Favorite Gayish Movies

[paul]

Just recently watched Running With Scissors, was good but not as good as the book. Augusten Burroughs is an amazing person, particularly after such a rotten childhood.

My all time favorite "gayish" movie is "A Home At The End Of the World." I could watch that once a month and not tire of it.

What's your favorite?

[elcharrom]

Just recently watched Running With Scissors, was good but not as good as the book. Augusten Burroughs is an amazing person, particularly after such a rotten childhood.

My all time favorite "gayish" movie is "A Home At The End Of the World." I could watch that once a month and not tire of it.

What's your favorite?

I would like to say I have one, but no, brokeback mountain was too boring, and its the only one I seen.

[BrentRichards]

I have a list ... I've seen MANY MANY MANY ... I've joked with some friends that I'm really only vicariously gay.

Goofy feel-good comedy-romance: Broken Hearts Club
Coming-of-Age: Get Real and A Beautiful Thing (I so want to produce this play before I die)
Religious-related: Mass Appeal or Latter Days
Hate-to-love and Love-to-hate: Queer as Folk (TV, not movie, I know)
More Serious Drama: Wilde
Nice romance: Big Eden
Foreign language: Summer Storm

Long list of powerful documentaries ...

Did I mention that I'm a cinema freak with no life?

[Ryanne Monday]

in my teenage years I'm more of a recent movie fan but I really like:

"But I'm a Cheerleader" and
"Imagine Me and You"

[pnggrad79]

I loved The Birdcage, and always been a fan of The L Word, although, I wasn't particularly fond of last season and hope that this season will be better. :)

[labguy22]

Torch Song Trilogy is an old fav.
I'm also with Ryanne, loved But I'm a Cheerleader What did they offer, a 5 step program to becoming straight?
And the Band Played On is also on my list.

[Pablo Rafael]

Everytime I see one of these "movie" threads, my Netflix queue grows longer.

If you want my favorite gay movie, I would probaby say Latter Days
Favorite foreign movies with gay themes:
Beyond the Fall, Borstal Boy, Yossi and Jagger


Long list of powerful documentaries ...


I love documentaries if they are well done. I'm here with pencil and paper in hand, so get listing.

Tu Amigo, Pablo

[wmanion]

A movie that really got to me was "Bent." The movie was very sad but for the characters to find love in such adverse circumstances overwhelmed me.

Bill

[Zerbie]

Wow, a lot of movies I haven't seen or even heard of on this thread! Like the 2 Paul mentioned in the opener.

Glad someone finally mentioned Torch Song Trilogy. That's one of my faves.

I agree Brokeback moves too slowly. Too many long views of grazing sheep. I liked it okay, but once was enough. Unlike so many of my friends who bawled and bawled at movie theaters and returned for second and third viewings.

One of my faves - okay laugh at me for superficiality here - is Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. I know, I know, it's nothing but ABBA and drag and bitchy one-liners, but that's precisely what's so lovable about it. THOSE COSTUMES!! Jesus H Christ in a tin can, those costumes are AMAZING! Anyone here who hasn't watched Priscilla: go and rent it if for no other reason than to ogle those Faaaaaab-ulous drag costumes (and the phenomenal makeup)!

That and, it's an odd film. Surreal things like the Traviata excerpts, and the dude riding the shoe on the top of the bus through the Outback, and that chick who jogs across the continent alone with a machine counting her paces but you only see her 3 or 4 times. . . it's slightly surreal, and the situation is ridiculous. But the emotional authenticity can't be beat: a surreal campy ABBA-fest, with true-to-life emotional content.

It's rip-off, Too Wong Fu, is a cheap American imitation. Not believable but too matter of fact to pass for a surrealistic romp, and a self-conscious film that tries too hard.

I liked the Birdcage, especially the final scene. Even better, I liked the older French version. Just found it a whole lot funnier - was rolling and crying when I watched it in French. What's it called? La Cage aux Folles??

I haven't seen But I'm a Cheerleader - I really want to see that!! Hubby has seen it and he enjoyed it a lot. I feel left out.

Latter Days is good, and it really suckered me in to the story. I thought the kid was dead halfway through, and cried.

For some really heavy stuff, check out Aimée et Jaguar. About 2 women, one Jewish, who fall in love in Nazi Germany. Tragedy.

I hated that one about the 2 teenager girls, lovers, who kill one's mother. Yechhhhh!! Repulsive movie!

There's another one or two lesbian themed films with French names. Wanna say Therese et Isabel, and Claire de la Lune. Okay I guess, but not memorable.

Anybody else really enjoy Jeffrey when it was new? I liked that a lot at the time.

[Ryanne Monday]

Boy's Don't Cry is another great one. Very sad.

[paul]

I have a list ... I've seen MANY MANY MANY ... I've joked with some friends that I'm really only vicariously gay.

Goofy feel-good comedy-romance: Broken Hearts Club
Coming-of-Age: Get Real and A Beautiful Thing (I so want to produce this play before I die)
Religious-related: Mass Appeal or Latter Days
Hate-to-love and Love-to-hate: Queer as Folk (TV, not movie, I know)
More Serious Drama: Wilde
Nice romance: Big Eden
Foreign language: Summer Storm

Long list of powerful documentaries ...

Did I mention that I'm a cinema freak with no life?

Oh gee, me too Brent. One of my favorite things to do is sneak away from work in the middle of the day and go to the cinema. My t.v. is stuck on three channels, the documentary channel, TCM and IFC. I really like edgy weird movies. I get kind of tired of some of the more "popular" movies that rely on special effects vs. content, seems like a contest of who can bombard the senses into submission.


"Everytime I see one of these "movie" threads, my Netflix queue grows longer. "

Pablo, I think I need to get Netflix...I usually end up a Borders buying them, and then can't leave without a book also. I'm a documentary fan as well.

"Wow, a lot of movies I haven't seen or even heard of on this thread! Like the 2 Paul mentioned in the opener.
"

Zerbie, Ditto. I just got a lot added to my list. Which is pretty cool. I like getting movies that friends recommend because it also gives me insight into them as people as well.

Zerbie and Elcharrom,

I agree about Brokeback. Okay, I confess, I saw it three times because the guys were so hot and the love seens passionate, so now you all know how shallow I am. But, I did feel like the story line was simplistic, even formula. That's really just my own "feelings," I know, besides what can you do in a couple of hours?

thanks for your input everyone, my list of must see movies has grown. cool.
paul

[pnggrad79]

I saw Brokeback and while I thought it was good, not Oscar great, I left with a sense that every straight person thinks gay people, for whatever reason, can't be happy and in a vibrant relationship. The movie left me feeling as if they portrayed gay relationships as something you do to scratch an itch, but they persisted in living straight lives. Both were married, and had children, but had to be secretive about the person they really loved and wanted to be with. Jake Gyllenhaal wound up dead after somebody accosted him while walking out of a gay bar. And Heath Ledger is left with a shirt that smells like Jake. I guess it was accurate being that it was set in the 60's and spanned 20 years. Gay people are becoming a real force in politics, the equality movement and showing people our relationships can and do last.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I had to throw that in there. Now back to our regularly scheduled program.....

[RedneckDyke]

1 But I'm a Cheerleader
2 To Wong Foo
3 episodes of Ab-Fab
4 My Brother's War (low-budget movie about a cross-dressing confederate soldier butch girl and her southern belle lover)
5 The Warriors (What's not to love about a 70's lesbian street gang? :) )
6 My Fellow Americans ( US presiden't life is saved by a freedom ring necklace)

[BrentRichards]

Oh yeah, Torch Song! My first gay-fave! Love Fierstein's voice! Maybe if I smoke enough I can sound like that too some day?

For silly, it's got to be L'Cage ... even the new version, because Nathan Lane is amazing.

NetFlix is a godsend ... you simply can't get any of these films in Lancaster County otherwise ... if the local Blockbuster put out a GLBT section, it would be Brokeback and nothing else ... BTW, I didn't find Brokeback shallow, does that mean I am?

I should also have mentioned TransAmerica ... not fantastic, but good.

I could not possibly watch Boys Don't Cry again ... it crashed me too bad.

Ok, Pablo ... here's your documentary list (don't feel bad, my NetFlix queue is over 200 titles):

Before Stonewall
After Stonewall
Times of Harvey Milk
Trembling Before G-D (5 Stars!)
Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World
Paragraph 175 (Gay persecution during the Holocaust, with survivor interviews, WOW!)

and two that are docudramas ...

The Laramie Project (Matthew Shepard related)
Road to Love (on being gay in the Arab World)


Zerbie, I cry 3 or 4 times every time I watch Latter Days (the snow scene outside the airport?! Gah!) ... here's how hopeless I am, I own autographed photos of Steve Sandvoss and Wes Ramsey (oh why can't they be gay and interested in me?).

[wmanion]

Okay, no one has mentioned "Trick," I enjoyed the movie. I admit it might have been because of the eye-candy, and I also saw Brokeback three times...I am so SHALLOW!!!

[Pablo Rafael]

Pablo, I think I need to get Netflix...I usually end up a Borders buying them, and then can't leave without a book also. I'm a documentary fan as well.


Paul, really do sign up for Netflix. You can get any movie ever made. Plus it is a lot cheaper than buying them or renting from a video store. Netflix works awesomely well. I'm not a Netflix employee either.

I saw Brokeback and while I thought it was good, not Oscar great, I left with a sense that every straight person thinks gay people, for whatever reason, can't be happy and in a vibrant relationship.

That is a problem I have with so many gay movies and books. Though being gay in our society can be a great tribulation due to societal and religious pressures, gay relationships don't need to be the tragedies they are aften portrayed as. That's what's cool about the Donald Strachey Mysteries; the gay characters are normal, healthy characters.

BTW, I didn't find Brokeback shallow, does that mean I am?
I own autographed photos of Steve Sandvoss and Wes Ramsey (oh why can't they be gay and interested in me?).

Brent, you are one of the LEAST shallow people I know. So if you think Brokeback Mountain was good, then Bill and I feel much less deeper. (I will speak for Bill whether he wants me to or not.) I thought it was excellent, though a happy ending would have been nice.

Autographed photos of Steve Sandvoss and Wes Ramsey? You lucky dog you. (I have a picture of Steve Sandvoss I sometimes use as my computer desktop screen. Not autographed, unfortunately.) And why do you really need them to be gay? You have that fireman locked up in your basement; that ought to be enough, really. :D

Thanks for the documentary list; I have seen only a couple of those mentioned.

Tu Amigo, Pablo

[labguy22]

How could I forget Paris is Burning and the lessons on "how to read"

[BrentRichards]

Okay, no one has mentioned "Trick," I enjoyed the movie. I admit it might have been because of the eye-candy, and I also saw Brokeback three times...I am so SHALLOW!!!

Loved Trick! Fun and feelgood ... "Enter you, voila it's showtime ..." (I will now be humming that all night)

I think the inability of Jack and Ennis to have a healthy relationship was what made Brokeback so poignant for me ... it really is (it seems to me) accurate to the context, and therefore heartbreaking. Ok, the eye-candy wasn't bad either.

That is a problem I have with so many gay movies and books. Though being gay in our society can be a great tribulation due to societal and religious pressures, gay relationships don't need to be the tragedies they are aften portrayed as. That's what's cool about the Donald Strachey Mysteries; the gay characters are normal, healthy characters.

More to the point, cinema need not always reflect reality, it can, in fact, point the way to a better reality. I also liked the Strachey Mysteries ... happy gay people and whodunnit ... doesn't get much better than that.


Brent, you are one of the LEAST shallow people I know. So if you think Brokeback Mountain was good, then Bill and I feel much less deeper. (I will speak for Bill whether he wants me to or not.) I thought it was excellent, though a happy ending would have been nice.

:D

Autographed photos of Steve Sandvoss and Wes Ramsey? You lucky dog you. (I have a picture of Steve Sandvoss I sometimes use as my computer desktop screen. Not autographed, unfortunately.) And why do you really need them to be gay? You have that fireman locked up in your basement; that ought to be enough, really. :D

Oh! I already forgot about him! I'd better go feed him. Or something.

Thanks for the documentary list; I have seen only a couple of those mentioned.

Enjoy!

[tdogg]

Priscilla one of my faves!!! I LOVE that movie, own the video, watch it all the time. It never grows old for me.

Love L Word but hated Season 4. Well, other than a couple hot new chicks (the military closeted one and Marlee Matlin). Otherwise, same ole same ole.

Latter Days, great movie! Love Imagine Me & You (why did it NOT play in my area!?) - well, actually I love anything with Piper Perabo in it (HOT HOT HOT). A Beautiful Thing is a great movie! Can I help you with the play Brent???


The Birdcage and TST also! I loved Brokeback and was emotionally caught up in the movie, we bought it but haven't really wanted to see it again so far.

QAF - one of my favorite shows. I cried when they stopped at the end of Season 5. I couldn't believe that I wouldn't see all my friends again except in reruns!

Ok, my dorky new favorite TV show - Rick & Steve, the Happiest Gay Couple in the World. It's pretty funny and surreal all at the same time.

Looking forward to Itty Bitty Titty Committee, but don't think it will be playing everywhere, think it's only opening in LA and NY. Bummer.

[Pablo Rafael]

Brent, you are one of the LEAST shallow people I know. So if you think Brokeback Mountain was good, then Bill and I feel much less deeper. (I will speak for Bill whether he wants me to or not.)

Now that I see Brent quoting me I realize that I didn't make a bit of sense. It was supposed to be, "Bill and I feel much deeper".
I started with "less shallow" and decided "deeper" sounded better. And what I ended up with was... oh well.

You would think that teachers would have better writing skills.

[BrentRichards]

A Beautiful Thing is a great movie! Can I help you with the play Brent???

You wanna play Sandra?

[suzer1013]

Fried Green Tomatoes is probably my favorite.

[Blockwell]

My all time favorite gay-themed move has to be “Sordid Lives” AKA “A Black Comedy About White Trash”

Amazon write up…..

If you've got a taste for big hair, broad Texas accents, and gay rights, this mixture of white-trash comedy and coming-out melodrama is for you. Sordid Lives starts out as chicken-fried farce, as a funeral is prepared for a woman who died when she tripped over her adulterous lover's wooden legs; about midway the emphasis shifts to a drag queen unfairly held in a mental institution and the dead woman's grandson, an actor in Los Angeles who hasn't come out to his mother. The tone shifts wildly, and the humor depends on your fondness for the white-trash genre--if you like it, this will tickle your ribs; if you don't, it'll fall flat as the panhandle landscape. But it must be said that the cast (including Bonnie Bedelia, Beau Bridges, Delta Burke, and Olivia Newton-John) dives right in, no matter how over-the-top their characters get.



I watched it one a week for five weeks and never tired of it. :D

[BrianB]

A movie that really got to me was "Bent." The movie was very sad but for the characters to find love in such adverse circumstances overwhelmed me.

Bill

Bent had me in tears during most of the movie. I was on an Ian McKellan kick when I picked this movie on Netflix. The movie was so touching and hard to watch. It was fun to see Mick Jaegger in drag!
:eek::love:
I look at Bent as being important as Schindler's list.

[tdogg]

You wanna play Sandra?

SURE! That would be too fun!

Another gotta see movie - Flawless. Robert DeNiro and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Excellent!! RdN plays an ex-cop with just a 'tad' of homophobia. PSH plays his gay and sometimes drag queen neighbor. They end up in a 'need each other' sort of relationship and with the growth of that and some well-timed tragedies, they both begin to open their minds and hearts. Such a well-acted flick, you'll forget you are actually watching a movie.

[mjules]

I have a list ... I've seen MANY MANY MANY ... I've joked with some friends that I'm really only vicariously gay.

Goofy feel-good comedy-romance: Broken Hearts Club
Coming-of-Age: Get Real and A Beautiful Thing (I so want to produce this play before I die)
Religious-related: Mass Appeal or Latter Days
Hate-to-love and Love-to-hate: Queer as Folk (TV, not movie, I know)
More Serious Drama: Wilde
Nice romance: Big Eden
Foreign language: Summer Storm

Long list of powerful documentaries ...

Did I mention that I'm a cinema freak with no life?


.....Waiwaiwait! "Summer Storm" - is that the film about the, um, the rowing teams? And was it... German? Because I LOVED THAT MOVIE. *fangirls*

[mjules]

My movie list.

*ahems*

(But before I get started, may I just say: udogg, Robert deNiro was the BEST thing about Stardust! I quite loved him. However, I had some issues with some of the more subtle misogyny of the film. I'll leave that out for now.)

OK, let's see.

The first gay-themed movie I ever saw was All Over the Guy, and it still remains special to me. Not much to it - just a sweet little romantic comedy that deals with two guys, both of whom have intimacy issues of some kind - but I really loved it. Plus, you know, Richard Ruccolo is pretty and there are lots of X-Files jokes in there to please my inner fangirl.

In the same vein (and put out by the same studio, Lion's Gate Films) is Kissing Jessica Stein. I liked the bittersweet ending to this, but I won't spoil it for you.

I wasn't a fan of Brokeback Mountain. I didn't even make it all the way through one viewing on DVD.

I did, however, fall in love with Gods and Monsters, starring Ian McKellan and one very lovely Brendan Fraser. It's based on a real person, the director of the old Frankenstein movies, and has a lot to do with exploring the intricacies of real (though non romantic) love. Be forewarned, it does get pretty disturbing in places.

I think I remember Love, Actually having some lovely gay-related sequences. I was especially fond of the school superintendent who was so mean on the surface but then you saw her at home with her partner, and what she went through there.

And while it was silly and overdone and campy, I actually really liked Straight Jacket. (I think that's the one.) About a gay actor in 1950's Hollywood and how he learned to fall in love for real. It's overdone on purpose, and I can love it for that.

Be forewarned that some people might find it an offensive movie for more reasons than one, but I loved Boondock Saints. I loved it for reasons other than its gay-related themes, but it was rather amusing to watch the evolution of a homosexual FBI agent who is rather hostile towards other openly homosexual men (interesting, since he's not in a closet himself; I think he has issues with needing to still appear 'manly' and despises other gay men who don't fit his idea of that) to being someone who is so comfortable with himself and his sexual identity that he actually dresses up as a woman to get a job done. But if you're offended by sexual slurs, this is not the movie for you, since said homosexual FBI man is the number one culprit.

(Also, it's very violent and bloody as it has to do with the concept of vigilante justice, and there is a LOT of rather foul language in it. If you asked me to describe exactly WHAT I liked about the movie, I'd have to say it's more the social and psychological questions raised by the characters and the themes. They feel they're carrying out God's justice by bringing down criminals - ie, mafia bosses who, despite charges of rape and murder, keep getting away from the law on technicalities - but is it really okay to kill in order to stop killing?)

And, er, I just went off on a complete tangent with that one, but I DID want to make sure there was a caveat emporium attached.

And I'll second the recommendation for 'Summer Storm.' That was a gorgeous movie (if it's the one I'm thinking about).

I'm sure I've seen several others, but I can't think of them right now. You're probably all quite relieved by that. *laugh*

[BrentRichards]

Yes, Summer Storm is the German film about the rowing team.

[paul]

OK, I am spending my day off folding laundry and ironing and I am watching LOGO. I just saw the most AMAZING film. Its called "The Hanging Garden" Wow! Its about this gay guy who comes back to his totally disfunctional family after ten years away. its funny, its moving, its incredibly well acted and produced. The use of imagery, symbolism, metaphor, and fantasy is so subtle and wonderful and true. Its a "serious" film but it doesn't take itself all that seriously (which is refreshing) so that it is both entertaining and thought-provoking.

Has anyone else ever seen this movie? I think it may just have bumped "The Sum of Us" as my favorite gay movie.

Hiya Dave,

You've been on my mind, how have you been?

Yet another movie to add to my list, and this one sounds good...so does the one Zerbie mentioned "A Very Serious Person." It's good to have some recommendations from people you respect and admire. I also enjoy watching something a friend recommends because it gives me more insight into that person.

Funny you wake this thread up again...I went to Barnes and Noble on my lunch break and found a whole section of dvd's dedicated to Gay and Lesbians. Neat. I found two that have been mentioned several times on this thread, "Latter Days" and "Summer Storm" (I'd have gotten Summer Storm just because it's foreign and I tend to enjoy foreign films). I started watching LD on my portable dvd player over lunch. So far, pretty good...they're trying anyway with pretty pictures that are not too gratuitous, so far it's a b on my scale, but in fairness, I haven't finished it.

I wish more of you had seen "A Home at the End of the World." It's a Canadian film that I stumbled on at Target...I had no idea it was gay when I bought it, gaydar must have been on high that day, imagine my surprise.:)

Anyway, thanks for the new suggestion, by your description, it sounds like a good one.
paul

[Pablo Rafael]

Thanks Dave, I've never heard of it. Another movie to add to my long Netflix queue. :) (I have about 50 movies in my queue, not quite the 200 that Brent has.)

And Paul, have you still not signed up for Netflix? Get over to their website an sign-up right now. I'm going to sit here and wait until you do. :D You can get any movie ever made (almost). It is a lot cheaper than buying plus more environmentally friendly. I'm waiting!

Another movie I liked that I had forgotten about is C.R.A.Z.Y. It is about a family of five sons in Quebec. Zack (the "Z" in CRAZY) is gay. He and his father have to come to terms with it. It is a bit heavy at times, but well acted and not tragic like so many gay themed movies.

Tu Amigo, Pablo

[paul]

Thanks Dave, I've never heard of it. Another movie to add to my long Netflix queue. :) (I have about 50 movies in my queue, not quite the 200 that Brent has.)

And Paul, have you still not signed up for Netflix? Get over to their website an sign-up right now. I'm going to sit here and wait until you do. :D You can get any movie ever made (almost). It is a lot cheaper than buying plus more environmentally friendly. I'm waiting!

Another movie I liked that I had forgotten about is C.R.A.Z.Y. It is about a family of five sons in Quebec. Zack (the "Z" in CRAZY) is gay. He and his father have to come to terms with it. It is a bit heavy at times, but well acted and not tragic like so many gay themed movies.

Tu Amigo, Pablo

Pablo,

Okay...:o
I cannot join netflix and watch gay movies at home because that would offend my wife...so, I watch the occassional movie at work on my lunch break. Maybe someday...
paul

[Blockwell]

A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD

My partner and I watched it for the first time just last week. (Thank you NetFlix).

We loved it too!!!

[Alecto]

I won't lie, I skipped down half of the second page, cause I was getting too excited. :)

For starters, I was pleasantly surprised to find that But I'm a Cheerleader is totally available in ten minute clips on youtube. Granted, not the ideal way to watch a movie, but might show you that it is worth renting.

As for Priscilla, that's probably my favorite EVER. And I would disagree that it's just a silly romp and argue that it's got a lot more REALness than To Wong Foo (which all my friends love because they haven't seen Priscilla yet). I'm also partial because they include a transperson, and real drama instead of whatever the opposite of "comic relief" would be. I think on an entertainment level, it's pure gold. And on a cinematic level: also genius! The costumes were award-winning, so that ought to say something. :) (Yes, riding the shoe might be one of my two or three favorite scenes because it's just so pretty to watch).

I think that's part of the thing with Brokeback is that it's gorgeous cinematically, but...it's not plot-focused. And it does have a tragic ending which I REALLY need to be in a mood for without just getting angry. (see documentary recs)

In defense of QAF: there are MANY valid criticisms of the show, and I acknowledge those. I'm able to look past them, however, because of the draw of the fantasy of having these Queer characters (not just gay, mind you) who live in a queer world. All the time. Whenever we see them in the straight world, they're really just visitors, not too attatched to anything. I guess in the extras one of the actors actually said something after a line about what he'd do to straight people "That is if I could find one in this big queer world of ours".

I wasn't so much a huge fan, but a friend likes Velvet Goldmine particularly as a source of Gay Myth. (She's a film minor...she eats this stuff up :))

I wanted to add as documentaries:
It's Elementary (A PBS docu on schools that teach kids of varying ages about GLBT folks)
Celluloid Closet (meta-movie! It's about the history of GLBT representations on film: the only downside is that it's...dated. It stops in the 90's somewhere I think. One of the things it does mention is a large phase of movies wherein there's queer characters, but they have to die, or in some other way be "punished" at the end.)

</fanboy ranting>

[BrianB]

A movie that really got to me was "Bent." The movie was very sad but for the characters to find love in such adverse circumstances overwhelmed me.

Bill

You need lots of tissue to watch Bent. It's amazing how love can prevail in such an awful circumstance as a WW II work camp.:smashy: It's a very good movie. I loved Mick Jaegger in drag. Ian McKellan was outstanding as usual.

[NathanATX]

You need lots of tissue to watch Bent. It's amazing how love can prevail in such an awful circumstance as a WW II work camp.:smashy: It's a very good movie. I loved Mick Jaegger in drag. Ian McKellan was outstanding as usual.

YES! "Bent" is what I was going to suggest... it's a love story, it's heartbreaking, fascinating, and horrifying.

There is a scene when two men who have been sent to a concentration camp are being forced to move large rocks back and forth in this huge yard. It was pointless work, meant to break them down.

They were lovers... yet couldn't touch one another... ever... for fear of being shot.

On one of their "3 minute breaks" from moving rocks, they are standing at attention and speaking softly to each other.

One of them starts to break down... he can't continue living like this... he's desperate to be held.

Then the most intimate, loving and erotic dialogue I have *ever* heard begins to take place... as the other man tells the weaker one to "close his eyes"...

"do you feel my hands pulling you close"

"do you feel my kiss on your neck"

rent the movie. :love:

[BrentRichards]

YES! "Bent" is what I was going to suggest... it's a love story, it's heartbreaking, fascinating, and horrifying.

There is a scene when two men who have been sent to a concentration camp are being forced to move large rocks back and forth in this huge yard. It was pointless work, meant to break them down.

They were lovers... yet couldn't touch one another... ever... for fear of being shot.

On one of their "3 minute breaks" from moving rocks, they are standing at attention and speaking softly to each other.

One of them starts to break down... he can't continue living like this... he's desperate to be held.

Then the most intimate, loving and erotic dialogue I have *ever* heard begins to take place... as the other man tells the weaker one to "close his eyes"...

"do you feel my hands pulling you close"

"do you feel my kiss on your neck"

rent the movie. :love:


YES! What a great scene!

[Zerbie]

One of my faves - okay laugh at me for superficiality here - is Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. I know, I know, it's nothing but ABBA and drag and bitchy one-liners, but that's precisely what's so lovable about it.

. it's slightly surreal, and the situation is ridiculous. But the emotional authenticity can't be beat: a surreal campy ABBA-fest, with true-to-life emotional content.

It's rip-off, Too Wong Fu, is a cheap American imitation. Not believable but too matter of fact to pass for a surrealistic romp, and a self-conscious film that tries too hard.
.

I


As for Priscilla, that's probably my favorite EVER. And I would disagree that it's just a silly romp and argue that it's got a lot more REALness than To Wong Foo (which all my friends love because they haven't seen Priscilla yet). ranting>

I think we ARE in agreement here, actually. It's a silly romp. But it's emotionally very real.

So happy to find another Priscilla fan here! I :love: that movie so much. And I can't believe I don't own it.

[Alecto]

Totally just got it today from Amazon. :D

[archyboi]

OMG!

That's amazing. I love every one of those. WE have something in common!

One of my favorite moments is in Big Eden when Henry shows Pike his painting of the Pleiades and then Pike goes into this beautiful story of his myth of their formation. It's lyric. Don't you think?

Did anyone notice a very funny thing when Spider-Man II was released?

I saw it in a theater at Emeryville, CA, near Berkeley, Pixar's hometown.

There’s an hilarious inside joke just for the gay guys. It was so great to get the joke, laugh & see all the straights look around bewildered — what was so frickin’ funny? Great way to find out who the gays are in the movie house! The homoeroticism of Spidey is of course obvious and Raimi is gay after all. Toby Maguire’s webspinner’s shootin’ blanks — that itself is hilarious — so he can’t swing out to save the night and has to use the elevator. Hal Sparks — who plays loveable gay boy next door Michael in Queer as Folk on Showtime who is also a comics hero FREAK! — is gonna walk his dog and steps in with Spider-Man. Michael would be AMPED to actually meet Spider-Man. But instead of making a fool of himself he plays it super-nonchalant. BWHA-HA-HA-HA. Sparks: “Cool Spidey outfit.” Maguire: “Thanks.” S: “Where’d ya get it?” M: “Uh, I made it.” Ge-ge-ha. S: “Hm. Looks uncomfortable.” M: “It gets itchy. … And, it rides up in the crotch a little bit, too …” He-he-he. Ok, so I think you have to be a gay male to think it’s funny …

There's three really memorable Star Trek: The Next Gen episodes that help me come out. Season Three, Episode 25, Transfigurations, Stardate: 43957.2, a US Paramount television series created by Gene Roddenberry, teleplay by Rene Echevarria, directed by Tom Benko, original air date June 4, ©1990. Season Four, Episode 23, The Host, Stardate: 44821.3, a US Paramount television series created by Gene Roddenberry, teleplay by Michel Horvat, directed by Marvin V. Rush, original air date May 13, ©1991. Season Five, Episode 17, The Outcast, Stardate: 45614.6, a US Paramount television series created by Gene Roddenberry, teleplay by Jeri Taylor, directed by Robert Scheerer, original air date March 16, ©1992.

----------------------

Episode: Season 03/25—Transfigurations
Original Air Date: 06/04/90
Stardate: 43957.2
Synopsis:
When the Enterprise discovers a severely injured humanoid in the wreckage of an escape pod, Geordi volunteers to have his nervous system hooked up to the stranger's, in order to stabilize him. During the process, a wave of visible energy is transmitted from the humanoid to Geordi.
Dr. Crusher holds little hope for the recovery of the patient she has dubbed "John Doe," but he soon begins to exhibit amazing recuperative powers. While his damaged tissue is repairing itself at a remarkable rate, "John's" undamaged cells are mutating in a manner incomprehensible to the doctor.
Evidence surrounding the pod's wreckage indicates that it was involved in a battle, but when "John" awakens, he is unable to remember anything from his past. When Picard tells him that they have nearly determined the coordinates of his origin and that he will soon be returned to his planet, "John" experiences a sense of fear and tells Picard that he thinks he was trying to escape his planet, but cannot remember why.
Meanwhile, "John's" presence seems to bring a sense of serenity to the crew members he is in contact with, particularly Geordi. "John" then exhibits remarkable powers when he heals O'Brien's dislocated shoulder with a touch of his hand, which emits the same wave of visible energy that entered Geordi.
"John," however, is soon plagued by intermittent bouts of severe pain which frighten him into trying to steal a shuttlecraft. When Worf tries to stop him, "John" suddenly convulses in pain and then pulses into a large flare, knocking Worf off a catwalk to the deck below. Dr. Crusher's examination of Worf shows a broken neck and no vital signs, but when "John" touches him, a glow of light again emanates from his hand and Worf is completely healed.
When Dr. Crusher reports that "John's" rate of cell mutation is increasing, he fears that he will be dangerous to the crew and asks Picard to let him leave. However, their conversation is interrupted by the approach of an unidentified vessel which begins scanning the U.S.S. Enterprise. The commander of the ship, Sunad of Zalkon, demands the return of "John," declaring that he is an escaped prisoner sentenced to death for acts of agitation.
Having no memory of the past, "John" can neither confirm nor deny the accusation, but offers to surrender in order to prevent endangering the U.S.S. Enterprise. When Picard refuses to turn "John" over, the entire crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise is suddenly struck with paralysis. Realization of his past slowly dawns on "John" and he calmly departs for the Bridge where, by touching a console, his energy spreads to cover the entire starship and heals the crew.
With a wave of his hand, "John" brings Sunad onto the Bridge and explains to Picard that his species is on the verge of an evolutionary change and that the rulers, fearing a loss of power, began to destroy the first members to go through the metamorphosis. Sunad is then returned to his ship and "John," having evolved into a form of energy, prepares to return to his people to spread the word of the coming rebirth.

-----------------------

Episode: Season 04/23—The Host
Original Air Date: 05/13/91
Stardate: 44821.3
Synopsis:
Beverly Crusher becomes romantically involved with a Trill ambassador who is being escorted by the U.S.S. Enterprise to mediate a dispute in the Peliar system. As the starship approaches its destination, Riker volunteers to shuttle the ambassador, Odan, to Peliar to meet with representatives of the planet's Alpha and Beta moons, which have armed for war against each other. Shortly after Riker and Odan depart, a ship opens fire on them, critically injuring Odan and forcing their return to the U.S.S. Enterprise. Back on board, Beverly's examination of Odan indicates that a parasite is invading his body. As she prepares to remove it, she is shocked when Odan stops her, revealing that he is the parasite, and his body is merely a host. The parasite, not the body, is what must be saved.
While Beverly struggles to accept the fact that the handsome man she fell in love with is actually a small purplish lump of tissue, the Enterprise contacts the Trill for a new host body for Odan. Unfortunately, the situation in the Peliar system cannot wait and requires Odan's immediate attention. With this in mind, Riker volunteers his body to serve as temporary host to Odan so he can complete his mission. Beverly is successful in transferring Odan into Riker's body, but cannot get used to seeing him as Riker and is unable to relate to him as a lover. Odan sadly agrees to stay away from her if his presence causes her pain.
Soon after the transfer, Riker's body begins to experience severe physical pain. Odan proceeds with the meeting anyway, and learns that Beverly's discomfort with the notion that he exists within Riker is shared by the representatives of Peliar's moons. They suspect the odd scenario may actually be a plot by Starfleet concocted to enable the organization to impose its own agenda on the Peliar situation. Luckily, Odan is able to convince the Beta representative to accept him and proceed with the negotiations, and the Alpha representative agrees to have an answer within eight hours. Later that day, Beverly arrives at Odan's quarters. Overcome by her desire for Odan, she looks past Riker's body and falls into her lover's arms.
The next morning, as he prepares for the mediation, Odan tells Beverly that his presence has become a threat to Riker's body, and makes her promise to remove him after the meeting. The dispute is settled quickly, and Odan returns to Beverly to be surgically removed from Riker's body. The operation goes well, but Odan's own life is endangered when the Trill ship carrying his new host body is delayed. The U.S.S. Enterprise sets off at warp speed to intercept the ship and save Odan. As the situation becomes critical, Worf announces that the host has arrived and Beverly is dismayed when he ushers in a beautiful young woman. After she transfers Odan into the female body, she sadly explains to her lover that she cannot adjust to the constant change and uncertainty and must end their relationship. Odan accepts her decision and, after the two exchange vows of love, Odan returns to Trill.

---------------------------

Episode: Season 05/17—The Outcast
Original Air Date: 03/16/92
Stardate: 45614.6
Synopsis:
While investigating the disappearance of a J'naii shuttlecraft, the crew finds reason to believe the missing ship is stranded in an abnormal pocket called "null space." Riker and Soren, a member of the J'naii race, begin preparing to rescue the craft, and the two strike up a friendship. Their relationship develops quickly as the pair question each other about mating habits, since the J'naii are androgynous and do not identify themselves as either male or female. Despite this difference, sparks begin to fly between them.
Heading toward the null space in a shuttlecraft, Soren wonders to Riker if a J'naii and a human could be sexually compatible. She then tells him that this would be illegal in her society, where gender-specific relations are strictly forbidden. However, after she is injured during the mission, Soren becomes bolder. She insists on completing the mission, and also insists taking an even greater risk by telling Riker that she is attracted to him.
The following day, Riker and Soren locate the J'naii shuttlecraft and successfully load the injured J'naii onto the ship. Soren's colleague Krite thanks Riker for his help and invites Riker to join them for a celebration that evening. As Soren and Riker say a discreet goodbye, Krite notices the sparks between them. Later that evening, Soren and Riker sneak away from the dinner for a walk in the woods, where, hidden from everyone, they exchange a passionate kiss.
Continuing to work together to remove the J'naii shuttlecraft from the null space, Riker and Soren present a purely professional front to the crew. However, when Riker arrives at Soren's quarters for a pre-arranged meeting, he is informed that she has been taken into custody as a result of their relationship. Riker finally finds Soren in a civic chamber, sitting before a panel of judges. After admitting to her belief of being female, she is taken away by guards to be brainwashed.
Desperate, Riker concocts a plan to rescue Soren and returns to the planet to find her. Unfortunately, when he does locate her, he is too late. Having already undergone psychotectic therapy, Soren no longer has any belief in gender differences or any romantic feelings for Riker. Sadly, Riker returns alone to the U.S.S. Enterprise.

[BrentRichards]

One of my favorite moments is in Big Eden when Henry shows Pike his painting of the Pleiades and then Pike goes into this beautiful story of his myth of their formation. It's lyric. Don't you think?

It is a very beautiful moment, yes ... I have a real fondness for Native American spirituality, too, so I really liked this.

Nice thing about Big Eden is that its such a family movie ... I could watch that with my kids, my straight friends, etc ... it's powerful in its very NORMAL portrayal of gay love. (NORMAL=the same hang ups and neuroses as everyone else). I think the fact that it takes place in such a small village (of complete yokels, like I grew up with [yokel is a term of endearment here, not an insult ... I love my yokel heritage]), which then consciously chooses to be an affirming family, is also powerful.

I'm sure we have many things in common.

[BrianB]

Thanks to everyone that recommended Latter Days. I received the movie from Netflix yesterday and watched it today. It was such a good movie. Even though I wasn't raised Mormon the pressure to change and conform were the same. That aversion therapy in the film was torture.

[BrentRichards]

Ok, after all the recommendations for Home At the End of the World, I bumped it to the top of my Netflix queue, and just finished watching it ... WOW! My only question is, how am I supposed to sleep now?

[paul]

Ok, after all the recommendations for Home At the End of the World, I bumped it to the top of my Netflix queue, and just finished watching it ... WOW! My only question is, how am I supposed to sleep now?

Oh Good. I'm glad there's someone else out there who was similarly effected, Brent. I thought it was such a cool film. It might even qualify as the film Zerbie was looking for that portrayed Bi characters in a positive light. It certainly burred the lines. I really enjoyed it.

[u-dog]

Ok... now you need to push "The Hanging Garden" to the top of your lists. I think it is possibly the best film ever and I need someone to talk about it with !!!

[wmanion]

Dave,
I have seen the movie and many emotions are felt in that movie. I especially loved the grandmother. The message that I came away with is that no matter how far you remove yourself from your past, you always carry it with you.

Bill

[u-dog]

Dave,
I have seen the movie and many emotions are felt in that movie. I especially loved the grandmother. The message that I came away with is that no matter how far you remove yourself from your past, you always carry it with you.

Bill

It was quite late in the film before I understood to what the Title of the film refers. I appreciated the little symbolisms in the film. They spend a lot of time at the beginning with William trying (as a child) to remember the names of plants because it was important to his father the gardner. "sweet william" was one of the plants named. Then at various points in the film.. usually at painful points for the main charecter they would juxtapose the sweet william flowers with Williams face. It would make me want to say "Oh sweet William" It was just ... an amazing film. So beautiful. and funny. and healing.


It was delightfully ironic that Williams little "sister" was so obviously a lesbian in the making.

[BrentRichards]

Ok... now you need to push "The Hanging Garden" to the top of your lists. I think it is possibly the best film ever and I need someone to talk about it with !!!

Bumped. I'm returning movies today, so should have it mid-week, I'll let you know.

[Pablo Rafael]

I will put in my Netflix queue also, Dave. (I had typed "queue too", but the rhyme was to terrible to leave.)
We can discuss it together.
I usually can get Netflix with a three day turn around time from Denver, sometimes two.

Pablo

[u-dog]

"Guys and Balls" -- German film -- 2003 actual title is "Maenner Wie Wir" or "Men Like Us"

If you liked Summer Storm... you'll like this. Gay goalie gets outed and kicked off the hometown soccer team. He goes to the big city and recruits a gay soccer team to play against his old team. Very funny and very charming characters. the ending is predictable but no less entertaining for that! I recommend it. I give ... 3.9 stars ... maybe 4.

Not a good movie for doing while you fold clothes because of the subtitles though. sigh.

Dave

[BrentRichards]

"Guys and Balls" -- German film -- 2003 actual title is "Maenner Wie Wir" or "Men Like Us"

If you liked Summer Storm... you'll like this. Gay goalie gets outed and kicked off the hometown soccer team. He goes to the big city and recruits a gay soccer team to play against his old team. Very funny and very charming characters. the ending is predictable but no less entertaining for that! I recommend it. I give ... 3.9 stars ... maybe 4.

Not a good movie for doing while you fold clothes because of the subtitles though. sigh.

Dave

Yeah, I liked this one too ... the leather bear characters were a riot ... tough look, total pussycats.

Favorite moments ... main character and father making the cake for homophobic teammates. And the gay-team trials line: "Does that count?"

I agree. Worth checking out.

[Pablo Rafael]

I loved Summer Storm. I thought Guys and Balls was funny and enjoyed it. However, I thought the portrayal of the members of the gay soccer team played up negative gay stereotypes quite a bit. Not being very stereotypically gay in style, I don't connect with or appreciate that type of portrayal.

Subtitles, no problem. I like the variety of foreign movies (and hate dubbed over versions.) One of my harshest criticisims of movies is saying they are, "typical American movies."

I know this isn't a gay movie, but have any of you seen The Fountain with Hugh Jackman? I watched that this week and am still puzzling over it. Is is meant to be so surrealistic and abstract, or am I missing a key point? It was good enough to see twice so I may have to watch it again.

Tu Amigo, Pablo

[u-dog]

Pollyand I watched Flawless last night. Robert DeNiro stars as a NYC cop who suffers a stroke and takes voice lessons as therapy with the transgender drag queen down the hall. Its about people being forced to see through the surface layers to see the beauty and dignity that exists beneath. Good flick.

Is DeNiro an ally does anyone know? This is the second "gay friendly" film I've seen him in this summer. (The first being "Stardust" where he plays a gay pirate. Did ANYONE follow Austin and my advice and go see that movie?

[Pablo Rafael]

I will agree with Dave that The Hanging Garden is an excellent movie. It is well acted and the characters have great depth to them. I liked the images from the main character's youth that were woven into the film from start to end. It gave a feeling that there was more to the plot than just the surface story. (Those Canadians make some excellent movies.)

I was a little troubled at the beginning by the abusive father. That subject hits a little too close to home for me. However the father was more pathetic than abusive all in all. Brent and I were discussing this movie yesterday. We agreed that it is not a "feel good" movie. Not one for a lighthearted evening. It reminded me a little of Yesterday not in subject matter, but in that it was painful to watch at times, but when it was finshed I think I gained a little deeper understaning into the human soul. It is a touching look at a gay man who is forced to once again deal with his disfunctional upbringing.

Thanks for the suggestion, Dave.

I also am going to watch Stardut as soon as it is out on DVD. I never go out to the movies.

Tu Amigo, Pablo

[u-dog]

I will agree with Dave that The Hanging Garden is an excellent movie. It is well acted and the characters have great depth to them. I liked the images from the main character's youth that were woven into the film from start to end. It gave a feeling that there was more to the plot than just the surface story. (Those Canadians make some excellent movies.)

I was a little troubled at the beginning by the abusive father. That subject hits a little too close to home for me. However the father was more pathetic than abusive all in all. Brent and I were discussing this movie yesterday. We agreed that it is not a "feel good" movie. Not one for a lighthearted evening. It reminded me a little of Yesterday not in subject matter, but in that it was painful to watch at times, but when it was finshed I think I gained a little deeper understaning into the human soul. It is a touching look at a gay man who is forced to once again deal with his disfunctional upbringing.

Thanks for the suggestion, Dave.

I also am going to watch Stardut as soon as it is out on DVD. I never go out to the movies.

Tu Amigo, Pablo

While I agree that it isn't a "feel good" movie it also isn't one of those hideously serious films either. There was a charming light heartedness about it that I liked. I think this had to do with the how the symbolism was incorporated into the film.

[BrentRichards]

Also saw Hanging Gardens this week ... definitely my kind of film ... had laughs, tears, and cringes, all rolled in one. The opening wedding sequence had me hooked from the start ... I know Scottish families like that! (And we Welsh arent' ALL that much better) ...

The surreal aspects of the film really worked for me ... it makes for vivid emotional pictures, and to me has always made the film seem a little more stage-play to me ... maybe because it invokes a "willing suspension of disbelief?"

It reminded me, in some ways, of a couple other favorites (not gay-themed, but similar plot mechanisms): Da and Truly, Madly, Deeply ... good watching, though both emotionally taxing at times, as Gardens was.

Thanks for the tip, Dave, well worth the watch.

I also saw All Over The Guy this week, which was also nice ... not as much philosophical meat as Gardens, but a nice little gay love story. Didn't hurt that the one lead character ("Tom" played by Richard Ruccolo ... at right below) is really nice to look at. :D

[Pablo Rafael]

While I agree that it isn't a "feel good" movie it also isn't one of those hideously serious films either. There was a charming light heartedness about it that I liked. I think this had to do with the how the symbolism was incorporated into the film.

I don't mean to sound negative when I say it's not a "feel good" movie. I appreciate a good serious movie that is well done probably more than something more lighthearted. This movie isn't "hiddeously serious". It does have it's funny moments certainly.

I think I'm a little oversensitive when it comes to disfunctional families, especially one with abusive father figures. Since I grew up in that type of a situation, I don't deal with it well in movies. The movie Swimming Upstream was another one I had a hard time watching due to the abusive (or at least unloving) father. It was a good movie also that was worth seeing, but I had to really talk myself into watching it to the end.

Tu Amigo, Pablo

[beat0it]

is definitely High Art. :D

[Sherrie Z]

I have way too many favorite films on these themes to list them all, so this is not a favorite films list per se ... but here are a few random thoughts ...


I haven't seen the film version of "Bent" but I saw two stage productions, many years ago ... one in Chicago, and one in London ... of course the subject matter is very serious and the film is amazingly touching, but I just have to mention one of the lighter moments that I still remember ... where one gay character is describing a gaydar type of moment to another gay character, and described the guy he had spotted in this way: "He has fluff eyes"

I have a soft spot for "Longtime Companion" because of the true to life portrayal of the straight female friend within the group of gay guys ... since so few films include that type of character, and in such a positive light ... and since I could totally relate to her ... : )

There is a great scene in "Prick up your Ears" where Gary Olden's character describes lesbians ... I would love to have the exact quote if anybody knows it ... I think it was something along the lines of comparing lesbian couples to straight couples and gay couples, where lesbians are in their ivory towers doing relationships better than everyone else and "laughing at the rest of us" ...

"Ma Vie en Rose" (My Life in Pink) ... a sweet foreign film about a transgender kid who appears to be a boy, but she knows she's a girl

A great classic ... "The Lion in Winter" ... not usually considered a gay themed film per se, though there is a gay themed scene ... I think the entire film has something of a gay sensibility ... with the witty banter and high drama ... then again, most of Katherine Hepburn's films show a gay sensibility ... : )

[mjules]

Thanks to everyone that recommended Latter Days. I received the movie from Netflix yesterday and watched it today. It was such a good movie. Even though I wasn't raised Mormon the pressure to change and conform were the same. That aversion therapy in the film was torture.

OMG, I totally just watched that today. It made me cry! I wasn't sure I was going to survive it. But it was sooooooo good in the end. Big hearts for that one.

Also, for just ten dollars, I can steal it away from Blockbuster and never have to give it back. ...I don't think they'll be getting it back. :aparty:

[antiochian]

I'd have to say some of my favs are:

Angels in America (although it was a little annoying to see some actors/actresses playing so many multiple parts, and I didn't totally understand the whole prophet thing)

Testosterone (starring David Sutcliffe, who I had a huge crush on for months after seeing this movie)

The Hunger (starring Susan Sarandon)

Get Real

Hate Crime

Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

[antiochian]

Plus I made the mistake of watching Rent and Brokeback Mt. in one day. I was a mess for some time after, both are just far too sad.

[BrentRichards]

This one is almost certainly a "MUST SEE" ...

We Are Dad (http://www.netflix.com/Movie/We_Are_Dad/70050905?trkid=90529) (2005)

This thought-provoking documentary chronicles the struggles of longtime partners Steve Lofton and Roger Croteau to keep their band of foster children together -- no matter what. Deemed "undesirable" by the adoption system, the couple's patchwork family spans a variety of ages and races, and four of the children are HIV-positive. But when one of the sick children becomes adoptable, Lofton and Croteau risk losing him forever.

You'll laugh, cry, write the pope demanding immediate sainthood for these guys, and spit nails during the interview segments with Paul Cameron ... who, as it turns out, is even worse when you can see and hear him than he is when you're just reading him. But see this movie ...

[Pablo Rafael]

I had forgotten about His Secret Life. I also thought it was excellent. I personally think the Italians make the best movies in Europe. (and have some of the sexiest actors. :D)

[Sherrie Z]

Has anyone here seen Stage Beauty?

It's about the era when Shakespearean female roles were played by male actors ... it stars Claire Danes and Billy Crudup.

I finally saw it this week, and it instantly became one of my favorite films ever.

Gender issues, acting and theater issues, Shakespeare, the intriguing era of Charles II, such great actors, and getting to watch the gorgeous Billy Crudup ... Wheeee!!!

[tdogg]

Stage Beauty is an excellent film. (And U, Flawless is one of my all-time favs!)

We just saw Gray Matters over the weekend. It's a romantic comedy, of the lesbian sort. Excellent movie. We both loved it, we're going to buy it. It got a little preachy at the end in one scene, where nearly our complete 'how we aren't equal to heterosexuals' was reiterated, but I didn't see anything wrong with that! I believe this one played mainstream, had wanted to see it but didn't make it to the movie house. Well worth the cost of the rental, and even the purchase price of the DVD.

Sherrie, I LOVED Ma Vie En Rose as well! Terrific movie, very moving!

[Sherrie Z]

These "Soulforce Film Festival" threads are very useful for discovering new films to see, whether they are new or old films ... : )

I'm glad you guys also appreciated Stage Beauty ... it is based on a play written by Jeffrey Hatcher ... the play version is called "Compleat Female Stage Beauty" ... and yes u-dog, it has a very sad aspect, along with the humor and the overall positive ending ...

And tdogg ... I'm glad you also liked Ma Vie En Rose ... yay! : )

[paul]

Okay,

Saw a very funny movie the other night: "In and Out." If you're in the mood to laugh, and you're old enough to understand that Barbara Streisand is a gay icon, then you'll get a kick out of this one. I laughed pretty hard at times.

[paul]

Everyone is going to know what Paul did during his holiday.

I just saw a sad but well done story "A Love to Hide." Set during WWII in Vichy France (it's a French movie btw and in French). Just make sure you don't see it unless you're prepared to be punched, it documents a rotten time in history.

[Zerbie]

Everyone is going to know what Paul did during his holiday.

.

:p:p Yep, we sure do!
:D

Glad you are having such a fun holiday. :love:

I enjoyed In & Out - saw that in the cinema with friends when it was new. My favorite part? When Kevin Klein's character puts on the ex-gay conversion audio cassette and dances like a madman over the macho narration. God, that's so hilarious! "Men don't DANCE! They have Bad Backs."
:p:lol::rofl:

[BrianB]

:p:p Yep, we sure do!
:D

Glad you are having such a fun holiday. :love:

I enjoyed In & Out - saw that in the cinema with friends when it was new. My favorite part? When Kevin Klein's character puts on the ex-gay conversion audio cassette and dances like a madman over the macho narration. God, that's so hilarious! "Men don't DANCE! They have Bad Backs."
:p:lol::rofl:

In & Out was the first gay related movie I ever watched. My favorite part was when Tom Selleck's character kissed Klein's character in the middle of the intersexual... homosection... I mean intersection. :o BTW, I always dance during that ex-gay cassette scene. It cracks me up.

[Erik]

My faves?......"Sordid Lives" and "Hedwig and the Angry Inch".

[Pablo Rafael]

Someone might have mentioned this movie already, but I'm too lazy to go back and look. It's not a 'gay" movie really, but is a movie about a gay man.

I just saw a few days ago Wilde a biography of Oscar Wilde. The life and career of this brilliant, ground-breaking author was cut short simply because he was gay.

I thought it was quite well done. Steven Fry plays the part of Oscar Wilde. It is good to have a gay actor play the part of a gay character. He does an excellent job, but I unfortunately always think of "Jeeves" whenever I see him in any role. Jude Law also stars, another of my favorite actors.

[TigerXero]

Borstal Boy AND A Love to Hide FTW!

[tdogg]

Someone might have mentioned this movie already, but I'm too lazy to go back and look. It's not a 'gay" movie really, but is a movie about a gay man.

I just saw a few days ago Wilde a biography of Oscar Wilde. The life and career of this brilliant, ground-breaking author was cut short simply because he was gay.

I thought it was quite well done. Steven Fry plays the part of Oscar Wilde. It is good to have a gay actor play the part of a gay character. He does an excellent job, but I unfortunately always think of "Jeeves" whenever I see him in any role. Jude Law also stars, another of my favorite actors.

Wilde is an excellent movie! Another newer one, Capote starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who I believe is one of the greatest actors currently making movies. Excellent but on the serious side.

I LOVED In and Out!

Just watched Daphne, it was really pretty good.

[Jamie McDaniel]

You need lots of tissue to watch Bent. ... It's a very good movie.

My Netflix que finally served up Bent and I watched it last night. Very powerful film. It had a lasting, depressing effect on me all day today. I thought about how the Nazi leader used violence to get Max to deny his lover was his friend. In my life when people refer to my husband as my "friend" it angers me. In Bent, in Germany in the 1940's, Max was made to deny even that.

I did have to watch it with subtitles on. My ears just can't pick up the words among accents.

[BrianB]

My Netflix que finally served up Bent and I watched it last night. Very powerful film. It had a lasting, depressing effect on me all day today. I thought about how the Nazi leader used violence to get Max to deny his lover was his friend. In my life when people refer to my husband as my "friend" it angers me. In Bent, in Germany in the 1940's, Max was made to deny even that.

I did have to watch it with subtitles on. My ears just can't pick up the words among accents.

You can't really say that you enjoy a movie like Bent. However, it was a movie that was important to watch. I liked that it showed the power of love even in such an awful circumstance. Ian McKellan was pretty ironic as the rich, closeted uncle.

BTW, I love Netflix.

[AdamofEden]

Well if it only has to be gayish then Moulin Rouge!

It's a musical of grand scale and therefor gay be default.

I could watch it over and over and be happy to deal with the depression afterward.


Fried Green Tomatoes is awesome, suzer1013!

A Home At the End of the World was good and if you liked the movie you really need to read the book. They are close enough that their isn't the jostle of a total story change but you get a deeper look into the characters then they had time for in a movie. (The only book I've ever read in anticipation of the movie and it was worth it.)

Angels in America I watched when it aired with my mom :eek: 2nd weirdest gay moment with one of my parents excluding anything about coming out. It is weird and originally I didn't know it was two parts and tried to convey meaning at the end of the first section. For this script someone had to be on something hard core. It's good you will just be confused, But it good.


Has anyone seen Another Gay Movie? I haven't but was wondering if it was good of absolutely unbearable. It looks like it could go either way and I wanted to get another opinion first.

[Pablo Rafael]

Has anyone seen Another Gay Movie? I haven't but was wondering if it was good or absolutely unbearable. It looks like it could go either way and I wanted to get another opinion first.

Is no one else willing to admit that they have actually seen this movie?
I thought it was raunchy, rather stupid and certainly not in keeping with my philosophy of gay relationships. But it was funny and I have to admit that I enjoyed watching it.

I just watched The Sum of Us with (a young) Russell Crowe. That is a powerful movie. It is one of the best movies I have seen for a long time. Heartbreaking at times, but not without hope. A good Australian movie.

Also saw The Road to Love. It has a very "home video" type of feel, but I thought that was a part of its charm. It's not often one sees anything dealing with being gay and muslim.

[tdogg]

/
Has anyone seen Another Gay Movie? I haven't but was wondering if it was good of absolutely unbearable. It looks like it could go either way and I wanted to get another opinion first.

I admit it, watched Another Gay Movie. And I agree with Pablo, though it wasn't quite as funny or enjoyable to me. It wasn't horrible, but probably nothing I'd watch again.

Saw Long Term Relationship recently. I think it might not be too recent of a movie, but thought it was quite good.

[Pablo Rafael]

This one is almost certainly a "MUST SEE" ...

WE ARE DAD
This thought-provoking documentary chronicles the struggles of longtime partners Steve Lofton and Roger Croteau to keep their band of foster children together -- no matter what. Deemed "undesirable" by the adoption system, the couple's patchwork family spans a variety of ages and races, and four of the children are HIV-positive. But when one of the sick children becomes adoptable, Lofton and Croteau risk losing him forever.

You'll laugh, cry, write the pope demanding immediate sainthood for these guys, and spit nails during the interview segments with Paul Cameron ... who, as it turns out, is even worse when you can see and hear him than he is when you're just reading him. But see this movie ...

This movie just worked its way to the top of my Netflix queue. I must agree with my buddy Brent on this one. It's a fast-paced, sensitive, personal documentary. See it if you haven't yet.

Pablo

[Unmasked]

You also have to keep in mind that Another Gay Movie is a parody of American Pie. If you hated American Pie, you'll hate AGM. If you thought American Pie was the most brilliant piece of cinema ever, I'm sure there's help somewhere for you.

[BlueGirl]

I love documentaries if they are well done. I'm here with pencil and paper in hand, so get listing.

Tu Amigo, Pablo

Some of the documentaries that I have are:

Before Stonewall - The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community (1986)

After Stonewall “chronicles the history of lesbian and gay life from the riots at the Stonewall Inn to the end of the century” (1999)

Out of the Past - The Struggle For Gay Rights in America (1997)

Silent Pioneers - a 1985 documentary about Gay senior citizens

Times of Harvey Milk - 1984 docu. on the life and death of California’s first
openly Gay elected official


BlueGirl

[u-dog]

Polly and I were watching an amazing film tonight on the Fox Movie Channel. It was "Gentlemen's Agreement" with Gregory Peck -- 1948. Its about a magazine writer who pretends to be Jewish in order to write an expose about Anti-semitism. It's an amazingly good film and does a great job of portraying prejudice. And not just external prejudice but also internalized prejudice and its effects on the oppressed person. You could dub "gay" for "jew" and it COULD almost BE a gay film (except that Gregory Peck has a girlfriend ... Dorothy Macquire) I recommend it! Why have I never heard of this movie before?

[Pablo Rafael]

This movie had probably already been mentioned, but again I am too lazy to go back through the postings to see. You don't expect me to REMEMBER which movie has been mentioned, I hope!

I thought Red Dirt was a good movie. It is not specifically a "gay movie" but the two male main characters do have a romance of sorts. The Mississippi scenery was beautiful and the acting was good. I loved the mentally disturbed aunt (played by Karen Black if I recall).

Plus Dan Montgomery is very easy to look at.
And just for the record, hot guys aren't the only thing I look for in a movie.
It never hurts, however. :D

[Pablo Rafael]

Polly and I were watching an amazing film tonight on the Fox Movie Channel. It was Gentlemen's Agreement with Gregory Peck -- 1948.


I just watched this film with the parents. I agree with Dave. This is an awesomely good movie. My mom also made the connection between the similarity between the anti-semitism portrayed in the movie and the homophobia in our culture. A key theme of the movie is that prejudice exists because good people who oppose prejudice don't take action; they just go along with the flow.

On another subject altogether: About a week ago I watched The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green. (not sure I have the title 100% correct.) It is a fun, gay comedy that starts out rather silly but ends up with more substance than I had thought at the beginning. It is good if you're in a lighthearted mood and don't want anything heavy. (Plus has some cute guys in it ;) .)

And why hasn't anyone else posted on this thread since I did the last time? People are going to think I do nothing but laze around on the couch and watch movies.

[paul]

And why hasn't anyone else posted on this thread since I did the last time? People are going to think I do nothing but laze around on the couch and watch movies.

What else do you do Pab? :p

[Alecto]

So, I dug and dug and dug to find this thread a few weeks ago to look for movies to downloa...er, rent. And I did watch some of 'em, but I haven't seen any new ones to add to the list so I didn't really know that a post was appropriate. But I am here, lurking, and reading and watching (movies). :)


I did watch one that I don't think is in the list anywhere, but I didn't like it that much. Hellbent is a gay horror (slasher) movie. All I knew was that it was gay horror, didn't even realize it was subtype-slasher. I should disclaim that I don't really get into other slasher movies that much, and if I do, it's the mystery-part: trying to figure out who the killer is, or why they're at it. It's the backstory that's potentially interesting for me (Scream is the one that comes to mind as enjoyable for me). This one...it had pretty things to look at, but literally nothing to diferentiate it from any other slasher movie ever. None of those questions get answered. You just watch a bunch of people get killed, and then the Hero thwart the killer....for now (and I don't think that even warrants a "spoiler warning" because it's just hitting all the tropes of the genre). it was all kind of too formulaic for me, but other folks who are more drawn to that kind of movie in the first place might get into it more.

[BrianB]

Torch Song Trilogy finally came up in my Netflix que. Everyone here has probably seen it but I loved it. It was such an emotional roller coaster. Anne Bancroft was great as the shrewish mother. I wish I could have seen the play.

[tdogg]

Brian, that was such a good one.

I LOVED Gray Matters. I can't wait to see Itty Bitty Titty Committee. But then, probably not on your lists, right guys? :p

My wife and I love Noah's Arc on LOGO. We can't wait for the new movie to be on DVD. Anyone else here like the show? The movie is Noah's Arc - Jumping the Broom, but it's only playing in select cities (nothing close to me).

[sarahbina]

The Opposite of Sex
Cabaret - a really old movie
Wedding Banquet

[tdogg]

Oh yeah, Wedding Banquet is a good one!

[ocaptain]

It seems difficult for American movie makers to make a truely great gay film, though there have been some. There are many very good dramedies that are touching and satisfying. Here's a list of my favorites:

Drama: Longtime Companion, Home at the End of the World, Mysterious Skin, Urbania, The Deep End, The Dying Gaul.

Dramedy: The Sum of Us, Love!Valour!Compassion!, All Over the Guy, Dorian Blues, Touch of Pink, Finding North, Get Real, Beautiful Thing

Foreign: Time to Leave, Walk on Water, Summer Storm, Paradise Now

Music Based: Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Victor Victoria, Stonewall, The History Boys

Blast from the Past: The Rope (Hitchcock), Deathtrap

Mini-Series: Tales of the City

Homoerotic: White Squall, Elephant, Motorcycle Diaries, Jarhead,

Extra Special: Angels in America

Top Three All-Time Favorites: Torch Song Trilogy, Brokeback Mountain, Gods and Monsters.

Anyone want to catch a flick? :)

[tymejumper]

Just recently watched Running With Scissors, was good but not as good as the book. Augusten Burroughs is an amazing person, particularly after such a rotten childhood.


I just bought my wife the book "a wolf at the table" by him. He is one of her favorite authors and has followed his books since his 'Dry'. She said it really helped her through the beginning of her recovery as an Alcoholic. I didn't even know they had made a movie about 'Running with Sissors'. I can't wait to see it. For my favorite gayish movies....I loved "if these walls could talk". I makes me cry every time I see how that one old ladies partner of 40 odd years dies, and her family kicks her out of the house they shared. They also let her keep one thing form all the gifts her partner gave her. The family has no idea that they are lovers, and partners, because of the time frame. She was not able to even be there when her partner dies at the hospital. It really makes me sob!(good chick flick)

[sarahbina]

I liked Monster too - it was sad.
And Billy Elliot -the musical and the movie just called Billy, I think. It isn't really gay - but everyone thinks he is - but they support him even if he might be.

[bhoule]

I've really wanted to see "Paragraph 175" and I was hoping to see it on Logo or on their website but they recently took the movie off there. I saw that none of the video parts for the movie were loading and contacted them about it a few days ago - they sent me an email today saying that they no longer had the rights to the movie and were taking it down. Sigh.

I rewatched "The Times of Harvey Milk" and "Brother Outsider: Bayard Rustin" last week. Great documentaries. I also saw "Still Elementary" and "A Jihad For Love" for the first time. Definitely recommend them.
I didn't see anyone here mention "For The Bible Tells Me So" or "Equality U", surprisingly. "Equality U", about the Equality Ride, is available on the logo website along with "Still Elementary" and "A Jihad for Love."

"Rent" and "But I'm A Cheerleader" are some favorites too. Bent. Boys Don't Cry...that one made me sob hysterically. So depressing.

I'd love to see some more of those documentaries I've seen listed on this thread. Usually when I see them they're on Logo or on youtube but that's kind of limiting.

Logo's movies:
http://www.logoonline.com/video/franchise.jhtml?ctid=2016
Logo's documentaries:
http://www.logoonline.com/video/franchise.jhtml?ctid=1924

[u-dog]

Polly and I stumbled upon a wonderful little film from 2006 called "Forgiving the Franklins" It is mostly a movie about the sin, shame, original sin, grace, and innocence in general but it does have an important gay subplot. It is definitely a film of ideas rather than plot/action/character, but it is OUTRAGEOUSLY HILARIOUS and SERIOUSLY thought provoking. I have caught myself both thinking and chuckling over it for days now. I thoroughly recommend it. ESPECIALLY TO ANDREW!! You and Jenna could use a laugh.