Media featuring LGBT content
A gay teen is courted by the school’s mean girls. Each thinks a Gay Best Friend (G.B.F.) will increase their popularity. Director Darren Stein (Jawbreaker) and screenwriter George Northy (Charmed, Faking It) satirize would-be allies who treat gay men like … Continue reading LGBT Movies: G.B.F. (2013)
A shy writer (Andrew Scott) is propositioned by a drunken neighbor (Paul Mescal). He’s too guarded to respond. The next day he visits his hometown and stumbles across his parents (Jamie Bell and Claire Foy). They’re eager to learn about … Continue reading LGBT Movies: All of Us Strangers (2023)
Last year when I wrote a review for the Brazilian masterpiece Sócrates, SadClown and I discussed the nuances of “queer tragedy” in cinema. We agreed that tragedy is every bit a fertile and important ground for exploration in queer cinema … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Our Lady of the Assassins (2000)
Friends & Family Christmas is Hallmarks’ first lesbian romance. An artist and a lawyer fake date to pacify meddling parents. Laughs are few, plot is minimal and sexual desire is nonexistent. A social media influencer (Boo! Hiss!) provides some flimsy … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Friends & Family Christmas (2023)
Fellow Travelers follows the romance of two gay state department officials during the Lavender Scare. President Eisenhower and Senator Joseph McCarthy are purging homosexual employees from the U.S. government. The ruthless Hawkins Fuller survives by marrying a woman and betraying … Continue reading LGBT Media: Fellow Travelers (2023)
Hallmark’s Christmas on Cherry Lane follows three families on Christmas Day. An expectant mother and her husband (Erin Cahill and John Brotherton) are bullied by her parents. A widow (Catherine Bell) has a surprise for her bratty children (Matthias Falvai … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Christmas on Cherry Lane (2023)
Rob Williams has devoted his career to producing indie gay romcoms. Shared Rooms was his stab at the Love Actually formula. Three gay couples meet on Christmas to discuss adoption, art and hook up culture respectively. The tropes of bad … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Shared Rooms (2016)
This fall Netflix premiered two queer biopics. Rustin focuses on the year 1963 as Bayard Rustin co-organizes the March on Washington. Maestro follows the three-decade romance of Leonard and Felicia Montealegre Bernstein. The history is important. The people are interesting. … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Rustin & Maestro (2023)
Oliver (Barry Keoghan) is a scholarship student at Oxford. He befriends Felix (Jacob Elordi), a wealthy Adonis. Felix invites Oliver to spend the summer at his estate with his shallow family (led by Rosamund Pike and Richard E. Grant). The … Continue reading Movie Review: Saltburn (2023)
This weekend Saturday Night Live produced a skit about pop singer Troye Sivan. Bowen Yang told the audience that Sivan was “gay famous.” This inspired me to revisit the glam era. These rock stars achieved mainstream success by hiding their … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Velvet Goldmine (1998)
Oscar Wilde first published The Picture of Dorian Gray in 1890. Dorian has youth, beauty and wealth. A lovelorn artist gives him a cursed portrait that reflects his soul. It ages and rots while Dorian remains spotless. This gives him … Continue reading LGBT Movies: The Picture of Dorian Gray (1976)
Faith is a curious thing. To believe in something, a higher power, a particular institution, whatever it may be, requires a certain acceptance even if the available evidence appears doubtful or uncertain. This has never been more evident than what … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Benedetta
A gay professor visits his creepy hometown for a funeral. He assumes the sketchy locals are homophobic. He’s not wrong, but there’s more going on. It’s a horror movie so he’ll ignore every red flag the town waves. Cthulhu is … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Cthulhu (2007)
Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal play ex-lovers on opposite sides of the law. Hawke is the sheriff of a small Western town. He’s vowed to arrest Pascal’s fugitive son. Pedro Almodóvar’s Strange Way of Life is his second English language … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Strange Way of Life (2023)
Chicago’s 41st Reeling Festival showcased LGBTQ+ cinema from around the world. I reviewed several of these films at Frameline. But here are some additional highlights. Fireworks (2023, Italy). A tragedy inspired by an infamous murder case. Two bullied boys fall … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Reeling Festival 2023
Hallmark’s Notes of Autumn tells two love stories: one straight, one gay. Rubber faced Ashley Williams and buttoned up Luke Macfarlane find boyfriends (Marcus Rosner and Peter Porte) who push them to pursue their artistic passions. The screenplay works hard … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Notes of Autumn (2023)
Saúl Armendáriz has been a professional luchador since 1988. In Cassandro we see his rise from humble runt to celebrated exótico. The Liberace of Lucha Libre. The exóticos would wrestle in drag. Regardless of their sexuality they adopted flamboyant queer … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Cassandro (2023)
Youssef Chahine was one of Egypt’s most acclaimed film directors. In Alexandria… Why? he recounts his teenage years. World War 2 is raging and Egypt’s economy is collapsing. Chahine’s alter ego, Yehia, escapes into dreams of Hollywood. Actor Mohsen Mohieddin … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Alexandria… Why? (1979)
In Bottoms two lesbian teens start a fight club to meet girls. They’ll tell lies, shed blood and make dangerous enemies. Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri give pitch perfect performances. They fully commit to the comedy, angst and cartoon violence. … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Bottoms (2023)
Alex, son of a U.S. President, and Henry, Prince of Wales, can’t stand each other. When a public dispute causes scandal, they are forced to pretend they are friends. Red, White & Royal Blue blends the premise of a Hallmark … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Red, White & Royal Blue (2023)
Who teaches us how to love? LGBTQ+ youth were once told their lives would be lonely and sad. Now there’s a wide range of queer stories available. But depictions of healthy relationships remain rare. That makes Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper special. … Continue reading LGBT Media: Heartstopper. Season Two
