Eyes Wide Open (2009)

basics...

How is it 10th November already? It's ages since I've posted, seem to have been so busy. And so it's a while since I saw Eyes Wide Open, an Israeli drama about a couple of Orthodox Jews who get up to some pretty unorthodox shenanigans in a butcher's job...

brilliant...
So this was my first Israel-produced movie, although I've seen a few dramas and animations about the country. This one differs as it has not a jot to do with any Israel-Palestine strife and centres on a purely emotional relationship between a married butcher and a mysterious young Jew who drops by his shop one day and turns his life around. Naturally the elders of the parish (does Judaism have parishes??) have a little to say about this, and the butchers wife is none too pleased. Told with minimal (Hebrew) dialogue and many pained looks, Eyes Wide Open is a touching little movie with many telling moments. It doesn't shout about the homosexuality of it's two leads, so much goes unsaid, in looks and subtexts. There are few locations - most of the 'action' takes place in the shop, the flat above and Aaron's family home, although there's a curiously sexually tense scene during a ritual bath that moves the relationship on a level. The smallness of the film works to its credit, and illustrates a novel take on the typical doomed gay romance - you know there's not going to be a happy ending for the pair but you still want Aaron (Zohar Strauss) to prolong the happiness he has found. Especially since Ezri (Ran Danker) is quite a cutie.

but...
I suppose at times the drama can be a little too slow moving. And it would really have been nice to have a glimmer of hope in the conclusion, although it's by no means a crushing downer.

briefly...
A well acted romance with an interesting social setting, Eyes Wide Open is a credible addition to the gay genre and to romances in general.

The Penguin Book of International Gay Writing (1995, Ed. Mark Mitchell)

I picked up this dry-looking tome in a charity shop in Driffield of all places a number of years ago and finally got around to opening the cover and diving in. 47 extracts and short stories, spanning centuries of gay writing, authors of the pieces include Jean Cocteau, Roland Barthes, Sigmund Freud, Plato, Marquis de Sade, Thomas Mann and many others from around the world, most of whom I wasn't familiar with. 

Some of the pieces are raunchy and sex-filled, others languid and romantic, some are stuffy and self-important, and a slog to get through however short, and others were confusing for their inclusion - a handful of pieces didn't seem to be about gay issues or people at all! Maybe they were written by gay people - it would have been helpful for each story to have more of an introduction than 3 or 4 lines that didn't always tell you the nationality of the writer or when the piece was written. 

Of the 47 pieces not many stick in my mind, although the best and most memorable was the longest, more of a novella the complete story Death in Venice by Thomas Mann, about an older gentleman who goes to Venice for a holiday of sorts and becomes besotted by a teenage boy - nothing happens between them, but Mann's descriptions of beauty and obsession were a dream to read. Prikli by Michel Tournier also made an impression - a short story about a boy who clearly has some issues with his gender and ends the piece by castrating himself with a penknife. Lovely. It turned out to be a bit of a scholarly tome, less enjoyable than a regular book of gay shorts would have been, but it was interesting to see how homosexuality was depicted in different cultures and at different times, even if all each vignette gave was a snapshot.

Christopher and His Kind (2011)

'Dr Who does Cabaret' would have been an appropriate title for this Christopher Isherwood biopic, starring Matt Smith, if only because the two's outfits are so similar, this being set in the 1930's. That's where the similarities end though - you don't get many gays in Dr Who... oh well, at least since Russell T. Davies stepped down from the helm and Scottish agenda kicked in. You certainly don't see Smith enjoying vocal sex with handsome German men every Saturday night. 

I only know of Isherwood through the odd article in the gay press and, of course, Cabaret the movie and the musical, based on his book Goodbye to Berlin. This drama covers the period Isherwood spent in Berlin and his experiences with the gay underworld, rising Nazism and yearnings of the heart. Oh and young Jean Ross (Imogen Poots), the real-life Sally Bowles. I enjoyed the drama (and the comedy) of a new perspective on the run up to war, from the perspective of a foreigner, and a gay one at that - there are so many different stories that can be told about such a horrendous part of world history, it's fascinating in a gloomy sort of way. 

Peopled with beautiful boys it's no wonder Isherwood enjoyed his time in Berlin, particularly when the lovely Douglas Booth played his model-handsome paramour. His experience with a brother who bought into the Nazi agenda brought a chilling edge to the light-hearted goings-on. Matt Smith is a joy to watch in the role, and he's a believable character, not camping it up, playing the right level of frivolity. Lindsay Duncan as his mother is also a highlight, but then I seem to find she's wonderful in everything (and was a 1-episode companion to the 10th Doctor, while Toby Jones, also here, played a malevolent entity for the 11th). This was a really interesting and enjoyable piece of gay history/film.

Fag Hag (Robert Rodi, 1993)

I picked Fag Hag up in a charity shop once a long time ago and I've often picked it off the shelf and then put it back again. I don't know what kept putting me off, maybe I thought it would be a poorly-written piece of trash peopled with campy stereotypes. Anyway, once I did take the plunge I barely stopped reading it and had finished it within a week as I really got into it. 

Telling the tale of Natalie Stathis devotion to her best gay friend Peter and her machinations to keep him single so that he will eventually decide the love of his life is her, Fag Hag is a hilarious, gripping morality tale peopled with believable characters, lampooned stereotypes and a cracking protagonist in Natalie. Faced with a nemesis in Lloyd, a philosophizing gun-store owner and Peter's new found love, Natalie gradually unravels, becoming more and more unhinged, until she takes drastic measures - planting a bug in the happy couple's bedroom in order to find a lever to prise them apart, and eventually resorting to kidnap - all of which is told through witty prose that shows how unstable Natalie has become while not rendering her unsympathetic. 

Along the way Natalie has to battle with her over-baring mother and her new boss, who has been a fag hag and even ended up marrying her gay friend. Reading a gay tale from the early 1990s it's nice to see the spectre of AIDs barely mentioned and to see a gay couple realistically and lovingly portrayed. I loved every minute of time I spent with Fag Hag and the crazy Natalie Stathis and I'd gladly search out more of Robert Rodi's work.

The Best TV Moment of 2010

Ugly Betty: Season 4 (2009-2010)

Both a sad event and a happy one, Ugly Betty's fourth and final season went out with a bang just before Christmas on E4. This season saw Betty sort her hair out, get some fashion sense, find some designer glasses and eventually have her braces removed, but she was still the neurotic, lovable, hilarious Betty I came to know and love all those seasons ago. 

So much happens in the world of Ugly Betty, and there have been sex changes, murders, baby kidnappings... lots to keep up with. Season 4, if I remember rightly, as they all blur into one past episode, involved Betty's new role as junior editor at Mode, saw her love-interest with Matt rekindled and then abruptly end as he disappeared off to Africa. Thankfully a drunken phone call to Henry on Betty's trip to London didn't result in them getting back together, but instead Betty's career took her away from Queens, New York, the US to London in the finale. 

Meanwhile, Wilhemina's estranged daughter turned up to con her mother, and Connor went to jail; Marc didn't get much of a storyline for himself, but was hilarious and provided a touching 'mentor' role for Justin; Hilda dumped her Karate Kid / Mayor boyfriend for bad boy hunk Bobby, and eventually married him, after suffering a miscarriage; Amanda found she had a talent for fashion and quit as receptionist, after a bit of fun between the sheets with Daniel, and happily found out her father was the gay guy from Mad Men; Daniel got involved in a daft cult and stopped moping after dead ex-wife Molly to hop into bed with Amanda again; Clare Meade got in touch with her long-lost adopted son, which didn't turn out very well for Wilhemina when he accidentally shot her; and Ignacio... well he got to cook and be paternal. On a plus note, his sometime girlfriend turned up for the finale. 

I was very pleased with how Ugly Betty wrapped up everyone's storylines, even bringing back elements you'd forgotten, like Amanda's father and his Tweety bird tattoo. The defining and most brilliant part of season 4, and of the series as a whole, was it's treatment of homosexuality - it was never an 'issue', and when camp, flappy Justin declared he was enamoured by a girl in his acting class, I was afraid the writers had wimped out with the character. Thankfully, Justin was just-in... the closet that is (poor joke, I know). When his (admittedly hot) classmate Austin kissed him, and Justin realised that he had been scared to admit his sexuality, the character and the plot flourished. To see a young teenage coming out story portrayed so sensitively was so wonderful and positive, it swelled my heart everytime Justin and Austin were on screen. And the defining moment came during Hilda's wedding party, when everyone was paired off dancing, and Justin chose the moment to admit he was paired off too. It was beautiful to see the courage and the acceptance from his family, who knew, but were willing to let Justin open up in his own time. I really hope Mark Indelicato goes on to big things, his portrayal of Justin was the best.

Then again, I hope all of the cast go on to big things! I've enjoyed every single one of them, especially Becki Newton's caustic and laugh-out-loud hilarious Amanda, an utterly underated comic actress. America Ferrera, who was revealed to be drop-dead gorgeous as Betty blossomed, is also undervalued - she puts so much into making Betty a likable and ultimately believable heroine, especially within such a cartoony environment. The only actor I know who's moved on to something else is Vanessa Williams, who's now in Desperate Housewives, which is excellent, but confusing as there were several weeks where the two shows overlapped on E4! 

Ugly Betty is a show I see myself returning to on DVD. It's hilarious, it's touching, it's witty, it's gay, it's camp, it's cool, it's Betty.

Julian Clary: Lord of the Mince (WYP, 26/10/10)

Last week we had an evening of camp entertainment from 'National Trinket' Julian Clary in his Lord of the Mince show. Coming on in roller blades, before having a member of the audience remove them so that he could mince properly, Clary was consistantly hilarious, spouting innuendo after innuendo, and generally giving the audience a great time. 

Nervously sat on the front row, we escaped any comments, but a couple of audience members were brought down so that Julian could perform some 'mind-reading', and pretend to pull sex toys out of their asses of course! You would think that so much campery and innuendo would be wearing after a couple of hours, but he never outstayed his welcome, and there's something oddly sweet about how Julian Clary delivers a line, even if the subject is fisting or rimming... 

The show was clearly scripted, and performed well, yet the best bits I thought involved Julian's interactions with the audience, and his ad libs to their answers. He also read a couple of pieces out of the Yorkshire Evening Post to demonstrate how poor the news outside the South is - it turns out that Julian Clary can make anything sound rude. I had a gay old time.

My Side of the Story (Will Davis, 2008)

In a change of pace from the murky world of occupied Britain the next book I polished off in a matter of days was My Side of the Story, a first person account of the life of Jaz (real name Jarold), a 16 year old gay teenager living in Shepherd’s Bush. It’s a bit like that American ‘classic’ Catcher in the Rye as the story is told in a teenage vernacular and concerns a bit of a social misfit, where it differs is that I found Catcher hard going and not particularly enjoyable, whereas My Side is fun and an easier read.

I was a bit unsure I’d like Davis’ style, as the prose is peppered with ‘likes’ and I hate the way people use the word, as like, filler all the like time, and there are other stylistic devices that really evoke the teenage voice. Davis uses ‘like’ in place of ‘said’ and not too frequently, and so it’s not distracting once Jaz gets going, and some of his language made me smile, such as his acronym LIC GAS, which stands for Like I Could Give A Shit, and descriptions like ‘I was the definition of sorry’. Once I immersed myself in Jaz’s story I warmed to him and enjoyed his way with words.

The plot isn't complex, Jaz has a realistic existence, sneaking out to a gay club with his best friend Al, dealing with school bullies and Goths, and suffering with his dysfunctional parents, and there’s a simplistic joy to the familiarity of the character’s life. I could identify with some of the emotions and experiences Jaz goes through so it was easy for me to sympathise with his views on life, love and being gay. He’s a bit more negative and surly, and typically teenage about some aspects, but unlike the protagonist in Catcher in the Rye, I never found Jaz irritating or unlikable.

Although the story deals with Jaz’s coming out to his parents and at school, it’s never cloying or sentimental. There are real emotions expressed, and Jaz occasionally finds himself bursting into tears for no reason, as the enormity of the things he’s going through dawn on him, revealing chinks in his LIC GAS bravado. Davis has written an honest account of what the internal monologue of a gay teen in Britain today might be like, and while this may not be an earth-shattering literary sensation, it’s a lovely, refreshingly written tale that is deceptively charming.

Camp (2003)

Camp is a Ronseal movie: it does what it says on the tin. So it's set in a summer camp, and features many camp, gay characters. It is 100% better than the dismal Camp Rock, although the songs are unfortunately just as unmemorable. Where Camp scores points over it's Disney Channel successor is that it presents a much more realistic and less happy-happy-twee vein of American teenager. 

All of the Camp kids are flawed, or are misfits in their own ways. Vlad, the film's straight lead, played by cute Daniel Letterle, has OCD and an uncontrollable urge to please everybody; his roommate Michael attended his prom in drag and was beaten up; Ellen is the frumpy fag-hag best friend who fancies Vlad; the rest of the characters are gay, black, overweight, overbaring, or sadled with a name like Fritzi. Despite every character having a bit of an 'issue', the movie is not about coming out or racism or sexism, all of these aspects are incidental to the yearning of sexuality and fancying inapproriate or unreciprocated people. In Camp, characters have sex for fun - you'd never get that in Camp Rock! - but no one is chastised for it. There is no real happy ending for the leads either - there's an ending, but Vlad doesn't suddenly realise his gay feelings or anything false. Instead the ending is true to life in that sometimes people just accept feelings and deal with them. 

Michael (played by Robin de Jesús) is a gay character among several, and at no point is his sexuality made fun of or becomes an issue for his friends, they all accept him. His parents don't, and this is not resolved during the movie, again there is no neat bow to wrap everything up. There's a refreshing honesty here without being depressing: sometimes people's parents don't come round. 

Camp is funny, and full of pretty and normal people, enjoying themselves, being themselves, without any of the sugary Disney-coating that mars Camp Rock. Director Todd Graff has crafted a surprisingly touching movie about summer camp and the people who go there to escape and be themselves. I enjoyed it. 

Brendan Wolf (Brian Malloy, 2007)

I polished off Malloy’s first novel, The Year of Ice, in 2 days, but Brendan Wolf took me twice as long – I must be slipping. The main reason I get through his books is not just because they’re short (they’re not especially) but they’re so easy to read and written with an economy of style, and the plots are so good. Having said that though, I’ve had to pop on to Amazon to read a review of The Year of Ice to remind myself what it was about! I couldn’t remember any of it – maybe that’s the problem of reading a book too quickly, you don’t have time to absorb the characters into your subconscious.

Anyway, I enjoyed Brendan Wolf. It reminded me a little of The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, for no real reason other than each has a young male protagonist, and there are aspects of living in the wilderness featured in both in different ways. Brendan Wolf is not the 35 year old homosexual star’s real name, that’s not something you find out until the last chapter. This is a main theme of the book as Brendan tries to choose an identity he can live with. He has been sacked from myriad jobs and always has his head in a book, his particular favourite is Into The Wild (a book I know little about other than a vague knowledge of the Sean Penn directed movie adaptation) from which he tries to take life lessons. He was abandoned by his birth parents when they were arrested for swindling people out of their savings, and moved between foster families before running away from his adopted parents as his sexuality emerged.

From this messy background it’s a wonder that Brendan has turned out so well. But his lack of job leaves him homeless and he ends up staying with a predatory older man named Marv, who promptly has a stroke, with Brendan becoming his carer, assuming the identity of Marv’s incarcerated boyfriend to stay with the older man against his will. At the same time Brendan has been co-opted by his brother (in prison for defrauding old people) and sister-in-law to take part in their scheme to rip off a charity during a fundraising walk, but it’s alright because the charity is for Christian fundamentalist anti-abortion activists…

Alongside all this, Brendan finds time for a relationship with Sean. To Sean he is Pierre, who lives with his parents and can’t bring Sean to the house because they disapprove of his sexuality. To the anti-abortionists he’s the widower of a woman who died during childbirth and so he attends the fundraising group for the memory of his dead wife. To Marv he’s responsible for his stroke, but then he’s also caring for him during his recovery. Brendan Wolf is many things to many people, but he’s certainly never boring. A conflicted soul, I think it could be easy for a reader to dislike the character. I found his flaws and his constant struggle for identity really interesting. His sexuality is almost incidental to his other issues, but it is important in many ways. While Brendan is not an easy character to warm to straight away, Malloy has crafted an intriguing, often troubling tale that throws up all sorts of ethical and moral issues without feeling issue-driven.

Party in the Park (25/07/10) & Leeds Pride (01/08/10)

Last weekend was Party in the Park, a free pop concert at Temple Newsam that Leeds Council puts on. The lineup wasn't as good as last year, so we were dubious about whether we'd bother going. I'm glad we did though, as we had a fun day out. We didn't see the first couple or the last 2 acts (missing The Saturdays, who we've seen in concert back when they were amazing, and Dizzee Rascal, who headlined last year) as we wanted to get the bus home, but we saw the following:

Project A, Skepta, Fugitive, Beat Bullies, Rox, One Night Only, Scouting For Girls, Jedward (who were booed and thankfully just did 1 song), The Baseballs, Eliza Doolittle, Damage, Dane Bowers (who had a surprisingly good voice), Craig David (who should just give it up), Lee Ryan & Anthony Costa (Costa and Jedward were the 'surprises' we were promised during the show...), Vanessa Amorosi (amazing Australian lady whose latest album I've already bought and fallen in love with), Beverley Knight (best voice at Party, but next time please sing 'Come As Your Are'!), Starman, Gabriella Cilmi (just me and Andrew up dancing for her), Basshunter (got the crowd going and took his top off, so I was easily pleased), The Hoosiers, Alesha Dixon (always worth the admission, with some great dancing, evidence above, and smashing new single 'Drummer Boy'), Professor Green (just shite), Example, The Wanted (hot), Tinchy Stryder, Pixie Lott (yawn), Alexandra Burke (very good), and The Script.

Today I attended another free music event, Leeds Pride in Millennium Square. Featured were a whole host of drag acts, including the brilliant Bears Aloud, Cheryl Hole, the Dame Shirley Bassey Experience and the winner of Drag Idol performing Gaga's Telephone. 

The none drag performers were: Laura Steel, Inju5tice (a new boyband who probably won't trouble The Wanted's rise to the top of the charts), Tameka, Scarlette Fever, and the head line act... 90's Corrie sensation, Adam Rickitt! Adam was looking might fine, as the accompanying pic will attest, and although his voice wasn't the strongest, he still put in a memorable performance of his new single Tonight, and old favourites Everything My Heart Desires and of course I Breathe Again! The encore featured the old version of I Breathe Again with a topless Adam throughout. Call me an easily pleased horny homosexual, but it worked for me! :)

Mad Max (1979); The Graduate (1967); Lethal Weapon 4 (1998); Loaded Weapon 1 (1993); The Walker (2007)

Watching the Lethal Weapon series and reading about Mad Max (1979) in a recent issue of Empire, we decided to give the latter a spin and to find out why Mel Gibson hit big. I enjoyed the movie, it was clearly cheaply made but there's a lot of fun to be had and what action there is is well-directed and visceral. The violence is cartoonish but wince-inducing, especially when Max gets his arm run over by a motorbike. The Australian locations are gorgeously shot, and altogether the movie holds up as great fun. 

For a break from Mel Gibson we watched The Graduate (1967), the movie that made Dustin Hoffman a household name, and another 'classic'. I really liked this - the characters, the actors, the witty script, and the excellent direction all add up to a movie that has quite rightly gone down as a gem of cinema history. Hoffman is a delight as the awkward Benjamin Braddock who stumbles on an affair with 'cougar' (as they'd call her nowadays) Mrs Robinson, played deliciously by Anne Bancroft. Mike Nichols directs the movie in a stylised way that doesn't distance you from the action, rather it adds commentary to the youthful timidity of Benjamin. Hoffman's performance is very funny, one of his best ever, up there with Rain Man, and I'd quite happily watch this again soon. 

We finished off our run of Lethal Weapon movies with the final in the series, Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), which came several years after the last sequel and added Chris Rock and Jet Li to a cast that had already grown to encompass Joe Pesci and Rene Russo. Packed with memorable stunts (such as Riggs fight on a house-moving wagon) and more comedy than before, LW4 is another strong entry in a series that has no real weak link. The fights are just as bloody as in the first movie, and the script has the decency to point out that Gibson and Glover are indeed getting 'too old for this shit', and their storylines are advanced through Riggs' imminent fatherhood, and Murtaugh's grandfatherhood. Pesci is at his least annoying here, but then he is opposite Chris Rock, so maybe he's just less annoying by comparison. This is a fitting end to the series, and I hope they don't try to make any more, because the stars definitely would be too old - they couldn't pull it off like Bruce Willis did in the superb Die Hard 4.0.

Following the Lethal Weapon series we revisited National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 (1993) which parodies several films, but none more so than Lethal Weapon. There are direct references such as Emilio Estevez's Colt going for a walk to show off his naked butt, Colt's/Rigg's trailer getting shot up by the bad guys in helicopters (in a brilliant Bruce Willis cameo), and Samuel L. Jackson's Luger sitting on the toilet parodying the classic LW2 bomb scene - but this time the character is just taking a shit. Other send ups include Basic Instinct's 'gratuitous beaver shot', Silence of the Lambs, and Rambo, but it's the LW references that are funniest. While not quite as good as Hot Shots!, Loaded Weapon 1 is a good laugh, full of hilarious performances from Whoopi Goldberg, William Shatner, Denis Leary and Tim Curry.

I enjoyed all of the movies above over the last week or so, and they all had a lot to recommend them. Unfortunately I can't say the same for The Walker (2007), a movie in which Woody Harrelson plays gay as Carter Page, a companion of high society Washington women, including Lily Tomlin, Lauren Bacall and Kristin Scott Thomas. This might have worked as some sort of comedy, but it's far too serious and becomes a murder-mystery-thriller type affair when the lover of Scott Thomas' character is killed and Page attempts to keep her out of it and find out whodunnit. Harrelson tackles the role in much the same way as Heath Ledger handled gay in Brokeback Mountain, by mumbling almost incoherently the whole way through. It's hard to warm to Page, or any of the characters really, apart from Lauren Bacall's society woman who doesn't get enough screen time. As the movie wears on in a po-faced manner the answers to the mystery provide little revelation or interest and there's not much of a satisfying conclusion. For a film with an interesting premise, it all fell a little flat.

Like People in History (Felice Picano, 1995)

The front cover quote from Edmund White says that Like People in History is 'the gay Gone With the Wind'. I've not read the latter, but I've seen the superb film, and if White meant that Like People is a bit of an epic I suppose he's right. I don't mean that it's a particularly long book (500 pages), just that it covers a large span of gay history. Now, a large span of gay history may not be that long - the book covers 1954 to 1991 - in the grand scheme of things, but many significant events are captured in Picano's novel, and not all of it just gay. I suppose though that Gone With the Wind covers the Civil War period in the US, another period that is not that long in the life of mankind, but significant in the last few hundred years. 

The book has a linear thread, following the narrator, Roger Sansarc, and his boyfriend as they first attend cousin Alistair Dodge's party, attend an AIDS activist rally in Greenwich Village, get arrested for hanging a banner, and ultimately try to prevent Alistair, suffering from AIDs-related illnesses, from swallowing a load of pills. This might all sound a bit heavy and worthy yet it's not. Each chapter features part of the 1991 story, and then a flash back to a significant time in Roger's life when Alistair has played a large part. In this segments of the past we follow Roger from boyhood through his blossoming sexuality, and then his homosexuality to his wonderful but ultimately doomed romance with the gorgeous Matt Loguidice. Along the way Roger ends up at Woodstock, he has affairs with women and men, he's seduced by an older British rocker, writes for a magazine, owns a book shop and comes into contact with Alistair far more often than he'd like.

Alistair is an interesting character. He's a precocious child, then a precocious adult, and he manipulates Roger in a way that he doesn't always realise until it's too late. Some of his feats of manipulation are astounding, and it's surprising that Roger ever forgives him, but everyone loves Alistair Dodge, and there are gaps in the narrative to give Roger time to forgive Alistair. As the picture of their two intertwining lives is built up it heightens the suspense in the 1991 story - Roger is the one who gave Alistair the pills he plans to use to commit suicide, then Roger has a change of heart. You never know if Roger will reach Alistair in time, and sometimes it's hard to decide whether you want him to or not. 

What saves the book from feeling worthy and full of the old gay-AIDs clichés is that Picano writes with such humour and warmth. The relationships between all of the book's characters are wonderfully defined, and I especially liked the romance between Roger and Matt, and was saddened when it didn't go to plan. The scenes when Matt is in hospital dying of The Disease are heartbreaking but never sensational or cloying. This is a book every gay man should read for it presents the history of the gay rights movement in a subtle way, you don't even realise you're learning (about US history admittedly) about Stonewall and beyond, you get sucked in by these great characters.

The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000)

This was another late-night-on-Channel-4 recorded film, complete with sign-language interpretter and blissfully few ad breaks to fast-forward through. It turned out to be a forgettable but enjoyable bit of fluff, with a fairly starry cast for an American movie about gay relationships, including Zach Braff (sporting a dodgy blond dye-job), Timothy Olyphant, the dad from Frasier, and Dean 'Superman' Cain. 

It's a couple of weeks since I saw it and there's not a lot I remember about it, which speaks to how good it really was. I don't think it was either funny enough or romantic enough to be subtitled: A Romantic Comedy' though. There were chuckles, and some interesting attempts to comment on gay stereotypes in Hollywood movies (such as gays always dying of AIDs) which were then brushed aside to show gay gym bunnies and drag acts. A nice idea, but without the witty script and well-rounded characters to dispel many gay movie clichés. 

For a gay movie there was disappointingly little in the way of gratuitous nudity or even topless shots! Olyphant's character had a cute love interest, and Dean Cain reminded me how hot he was, but otherwise the sex was written out of the movie, presumably to be more palatable to US audiences, since this appeared to want a mainstream release rather than straight-to-DVD for gay film festivals. It was good, but there have been better gay movies before and since. 

I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)

I read about the fascinating and barely believable true story of Steven Russell and the lengths he went to in his love for Phillip Morris in an article in The Week sometime last year, and I've been anticipating the movie version ever since, so when the Jim Carrey-starrer came out last month I was eager to see it. 

I would add a caveat to the above - I was eager to see the film despite the fact it starred Jim Carrey. I'm not really a fan of his OTT comedy schtick. He's great in The Truman Show, all restrained, and I quite liked The Cable Guy, but Ace Ventura is hard going (I've not seen The Mask) and he ruins Batman Forever, so I was dubious. However, Carrey's performance as Russell was more Truman than Ace, more serious, but with a great comedy edge. And this was a good thing, since Carrey is rarely off the screen in this compelling, laugh-out-loud hilarious, and surprisingly moving film. 

When Steven Russell eventually comes out, he realises that being gay is expensive, so he resorts to pulling cons to make money, and he eventually ends up in prison. This is where he meets Phillip Morris and falls in love, and pulls out all the stops to make sure the two stay together either in prison or out. If I hadn't read the article beforehand I'm not sure I would've believed half the things Russell did to survive - including faking his death from AIDs, a very delicate issue to bring into such a broad comedy. The writer/directors (of the deliciously black Bad Santa) handle the changes in tone wonderfully, although they're particularly adept at the comedy, as of course is Jim Carrey.

As good as Carrey is, the stand out in the movie is the Phillip Morris of the title, played with such warmth and heart by Ewan McGregor, who has never looked more beautiful, and who never lets his portrayal fall into parody (though neither does Carrey). There's a real spark between the actors that makes their on-screen relationship so believable, you really want them to be able to run off together. Which makes the inevitable real-life ending (which of course I already knew) so much more upsetting and feels like a massive injustice. Yes, Russell embarrassed the prison authorities and stole money, but he never killed or even hurt anyone, yet he's languishing in 23 hour solitary confinement for life. 

The movie hasn't been released in America yet, due to the 'explicit' content, and cos they're so repressed. There is one moment that could be a bit too explicit for a cinema screen, when Carrey is seen having doggie-style sex with a sweaty man in his coming out scene - it's shocking to see how comfortable Carrey is with the role - imagine an A-list actor doing such a role 10 years ago in a 'slight' comedy such as this - but there's nothing to compare in the rest of the movie. Even Ewan 'Get my cock out in every other movie I do' McGregor keeps it in his pants, and his and Carrey's sex scenes take place below camera and only feature oral intercourse. At no point in the film is the fact that any character is gay a joke, the jokes happen anyway, the romantic leads here just happen to be gay (though it would be pretty hard to have the same film with a hetero couple - they wouldn't be in the same prison for a start). One of the few niggles I had was that Carrey's ex dies of AIDs, which smacks of gay cliché, but since this really happened, it's no such thing, and it is integral to a later con. 

It's a shame that the US is proving resistant to I Love You Phillip Morris as the movie is a winning portrayal of gay love, and it also happens to be downright hilarious to boot. 

The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon (Tom Spanbauer, 1991)

This book has to be one of the weirdest works of fiction I've ever encountered. In it, Shed, a half-native American teenager, who works as a prostitute at a brothel out in the shed (hence his name), tries to work out who he is. Along the way he meets and falls in love with Dellwood Barker, a man he believes to be his father - not that this stops Shed from having sex with him. There are madams, native Americans, a mentally handicapped man named Damn Dave and his Damn Dog, a lot of mormons, a group of black minstrels, and a whole lot of sex - between men and women, men and men, women and women, anyone really - and being related is no barrier.

Shed narrates his story in a very arresting, innocent, almost child-like prose that takes a little getting used to. The first chapter is a little confusing as Shed plays fast and loose with his recollections of events, mixing timelines and revealing nuggets about how the story turns out, which I didn't realise were as such until I got towards the end of the book. 

The beauty of this book lies in Spanbauer's language, and how he completely transports you to turn of the twentieth century Idaho, and the world that Shed and his mismatched family inhabits. Family is key to the tale too. At one point Shed is living with the man he believes is his father (still fucking him too - the father isn't aware of his paternity), his adopted mother Ida Richilieu (the brothel madam), and her lover and fellow prostitute Alma Hatch. Such a random group of people are believably connected throughout Spanbauer's story (the term 'story' is important in this book) and I cared for each and every character - yes the incest may be distasteful and the language incredibly visceral, but Shed's innocence and love really brings you along with him. A scene where a woman's legs are sawn off was much harder to read than any of the sex scenes.

After finding this book on an Amazon.co.uk recommendation and giving it a shot, I was shocked by the content, but moved and pleased by the story I discovered between the unassuming, cartoonish front cover. I think this book will stay with me for a while.

Beautiful People: Series 2 (2009)

Last night Beautiful People ended it's second series with such a wonderful episode, packed with poignant moments and hilarity. I will be very sad if the show doesn't get a third series - I want to spend more time with Simon Doonan and his crazy family. 

Beautiful People seems to have slipped onto TV screens without much fanfare, which says a lot for how progressive society must be becoming for this is a show that has 2 gay teenagers at its heart. I couldn't imagine such a premise being allowed to pass unnoticed 10 years ago, perhaps sooner. Unlike Ugly Betty, who's teenage Justin is flamboyant, but not a confirmed homosexuality, Beautiful People's Simon (and to a larger extent his friend Kylie) is Camp with a capital C. And in this series we finally see young 14-year old Simon push open the closet door and come out to his Mum in a letter. It's odd that he needed to come out really, yet there's much that can be taken for granted in a parent's blinkered approach to their own children. The moment when Debbie read her son's letter, as he was finally beginning to accept himself and make a move on his new school friend, touched me greatly. 

It's not the first time I've identified with Simon - the first episode of Beautiful People last year featured a 13-year old boy in 1997, a fan of the Spice Girls and a friend of Dorothy - and I instantly fell in love with the programme because that WAS me in 1997. I was that age, I had that Spice Girls pencil case, although I wasn't as far along in my burgeoning sexuality as Simon seemed to be. I certainly wasn't (and never have been) that camp. There were episodes with Victoria Beckham dolls, and this year with Eurovision which I took to my heart and identified with in a big way. 

Of course, I don't identify with Simon's Reading-based family of nutters - I don't have a blind Asian aunty with a dog named Mummy, for example! The cast around Simon (who is played so winningly by Luke Ward-Wilkinson) are just as adorable and mental. His mother, Debbie, is just fantastic, and her rivalry with Reba, Kylie's mum, is one of the series' best running jokes. 

Sometimes the episodes don't hang together right - there's something there I can't put my finger on, whether it's the writing or the editing or what, that makes the occasional episode feel a bit sub-par, but when everything comes together the shows are gems. This series featured excellent cameos for Dana International, Elaine Paige and Dannii Minogue that didn't always make sense (I'm looking at you Dannii), yet that didn't stop me enjoying them. 

I must admit to being the tiniest bit envious of (a) 14-year old Simon and (b) teenage gays watching Beautiful People because (a) Simon got his shit together over his sexuality earlier than me, and because (b) I never had a show like Beautiful People to give me any sort of guidance when I was 14. I suppose I had Queer as Folk a couple of years later, but that made the gay life seem a hell of a lot scarier! 

I'm off now to pray to Dana International for a third series!

Ugly Betty: Season 3 (2008-09)

I love Ugly Betty. It's as simple as that. Along with Desperate Housewives, it's my favourite US comedy-drama that's still on TV, I look forward to each episode and it's always sad when a season ends.

Season 3 of Ugly Betty has just ended over here, while the US is currently enjoying Season 4 - why must I have to wait so long, Channel 4?! Why, it's so that Desperate Housewives can begin in January (fingers crossed!). Although I enjoyed Season 2 it was a bit too involved in Betty's romances with Henry and Gio, so it was nice that they were packed off by the end of episode 1 in Season 3 so that we could concentrate on Betty's career. When Ugly Betty does romance it can all get a bit soppy (I'm also looking at you, Connor and Molly). 

I change my mind with nearly every episode as to which regular character is my favourite. Amanda has been on fine form this season, particularly in the first half when she seemed to be around a lot more often as Betty ended up sharing her apartment with my favourite acid-tongued bitch! Hang on, that spot's taken by Marc, isn't? And Wilhemina too! I was pleased with Wilhemina's character arcs this season as she went from being an arch villain to a more rounded individual as she was softened up with her ultimately doomed romance with Connor. It was also good to see her calming down her quest to take over Meade and Mode by becoming co-editor with Daniel. Ah now, Daniel. He's actually one of the few of the main cast who's never been in my list of favourites. I don't think he's developed very well, and although Eric Mabius is easy on the eye, I don't think he's such a great actor. He was also saddled with a girlfriend, Molly, who's only character trait is that she's dying with cancer. I know that sounds harsh (it's only a TV show, remember) but really, Molly had no other side to her.

Betty's best mate Christina has always been side-lined a bit, and was even more so through Season 3 - she seemed to spend about a year pregnant and then wasn't in a lot of the episodes. It makes sense that she's left, it's just a shame Ashley Jensen wasn't better utilised. The last regular at Meade publications is Claire Meade. Every since she was introduced back in Season 1 as a semi-regular I've loved every word that comes out of her mouth. She can always be relied upon to make me laugh out loud at least once an episode. More of her please!

And then there's Betty's family. I don't think Hilda was about enough in Season 3, but when she was she was fabulous, and it was nice to see Ignacio find happiness with a lady friend, even if they had to give him a heart attack first! My favourite member of Betty's clan is her nephew Justin, played by the fantastic Mark Indelicato. As her gets older (and more camp) he just gets funnier. I ony wish the mini-arc he had at the beginning of the season, where he found a friend at school and auditioned for Billy Elliott, had been extended. Another of the under-used cast members, Justin shines in every appearance. There was a touching moment in the final episode when Marc imparted a little gay-friendly advice to Justin, in an echo of a previous season's encounter between them. Justin's sexuality has never been explicitly dealt with, and really it doesn't have to be, but it's nice when he gets these moments with Marc as it allows the latter to soften and it just leaves a warm feeling inside me. 

Of course, I mustn't forget Betty herself! America Ferrera does such a good job with Betty that I think it can be easy to forget just how good an actress she is, and how much of the show rests on her performance. That might sound silly, since the show is named after her, but with such an extended regular cast Betty could quite easily becoming a supporting character in her own show. However, Betty is the beating heart of the programme, providing so much joy and warmth. Her storylines this season were better than before as she battled her ex-nemesis (Lindsay Lohan!), joined the young editors programme, YETI, and found love with Matt, a rich former sex-addict. At season's end Betty's life looked to be working out wonderfully, until boring, much-too-muscled-for-a-geek Henry turned up again. Boo! 

The move that the show made from Los Angeles to New York, where Betty is actually set, made a massive difference to the show too, and the Big Apple became almost an extra member of the cast. The locations looked much more authentic than previously (because they were!) and I don't know why, but it improved the whole look of Betty's surroundings. 

Season 3 ended with several cliffhangers - Matt is now Betty's boss! Whose waiting for Wilhemina in her bedroom?! How will Justin cope at public high school?! - and I can't wait for Season 4 to show up on these shores. Until then, I've got Desperate Housewives to look forward to! And Glee, which should take care of my camp TV intake too.

Cockles and Muscles / Crustacés et Coquillages (2005)

The clocks went back last night. Everyone says you get an extra hour in bed. If you've got a body clock like mine though, it just means you're up an hour earlier. So I used my extra hour usefully and watched the French movie, Cockles and Muscles.

I like a French movie - a lot of the ones I've seen have not much plot, but lots of interesting characters. Not to mention a liberal attitude to nudity and sexuality. I recorded this one from a graveyard showing on BBC2 last week, and it was well worth it. Why do all the good little movies get tucked away?

Cockles and Muscles is a farce of sorts, featuring an initially rather normal family on holiday on the French coast (I'm not sure where exactly). Slowly we discover that the mother is having an affair, the son (who mother suspects is gay) is straight, but his sexy best friend isn't, and maybe the father isn't either... The humour is mostly subtle and plays off the interactions of the characters as they cheat and lie about relationships and sexuality. Despite the deceit, the movie has a happy (musical) ending and there is no malice or nastiness going on. 

I particularly like that the son is happy for his parents to think he's gay, just because it pisses his dad off, and the fact that his best friend (played by the skinny but beautiful Édouard Collin, in shower on left...) yearns for his friend quite openly is lovely. Every actor is brilliant, but Valeria Bruni Tedeschi as the mother is a stand out, as is Collin. I've not seen any of these actors in anything before, but I'd happily watch them in something again. 

One of the repeated themes in the movie involves the shower, where every male character gets to have a masturbation scene! The father turns off the hot water at one point to dampen everyone's libidos, to comic effect. 

A very funny film, with a pretty cast and a nice upbeat tone that is kept up all the way til the end. A hidden gem.

Bring It On (2000)

I love Bring It On. It's as simple as that. I've lost count of how many times I've seen it, but this Friday I saw it again for the first time in a long time, and it's still fabulous (who knew?).

A US teen movie about cheerleaders shouldn't be this good. Bring It On defies convention by having a great script full of pseudo-valleyspeak and knowing humour, while the cast are all attractive and their performances all show that they are in on the joke, without being over the top or annoying. 

As a fan of Buffy and Angel, it's always nice to see the cast doing something different (as so many faded into obscurity), and particularly when Faith and Glory both get to star in a movie together! Eliza Dushku good read the phone book and make a watchable programme - she's so very hot and has a fantastic edge to her performances, and she's amazing here.

Bring It On features one of Kirsten Dunst's best roles - much better than the soppy MJ from Spider-Man - and it also features many great supporting stars, who've sadly not done much since, judging from the imdb listing. 

One of the reasons I liked this movie when I was younger, and one of the things that I love about it now, is Huntley Ritter's character, Les. I doubt there were many US movies made in 2000 that were aimed at the teen market that featured a well-adjusted, non-angst-ridden, accepting gay character like Les. He's a breath of fresh air in a genre that often features gay stereotypes as the butt of jokes. Here Les is one of the 2 main male cheerleaders, the other is Jan, who is straight - the joke being that the football players are always ribbing him for being gay since he's a cheerleader, and then the movie puts two fingers up to this sort of cliche by actually featuring a gay cheerleader. Is it post-modern? Ironic? I'm not sure, but I'm pleased they did it.

As I say, there's no issue about Les' sexuality - it's explicitly discussed once, while Eliza Dushku's Missy is trying to determine which way Jan and Les swing. The exchange between them is hilarious, sweet, and succinct:

Missy: What is your sexuality?
Les: Well, Jan's straight, and I'm... controversial.
Missy: Are you trying to tell me you speak fag?
Les: Oh, fluently.

Huntley Ritter doesn't play Les as particularly camp - at least no camper than anyone else is playing in a film about perky cheerleaders! - and so the sexuality of the character is a non-issue, really, but the writer/director seems to have a purpose for Les. There's nothing in-your-face about the message on display, but I think it's there all the same in the fact that, other than Kirsten Dunst's Torrance, he's the only character who gets some sort of a romantic sub-plot (if you can call it that).

I'd expect from movies like this that most of the characters would be paired up by the end, for a happily ever after, but Bring It On isn't that kind of film. Torrance ditches her cheating boyfriend and finds 'love' (though thankfully this is not expressed so cloyingly) by the movie's end, whereas the other characters get not even the hint of a love-story (although Jan is fairly vocal about his horniness), except for Les. It's a cute, throw-away scene that comes amidst the preparations for the big cheerleading final at the movie's finale, when Les waits for a rival cheerleader, Tim, to come backstage after he's performed:

Les: Hey. That last lift you did was amazing.
Tim: Thanks. Hey, good luck out there.
Les: Thanks, man. I'm Les.
Tim: I'm... I'm Tim.
Les: It's nice to meet you.
Tim: Hey, I'll, uh, see you around?
Les: Yeah.

And it's as simple as that. A sweet exchange that allows Les a real moment of awkward teen dialogue with his crush. It's a common enough scene for heterosexuals in Hollywood fare, but a rarity for gays. Huntley Ritter's performance is pitch perfect, showing nerves and a palpable sense of relief when everything goes well.

There are many reasons to love Bring It On, but Huntley Ritter's Les is the one that I most care for. And it just so happes that he's rather hot - allowing a hot gay boy a frisson of sexuality and a happy ending in a teen movie?? That's awesome, oh wow! Like, totally freak me out! I mean, right on!