Media featuring LGBT content
The full title of Rosa von Praunheim’s 1971 manifesto is It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives. A young man moves to Berlin, samples gay subcultures (the art world, the leather world, … Continue reading LGBT Movies: It is Not the Homosexual… (1971)
William McNamara is engaged to a woman but hiding a terrible secret! His narcissistic WASP parents ignore the truth till it’s almost too late! I’d first dismissed the TV-movie Doing Time on Maple Drive as overripe camp. Then I read … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Doing Time on Maple Drive (1992)
In 2019 Emma Stone performed in a Saturday Night Live sketch titled “The Actress.” She’s overly invested in her performance as a cheated wife in a gay porn. The sketch is funny but there was indeed a time when the … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Song of the Loon (1970) & Score (1974)
The Set follows the coming of age of an Australian artist. He romances a nice woman and a cruel man. Both relationships are diluted by a sprawling screenplay filled with underwritten characters and subplots. The melodrama, camp and copious nudity give … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Set (1970)
Can a homophobic film from 1957 look gay friendly in 2020? Sorta. In Germany’s The Third Sex a mother “rescues” her sensitive son from his gay best friend by setting him up with her maid. The parents treat homosexuals like … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Third Sex (1957)
A seven-hour gay adaptation of the novel Howards End? London loved it. Broadway snubbed it. And now it’s gone. A section of the gay press sneered that the play was for uptight cis white gays who liked Pete Buttigieg. I … Continue reading LGBT Theater: The Inheritance (2018)
This week I revisit two films from the “gay friends hang out” genre: Terrence McNally’s Love! Valour! Compassion! and Greg Berlanti’s The Broken Hearts Club. McNally’s soap opera features a community of gay men who support each other through tragedy. … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Love! Valour! Compassion! & The Broken Hearts Club
A meek protagonist is accused of homosexual conduct. They are cast out of their social circle and forced to start a fresh life. I enjoyed 2018’s Giant Little Ones but some melodramatic elements didn’t sit well with me. The film … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Tea and Sympathy & The Children’s Hour
Foes to friends to lovers. I’ve enjoyed this romcom formula since I first saw William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. There’s something magic about that moment before characters realize their world view is changing. The 1989 film When Harry Met … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Thing About Harry (2020)
An Italian boy comes of age in the year 1911. He experiments with his sexuality and wrestles with his ideals. Ernesto, based on an unfinished novel, is a chilly film. The leading man cares little for the people around him … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Ernesto (1979)
Showtime commissioned three playwrights for a anthology of gay history. We visit the 50’s, 70’s and 00’s to see the challenges gays and lesbians faced in small towns. Common Ground is most notable for its starry cast. Brittany Murphy, Steven … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Common Ground (2000)
A gay student was attacked and a frat is under investigation. A closeted frat boy will have to decide whether to support the victim or his bros. Some moral ambiguity would have been nice but Defying Gravity is not about … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Defying Gravity (1997)
When condom monsters attack New York a bitter gay cop investigates. The trashy script, adapted from a German graphic novel, takes your standard monster movie and adds penis jokes. It works as well as it does because the leading man, … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Killer Condom (1996)
Genre films have formulas. A story might stick to the template or attempt to subvert it. The following are a collection of genre films with LGBT characters. I started with Biography and Mystery. Then the mysteries started spilling into other … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Biography and Mystery
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) was founded in 1985. This week they announced the nominees for their 2019 Media Awards. “(The Awards) recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, … Continue reading GLAAD Media Awards – 2019 nominees
While the Hollywood blockbusters offer us 20 seconds of queer representation and call it progress, films made elsewhere continue to offer a variety of stories about LGBT+ folks. The following is a compilation of some interesting films I saw in … Continue reading LGBT Movies: More Adult Protagonists
I’m compiling the rest of 2019’s capsule reviews into a series of articles. Today I focus on Comedy and Romance. These genres are deceptively difficult. Push too hard and your cast will scream at the audience nonstop. Hold back and … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Comedy and Romance
Homosexuals are being murdered. A cop goes undercover to investigate. The cop begins to question his sexuality and panics. Offensive hi-jinks ensue. 1980’s Cruising, inspired protests before it even opened in cinemas. Much has been written about Director William Friedkin’s controversial … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Cops in Drag
2018’s Love Simon inspired me to review stories about LGBT youth. I’ve seen more films since that first article and wanted to share my thoughts. What are some of your favorites? Teen Comedy Booksmart (2019, USA). Two uptight teen girls, … Continue reading LGBT Movies: More Teen Protagonists
Peter Finch’s doctor and Glenda Jackson’s consultant are sharing Murray Head’s young lover. They’ve agreed not to speak with each other and he’s happy to hop between them whenever he gets bored. He hops a lot because they’re awfully boring. … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971)
I dedicate this film to anyone who’s ever been made to feel inappropriate. ~ Director, Paul Vecchiali. Paul Vecchiali’s Once More observes ten years in the life of a cad. He breaks a string of hearts before contracting the AIDS … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Once More (1988)
