It’s good. It’s too long. Wicked has always been messy. Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel followed L. Frank Baum’s Witch of the West. She grew from a lonely child into a self-righteous activist. The 2003 musical sanded off her rough edges. … Continue reading Movie Review: Wicked Part I (2024)
Hallmark continues their commitment to queer representation with The Groomsmen: Second Chances. Jonathan Bennett plays Danny, a flaky baseball coach. He leaves his finances to Zack, his stuffy business manager (a charming Alexander Lincoln). When Zack gets engaged, Danny’s friends … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Groomsmen: Second Chances (2024)
Every year Susan organizes a birthday camping trip. She’s dated, and broken up with, all of her friends. Yet they somehow still show up. This time things go wrong. A killer is picking the women off, one by one. Is … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Make a Wish (2002)
In 1989 the show thirtysomething caused a scandal for ABC. A gay couple were shown lying in bed together having a conversation. The men did not touch but the implication was enough to upset corporate America. Sponsors pulled their commercials … Continue reading LGBT Media: Homoerotic Commercials
Heartstopper’s first season followed the romance between timid Charlie Spring and bubbly Nick Nelson. Season two focused on Nick’s coming out journey. The show was praised for its kid-friendly queer utopia. Readers of Alice Oseman’s graphic novel knew that things … Continue reading LGBT Media: Heartstopper. Season Three
Chicago’s 42nd International LGBTQ+ Film Festival screened over 40 features this month. I focused on mlm narratives and noticed some recurring themes. Struggling Artists The privileged protagonists despair that modern life hasn’t handed them their dreams. Remember when people turned … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Reeling Festival 2024
In 1984 the Transformers franchise introduced robots who could turn into weapons and vehicles. Noble Optimus Prime led the good guys. Power hungry Megatron led the bad. The 1986 film killed them off to sell new toys. The 2007 film … Continue reading Movie Review: Transformers One (2024)
Transformers One asks “what if Optimus and Megatron used to be friends?” Here’s my first attempt to draw them like the characters from Wicked. It was proceeded by trailers to films which ask “what if Scar and Mufasa used to be … Continue reading Transformers Friends Night Thread (9/22/24)
Judas Kiss tells a queer sci fi tale. A failed film maker travels back in time to mentor (and bang) his younger self. Only he’s vaguely still in the present day. Sadly, J.T. Tepnapa’s movie wastes the premise with endless … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Judas Kiss (2011)
Zaks! Like Legos. Only flat squares and triangles! The commercials showed kids building giant moving figures. But I didn’t have enough Zaks. The only solution was to buy more Zaks! Snap the pieces together. It’s as easy as that.Now you’ve … Continue reading The Night Thread remembers Zaks (9/10/24)
When Nintendo released their miniature NES and SNES Classic Consoles, fans speculated that the GameBoy would be next. Independent companies have picked up the slack creating their own miniature handheld consoles. One of the smallest is the FunKey S. The … Continue reading The Night Thread gets FunKey (9/8/24)
In 1992 Dirk Shafer was voted Playgirl magazine’s Man of the Year. He struggled to promote the company while hiding his homosexuality. Afterwards he produced a mockumentary about the experience, combining archival footage with comic re-enactments. We get insight into … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Man of the Year (1995)
The film adaptation of Harold and the Purple Crayon has caused great offense to lovers of children’s literature. Two weeks ago Brock Fistcrush brought up Dr Seuss and the terrible feature films adapted from his work. For today’s prompt: Which … Continue reading Avocado Weekly Movie Thread (8/6)
I’ve often cited 1995’s Jeffrey as the first gay romcom. Queer men have long been comic figures on film, but Jeffrey fit the classic “boy meets boy” template. This weekend Letterboxd steered me towards Summer Kiss; an obscure short film … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Summer Kiss (1987)
Today’s prompt suggested by Jason P: Directors who have roles in their own films. Who are your favorites? Are they better actors or directors? The first that comes to mind for me is Kenneth Branagh. He blazed onto the screen … Continue reading Avocado Weekly Movie Thread (7/30)
I enjoyed the first season of Elite. A Spanish soap which mixed murder mysteries with class commentary and queer romance. Subsequent seasons grew repetitive. The new students seemed pale copies of the old. The writers relied heavily on the Idiot … Continue reading Elite. Season 8. (Spoiler Space)
Greetings, Avocadoans! Welcome to the weekly discussion of LGBTQQIA+ issues! Rules for this discussion: Continue reading Weekly LGBT+ Discussion (7/23)
Thank you El Santo for running this thread for so long. Since no one’s officially taken up the mantle I thought I’d take a chance to post about my current obsession, The Great Gatsby. When the Fitzgerald’s copyright expired in … Continue reading Avocado Weekly Movie Thread (7/23)
Rykter (aka Rumors) premiered on the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) in 2022. We follow Erik, a mopey teen, as he transfers to a high school on a small island. Three local students see him from across the classroom and really … Continue reading LGBT Media: Rykter (2022)
Prisma is a coming-of-age series set in Latina, Italy. The talented Mattia Carrano plays identical siblings Andrea and Marco. Andrea is a confident drug dealer exploring their gender identity. Marco is a depressed straight guy clashing with the members of … Continue reading LGBT Media: Prisma (2022)
Maël doesn’t want to sleep with his girlfriend. He’s not sure why. She worries he’s gay. His friends think he’s impotent. In truth he’s asexual, though he’s never heard the word. Asexual representation is still rare in media. It’s a … Continue reading Ace Media: Skam France. Season 12
