TIFF Bell Lightbox on Friday, October 12. For tickets and show times, please visit tiff.net.

Reverend’s Reviews: Labors of Love

One of the things I’ve come to appreciate most about living in the vicinity of Hollywood and covering film openings and festivals is the frequent opportunities I have to speak with up and coming filmmakers about the perilous journeys they undertook to see their scripts through to completion. The hard work and personal sacrifices that went into several new movies, including a slew of gay-themed releases, prove that filmmaking is more often than not a true labor of love.

Out in theaters nationwide today is CBS Films’ The Words. This star-studded morality play blends literary, historical and romantic elements into a continuously intriguing but ultimately only semi-satisfying froth. Still, the 11-year trek its writer-directors took from page to screen ought to merit them and the film some kind of award. Bradley Cooper (who also produced) gives a terrific dramatic performance as Rory Jansen, an aspiring novelist desperate for publication. After a long-lost manuscript by an unknown author inadvertently comes into his possession, Jansen decides to put his name on it and — voila — he becomes an overnight literary sensation.

Then, just when life starts to take off for Jansen and his lovingly supportive wife (Star Trek’s Zoe Saldana), the book’s original author appears. Identified only as “The Old Man” and played by Jeremy Irons, he relates the tortured history behind his work to Jansen. This subsequently sets Jansen into a tailspin as he deals with the ramifications of essentially stealing the other man’s life. Meanwhile, Dennis Quaid plays another, contemporary writer who has chronicled the men’s saga in his own book, but is it a work of fiction or something much more reality-based, discomfortingly so?

The Words has a lot going in its favor: the exceptional cast (which also features Ben Barnes, Olivia Wilde, J.K. Simmons, Michael McKean, Ron Rifkin and Zeljko Ivanek); taut direction by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal, whose biggest prior credit was as writers of the story for Tron: Legacy; Michele Laliberte’s exquisite production design; the naturally-lit cinematography of Antonio Calvache; and Marcelo Zarvos’ urgent music score. At the end of the film, though, the payoff isn’t as good or effective as it could and should have been. Also, Irons’ performance rang increasingly false for me as the story progressed; despite his stooped posture and realistic old-age makeup, Irons speaks and moves in a younger manner than would most men pushing 90 years old. Still, I can recommend The Words to moviegoers hungry for thought-provoking fare.

More enjoyable and, in the end, more cohesive is Anthony Meindl’s comedic labor of love Birds of a Feather. Although so recently completed it doesn’t have distribution yet, the film has already won the Spirit of the Festival Award at the 2012 Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival and is well worth keeping your eyes open for it. Meindl wrote and directed Birds of a Feather and stars in it as Mark, a failed actor-turned-successful shoe salesman. He becomes reunited with his former co-star and fiancée, Julie (the very funny Lindsay Frame), who recruits Mark into directing a proposed musical version of Chekhov’s The Seagull.

Birds of a Feather starts out slowly but finds its footing during the first of several campy musical numbers (the songs were written by Meindl, Michael Cudahy and Bert Selen). The best is a Lady Gaga-inspired, synopsized take on The Seagull complete with a cameo by Bruce Vilanch, decked out in stuffed Angry Birds toys. The climactic Red Hot Seagull, which incorporates multiple references to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s shows, is also hilarious.

Meindl — who is gay and very attractive in an Aaron Eckhart way — has assembled a great, game cast that includes Danielle Hoover as a reality TV star on a downward slide, Kenny Kelleher as her agent, soap opera actor Trevor Donovan playing himself, Blubberella star Lindsay Hollister and, in a too-brief appearance, Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis. Such actors assure that Birds of a Feather at least has cult film potential, although mainstream lovers of theatre and movie musicals will likely love it too. It deserves distribution, and I’ll pray Meindl gets it soon.

Finally, LA-based filmgoers have their pick starting today of no less than three GLBT-themed labors of love, all of them worth seeing. Ira Sachs’ autobiographical Keep the Lights On, reviewed here previously in conjunction with its July screening at Oufest, is the must-see gay movie of the year thus far. Hollywood to Dollywood documents the cross-country effort adorable gay twins Gary and Larry Lane undertook in order to hand-deliver a screenplay they wrote to their idol, Dolly Parton. And another acclaimed documentary, The Right to Love: An American Family, focuses on the anti-discrimination fight waged on YouTube by a gay married couple and their two adopted children. Truly, an abundance of riches.

Reverend's Ratings:
The Words: B
Birds of a Feather: B+

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

Reverend’s Report: Outfest 2012

Out Glee actor and newly-published children’s book authorChris Colfer brought this year’s 10-day long Outfest festivities in Hollywood to a close Sunday night with the premiere of Struck by Lightning. Colfer not only headlines the comedy but wrote its screenplay, his first. Talk about multi-talented!

By Outfest’s end, several movies had implanted themselves in my consciousness as among the very best that not only Outfest but contemporary GLBT cinema has to offer. These are in addition to a handful of films I was able to preview and acclaim before the fest began (see Reverend’s 2012 Outfest Preview). The standout for me was Matthew Mishory’s Joshua Tree 1951: A Portrait of James Dean, which is notable both for its provocative depiction of an unquestionably bisexual, pre-celebrity Dean and its gorgeous, primarily black-and-white visual style. The mostly speculative bio was photographed by Michael Marius Pessah, who was designated one of Outfest 2012’s “Five to Watch” before the fest began. Also, actor James Preston gives an arresting performance as Dean.
 

A close second for me was Ira Sachs' already highly acclaimed Keep the Lights On, The film won raves at Sundance and the Berlin Film Festival's Teddy Award earlier this year, and it walked away with two of Outfest's most prestigious awards (please find a complete list of Outfest award winners in the comments section below). This authentic, semi-autobiographical saga of two lovers struggling with drug addiction and other challenges over the course of their nine-year relationship is, by turns, heartbreaking and hopeful. Thure Lindhardt and Zachary Booth are exquisite as the on again, off again pair. Keep the Lights On is shaping up to be the gay-interest movie of 2012 and is scheduled for theatrical release beginning in September.

I was thrilled to not only catch That's What She Said, the feature directorial debut of actress Carrie Preston (True Blood, Ready? OK!, Straight-Jacket), but to finally meet Preston after four years of phone interviews and e-mail exchanges. Her hilarious, NYC-set dramedy about female BFFs and their travails boasts a superb turn by Anne Heche, truly the best performance I've yet seen her give. While cut from the same raunchy girl-power cloth as recent hits Bridesmaids and Friends with Kids, That's What She Said has a truer, warmer heart than either of it predecessors.

A reader commented here recently on my interview with Sassy Pants star Haley Joel Osment that it's good to see filmmakers using more average looking/less physically perfect actors in gay-themed films. This was true of several Outfest entries but perhaps most significantly in I Want Your Love. Writer-director Travis Mathews enlisted a full complement of everyday physical types for this thoughtful drama of gay maturity, and they all engage in graphic, non-simulated sex. It's striking, even shocking, but ultimately moving.

As usual, a number of fine documentaries were screened at Outfest, including the highly-touted Vito, Love Free or Die (about out Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson) and How to Survive a Plague. Of those I saw, I was most impressed and informed by United in Anger: A History of ACT UP by Jim Hubbard. While it gets a little long and repetitive in detailing the 25-year history of the pioneering organization, the doc provides valuable insights into the initial years of the AIDS epidemic, the US government's inability/unwillingness to respond effectively, and ACT UP's leadership and often volatile tactics.

All in all, Outfest's 30th anniversary lineup was one of its best to date. Here's to 30+ more years of spotlighting the finest in GLBT cinema.

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

Reverend's Report: The Year in GLBT Film Begins

Each January, the eyes of everyone in Hollywood turn toward remote Park City, Utah. While skiing may be on the agenda for some, most film industry insiders are curious about the offerings at this year's Sundance and Slamdance film festivals. The concurrent events ending this weekend provide a sneak preview of independent movies that GLBT audiences can look forward to later in 2012. After all, such popular queer-interest films as Pariah, Circumstance, Contracorriente (Undertow) and Quinceniera all debuted at Sundance in the past.

Some of this year's most intriguing GLBT indies that just had their world or US premieres in Park City include:

Unconditional: From British director Bryn Higgins comes this dark, psycho-sexual tale about bored teenage twins, Kristen and Owen, who meet an older man promising them endless love and good times... if Owen becomes his sister.

Love Free or Die: The bluntly-titled biography of openly gay Episcopalian bishop Gene Robinson, this documentary provides considerable insight into the many obstacles he has endured as he has tried to serve God's people (including death threats) as well as into his longtime relationship with his devoted partner.

Heavy Girls: A poignant German comedy, in which an overweight "mama's boy" teams with his elderly mother's male caregiver to find her when she goes missing. The two men soon discover an unexpected affection for each other. Heavy Girls won two special awards at Slamdance: a Special Jury Award for Bold Originality and the Spirit of Slamdance "Sparky" Award.

The Invisible War: Not specifically GLBT but nonetheless of interest is the latest eye-opening documentary by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Kirby Dick (Twist of Faith, This Film Is Not Yet Rated). He details how an estimated 30% of women and at least 1% of men serving in the US military have been sexually assaulted by their trusted comrades.

Kelly: A young transgender prostitute searches for love and acceptance in a landscape of broken Hollywood dreams in this powerful documentary.

Keep the Lights On: Documentarian Ira Sachs helmed this fictionalized but no less personal account of a gay relationship fueled as much by addiction as attraction. This film was among the finalists in the Sundance Film Festival's US Dramatic Competition.

How to Survive a Plague: A bracing expose of mostly HIV-positive young men and women who took on the medical establishment during the AIDS epidemic's early years. Not unlike last year's We Were Here, this is a revealing and inspiring documentary.

In addition to features, both Slamdance and Sundance showcased a number of GLBT-interest short films. Notable among these were 33 Teeth, about a hormonal boy who becomes fixated on the comb of his hunky neighbor; The Devotion Project: More Than Ever, the moving true story of two men who forged a 54-year romance against tremendous odds; Park, in which a teenage girl living in a trailer park begins a relationship with an older woman; The Thing, by trans filmmaker Rhys Ernst, finds a trans man, his girlfriend and their pee-shy cat on a road trip to see the title oddity; and Andrew Ahn's intuitive, telling Dol, which focuses on a gay Korean-American man's coming of age through the occasion of his nephew's first birthday.

I can't conclude without mentioning the Slamdance Audience Award winner for Best Feature Narrative, Bindlestiffs. It is directed by Andrew Edison, who has the distinction not only of being the youngest filmmaker at this year's fests but of being the grand-nephew of cinema pioneer Thomas Edison (curiously, both Edisons are deaf in their right ears). Tom Cruise's Joel in 1983's Risky Business didn't have anything on the three degenerate youths (one of them played by the director) desperate to lose their virginity in Bindlestiffs. It is crude, gay-ish, bound to offend some and absolutely hilarious. Watch for it and all the great features and shorts showcased in the Mormon capitol this year.

UPDATE: Congratulations to the makers of Love Free or Die and The Invisible War, who are among the award winners of this year's Sundance Film Festival.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.