Media featuring LGBT content
Stephen Fry invites Kenneth Branagh, Alphonsia Emmanuel, Hugh Laurie, Imelda Staunton and Emma Thompson to a miserable party. Branagh coaxes dreadful performances from his talented cast. Peter’s Friends wants to mix the angst of The Big Chill with the broad … Continue reading LGBT Movie: Peter’s Friends (1992)
Roy Halston Frowick (1932-1990) changed the look of women’s fashion in the 1970’s. Then lost everything in the 1980’s. Ryan Murphy and Daniel Minahan’s mini-series charts his Icarus-like journey. I watched some footage of the real Halston in preparation. Ewan … Continue reading Spoiler Space: Halston
Doña Herlinda has a successful son with a considerate boyfriend. But they live in a conservative community and need to keep up appearances. Can Doña find a solution? Doña Herlinda and Her Son blends family melodrama with camp farce. The … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Dona Herlinda and Her Son (1985)
M has always been handsome. He’s tired of the staring, the distrust and the propositions. Tired of the scorn he’s received for complaining about it. Before he leaves town, he’ll invite a select few to visit his drugged, unconscious body. … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Entropic (2019)
Boy George (aka George O’Dowd) was the lead singer of the band Culture Club. Their hit songs, “Karma Chameleon” and “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me,” topped the charts in the early 1980’s. Boy George’s fashion, sexuality and addictions … Continue reading LGBT Media: Dueling Boy Georges
A warlock stalks a twink at a seaside resort. Rival witches seek control of ancient magic. Everyone has lots of sex. Dante’s Cove is a supernatural soap opera with a heavy dose of camp. A clever idea that suffers from … Continue reading LGBT Media: Dante’s Cove
Channel 4 commissioned Kevin Elyot to write a screenplay celebrating gay pride. They should have read his plays first. He wrote cynical tales about cruel, self-loathing gay men. No surprise that the characters in Clapham Junction are a mix of … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Clapham Junction (2007)
Son’s gay. Dad’s gay. Mom’s mad as hell. The Lost Language of Cranes premiered at the UK film festival in 1991. It was broadcast on PBS and the BBC in 1992. The story follows a family as they cope with … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Lost Language of Cranes (1991)
Consenting Adult aired on ABC on February 4, 1985. Marlo Thomas and Martin Sheen reject their son (Top Gun’s Barry Tubb) when he comes out. Cue earnest monologues and screaming arguments. This TV-drama hasn’t aged as well as similar works … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Consenting Adult (1985)
He’s straight! He’s gay! They’re roommates! Crazy, right? But wait, there’s more. The straight guy’s Sicilian! I thought Kiss Me Guido would focus on their odd couple friendship. But focus is not the script’s strong suit. It gets distracted by … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Kiss Me, Guido (1997)
All the Queen’s Men is a film at war with itself. It’s 1944 and three British spies are tasked with stealing a German Enigma machine. Breaking the Enigma’s military codes could turn the tide of World War II. The factory … Continue reading LGBT Movies: All the Queen’s Men (2001)
Most LGBQ people spend the first portion of our lives pretending to be straight. We do so to fit in with our family, peers, co-workers or community. To feel accepted. To feel safe. The following movies turn conventions on their … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Gay Deceivers
A good romcom feels effortless. An exercise in wish fulfillment and charm. A bad romcom reminds you how tricky the alchemy can be. The tropes that delighted in the past feel grating. Quirky neurotics grow irritating. Lonely “nice guys” become … Continue reading LGBT Movies: All Over the Guy (2001)
Women in Love follows two depressed sisters who fall for repressed men. Ken Russell’s film is beautiful but chilly. He sprinkles shocking moments between stretches of tedium. The characters in D.H. Lawrence’s novel rejected their conformist society. Larry Kramer’s screenplay … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Women in Love (1969)
Noah’s Arc premiered on the Logo Network on October 19, 2005. The series featured a quartet of black gay friends in Los Angeles. The opening credits established their personality types (Romantic, Uptight, Clown, Player). Romantic Noah was the protagonist but … Continue reading LGBT Media: Noah’s Arc
An engineer is on trial for the murder of a teen boy. He offers a strange explanation for the boys’ disappearance. He could control the wind. The Boy and the Wind (O Menino e o Vento) was one of the … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Boy and the Wind (1967)
Teen brothers (one gay, one straight) inherit the family farm in rural Scotland. Their personalities clash but they gradually learn responsibility. Accounts aired on the UK’s Channel 4 three years after Scotland legalized same sex relations. It features subtle writing … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Accounts (1983)
Alan Bates fights for custody of his ex-boyfriend Gary Oldman’s dog. The battle becomes a microcosm of their failed relationship. Alan sees himself as a hero and Gary’s family as villains. But We Think the World of You allows things … Continue reading LGBT Movies: We Think the World of You (1988)
In the late 90’s media celebrated the bond between straight women and gay men. Will and Grace and My Best Friend’s Wedding were smash hits. Less remembered, but still profitable, was a film called The Object of My Affection. Wendy … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Object of My Affection (1998)
Last week I recapped the UK series Queer as Folk. The hit show featured a wealthy white man who slept with minors and abused his friends. Today I’ll look at a show it inspired: HBO’s Looking. The lead, Patrick Murray, … Continue reading LGBT Media: Looking
Queer as Folk was groundbreaking. A playful, angry, fearless look at the lives of gay men. A show that defied homophobes and put gay sex on prime-time television. A middle finger to the assimilationists on Will and Grace. I didn’t … Continue reading LGBT Media: Queer as Folk UK
