Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.) was one of Hollywood’s top stars. The heart throb appeared in Douglas Sirk melodramas, Doris Day romcoms and the Oscar nominated Giant. He was also a closeted homosexual. He was outed in 1985 … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Rock Hudson (1990)
San Francisco’s 47th Frameline Film Festival made a portion of their program available for streaming. The films were a mix of new ideas and familiar tropes. Activism Chocolate Babies (1996, US). A valuable piece of New Queer Cinema has been … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Frameline 2023
Christine Jorgensen was a photographer, a military clerk, and one of the first Americans to have gender confirmation surgery. When she was outed to the press, she leveraged it into a singing career. She used her platform to educate and … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Christine Jorgensen Story (1970)
It’s fine. Really. Rob Marshall’s The Little Mermaid tells the tale of Ariel, a miserable princess trapped in a humorless underwater kingdom. She’s surrounded by bossy relatives and ugly CGI. On top of that someone keeps turning out the lights. … Continue reading Movie Review: The Little Mermaid (2023)
The Day the Fish Came Out is a farce with too many targets. American soldiers, disguised as gay tourists, search for missing nukes on a Greek Island. The cast runs around in skimpy outfits and shouts at each other. The … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Day the Fish Came Out (1967)
Breath of the Wild launched for the Nintendo Switch (and Wii U) in 2017. Now the eagerly awaited sequel has arrived. Let’s discuss! Continue reading Tears of the Kingdom – Spoiler Space
The War Widow premiered on PBS on October 28, 1976. It was part of the Visions series of original teleplays. A repressed housewife (Pamela Bellwood) waits for her husband to return from World War I. She meets a photographer (Frances … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The War Widow (1976)
Antoinette Perry founded the American Theater Wing. When she passed the Tony Awards were created in her honor. The nominees for the 76th annual Tony Awards were announced on May 2. The ceremony will be held on Sunday, June 11. … Continue reading The Tony Awards Night Thread (May 4, 2023)
Shun Nakahara’s The Cherry Orchard (Sakura no sono) is not a direct adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s play. Instead, it adapts a manga about a group of school girls producing the play. We follow the cast through the rehearsal hall. A … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Cherry Orchard (1990)
A self-righteous deacon (Željko Ivanek) comes under fire when he defends two gay seminarians. Jack Lemmon’s cynical pastor tries to teach him about church bureaucracy. Mass Appeal is better in concept than execution. Bill C. Davis’s screenplay, adapted from his … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Mass Appeal (1984)
Three Christian teens struggle with their faith as they plan for college. Sweet Tim’s coming out has sent devout Laura and doubting Brea into tail spins. Many stories address the rift between organized religion and human sexuality. Stephen Cone’s The Wise … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Wise Kids (2011)
A quippy bard and a deadpan barbarian seek to rescue their gullible daughter from a quippy con man and a deadpan sorceress. They recruit a deadpan paladin, a deadpan shape shifter and a neurotic wizard to assist them. Dungeons and … Continue reading Movie Review: Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
Noah Schnapp plays a wealthy teen obsessed with his new tutor (Garrett Hedlund). Early press suggested a story in the vein of Fatal Attraction, Swimfan or The Crush. A chance for Schnapp to embrace his sexuality, as rising teen idols … Continue reading Movie Review: The Tutor (2023)
Last season the heroine of Shadow and Bone found herself trapped between two love interests and three warring kingdoms. Despite her magic powers, she spent her time playing damsel in distress. This allowed the vivid supporting characters to steal focus. … Continue reading Spoiler Space: Shadow and Bone, Season 2
A closeted Liberal Chairman (Björn Kjellman) falls for an out Social Democrat (a lovable Eric Ericson). Four More Years is an enjoyably fluffy romcom. The leading men have chemistry and charm. It’s refreshing to see a middle-aged actor in a … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Four More Years (2010)
Wreck was marketed as a comedy slasher series. Scream on a cruise ship. The ingredients are certainly there. The first episode introduces a killer in a duck costume, a saintly protagonist, hateful authority figures and an attractive ensemble of potential … Continue reading LGBT Media: Wreck (2022)
Alfredo Alaria plays an eccentric dancer. He clashes with his conservative family. They suspect he may be… different. His penchant for performing campy musical numbers in revealing costumes is a clue. Different couldn’t directly address homosexuality in Franco’s Spain. But … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Different (1962)
Nuno, a college student, visits his sister’s farm in Vouzela. He soon falls for Alberto, a moody farmhand. Nuno is a cheerful protagonist in an angsty film. He remains blissfully unaware of the limits that class and gender place on … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Where the Sun Beats (1989)
Sir Noël Coward (1899-1973) was a celebrated British playwright, songwriter, actor and wit. I was introduced to his work by the 1945 film of his play Blithe Spirit. A writer accidentally summons the ghost of his late first wife to torment … Continue reading The Noël Coward Night Thread (2/8)
This weekend the cinemas feature many tales of queer suffering and death. I wanted to highlight a film about surviving trauma. In Thomas Fitzgerald’s The Hanging Garden a gay man (Chris Leavins) visits his estranged family after ten years away. … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Hanging Garden (1997)
Should the LGBTQ community assimilate or rebel? Should we band together or pursue our individual goals? These arguments were explored in a television drama titled Coming Out. It aired On April 10, 1979 as part of the BBC’s Play for … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Coming Out (1979)
