Reverend's Reviews: We Need a Little Christmas Now

2020 is half over and I'm not sure whether to say "oh my God" or "thank you God"! It was already a dreadful year for me personally even before the COVID-19 pandemic due to my mother's death in early January and the fallout from that. So, as Auntie Mame famously declared at the height of the Great Depression: "We need a little Christmas now!" Yes, five months early.

Filmmakers and streamers have been happy to oblige. First and foremost, Disney+ moved up its anticipated premiere of Hamilton, the filmed version of Broadway's smash musical, by more than a year and just in time for Independence Day. It doesn't contain any Yuletide elements but its premature availability is itself a great holiday gift. I was unsuccessful at seeing it on stage so I'm thrilled to have finally watched this truly fantastic edition (being referred to by fans as "Hamilfilm") culled from three performances in 2016 and starring the original New York cast including Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show's deservedly acclaimed creator.

Alexander the Great

Unless one has spent the last five years living under a rock, you should be aware that Hamilton tells the story of founding father Alexander Hamilton through a multi-ethnic cast and decidedly modern musical approach. It won multiple 2016 Tony Awards including Best Musical as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Brilliantly adapted by Miranda from Ron Chernow's straightforward biographical book, it is compelling theatre imaginatively directed by Tony winner Thomas Kail. While I'm not as enthusiastic about Andy Blankenbuehler's choreography, which is hip hop-inspired but often strikes me as herky-jerky in all his projects, it is undeniably energetic.

Kail also direct the current film effectively, but one must bear in mind that this is a high-def, edited recording of a live stage performance rather than an opened-up movie. (A true "Hamilfilm" could yet happen down the road.) As such, I wish Kail and crew would have eliminated the audience's reactions. I don't like being "cued" when to applaud, laugh, sing along, etc. while watching a movie. When one is actually sitting in a Broadway theater, a viewer is an active part of the audience and participates with them as well as the performers on stage. The same dynamic simply doesn't exist while watching a recording alone from one's sofa, and it is silly to try to re-create it at home.

The Badness of King George

That being said, Hamilton on Disney+ is chock full of incredible music, dramatic moments and great performances. The entire original Broadway cast can be enjoyed here including Tony winners Leslie Odom Jr. (Aaron Burr), Renee Elise Goldsberry (Angelica Schuyler), and Daveed Diggs (Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson). Also on display is out actor Jonathan Groff's deliciously funny appearance as King George III, who had left the production before it was filmed but was invited back for this special occasion. Since my experience of Hamilton before now was limited to the cast recording, I was unprepared for Groff's dishy, non-singing involvement in "The Reynolds Pamphlet" sequence. Simply hilarious!

The production is beautifully photographed by Declan Quinn (Leaving Las Vegas, In America) and sharply edited by Jonah Moran (Fosse/Verdon, Mars). Nowhere is their artistry more apparent than during the showstopper "The Room Where It Happens." With Broadway and many theaters around the world currently closed, the opportunity to view this Hamilton is a true gift... even if one's living room is the room where it happens.

The Family Tree is a new queer movie actually set during several successive Christmas seasons. Written, directed, and even edited by indie Panamanian filmmaker Jorge Ameer (Sabor tropical, D'Agostino, Oasis), it is an unexpectedly affecting melodrama now starting to make film festival rounds. Theatrical and home video releases are also being planned.

One night before Christmas, animal rescuer Victor (played with abundant compassion by Keith Roenke) stumbles across the robbed and beaten body of a man in his neighborhood. We come to learn he is Roy, an undocumented and homeless but not unattractive American played by Michael Joseph Nelson. Victor takes him in and nurses him back to health, learning Roy's story in the meantime. Although both men are straight, Victor eventually offers to marry Roy so he can stay in Panama. Roy is initially reluctant but realizes he has no other options. They get civilly married on Christmas Eve, then ironically start falling in love with each other.

The men's relationship becomes more complicated when Roy goes to work for and eventually falls in love with Victor's female bff, Alina (Anaïs Lucia). They get engaged so Roy and Victor get divorced. Soon after their marriage, however, Roy learns that he is infertile. Alina wants to have a baby, so Roy and Alina ask Victor to father their child "naturally" with Roy present to provide romantic inspiration to Victor. Tragedy strikes in time (have Kleenex handy) but the trio's love for one another lives on.

While the performances in The Family Tree are at times amateurish and Ameer's dialogue can be simplistic, this is a heartfelt story heightened by its holiday setting. The film features warm, colorful cinematography by James Brown as well as handsome lead actors and some tasteful male nudity. Editing is Ameer's weakest skill, as this movie's slow pace and running time of 130 minutes prove. Still, The Family Tree is unique, sensitive and memorable.

If Martin Scorsese were to direct a gay-themed prison flick, it might look something like Sebastián Muñoz's The Prince (El Principe). The movie won the prestigious Queer Lion award at last year's Venice Film Festival and is newly available on DVD, Blu-ray and streaming services courtesy of Artsploitation Films.

Set in a Chilean prison during the 1970's Allende era, The Prince echoes Jean Genet's sexually explicit short film Un Chant D'amour and Fassbinder's provocative Querelle in its exploration of male desire under oppressive conditions. Attractive, 20-year old Jaime ends up incarcerated after stabbing his friend to death while in a drunken, jealous rage. He is assigned to a cell with four other men including the domineering Ricardo, aka "The Stud" (although he is referred to as "The Stallion" in promo materials), plus a cat named Plato.

Ricardo takes Jaime under his wing and provides him protection in return for sexual services. While Jaime becomes attracted to another young, similarly kept inmate, he also falls truly in love with Ricardo. Some gentle romantic and comedic moments brighten the generally hellish environment and proceedings. The movie also provides a potent evocation of community, with its requisite tensions and intimacies, losses and celebrations.

The Prince serves as Muñoz's narrative feature directing debut after two decades working as an art director and production designer. His visual skills are impressive but so is his ability with actors. Juan Carlos Maldonado is sexy and sympathetic in the title role, while Alfredo Castro gives a nicely nuanced performance as the cat- and boy-loving "Stud." This is a great movie for gay men to watch while potentially feeling incarcerated at home.

I referenced Genet's infamous Un Chant D'amour above but was only recently able to watch the complete 1950 short thanks to another "Christmas in July" gift: Pink Label TV, a new, adult-oriented streaming service. It provides access to many hard-to-find independent and erotic films in numerous categories including "Boygasms", "The Feminine Porn Gaze", "POC (People of Color) Porn" and "Edu-porn."

Like Un Chant D'amour, many of the movies available on Pink Label TV have historic, sociological and/or artistic significance. This is especially true of "The Bressan Project", which spotlights new 2K digital restorations of two pre-AIDS gay features by Arthur J. Bressan, Jr. The pioneering filmmaker died of AIDS complications in 1987 but not before making Buddies, the first feature film about AIDS, in 1985.

Passing Strangers (1974), available now, tells the unexpectedly romantic tale of an 18-year old man, Robert, who is struggling to come out in San Francisco. He replies to a newspaper romance ad (remember those?) from Tom, a 26-year old looking to settle down from his cruising lifestyle. They begin exchanging letters in between graphic sex scenes with other men, and eventually meet at a local gay beach.

The film is initially shot in black and white but it changes to color à la The Wizard of Oz once Tom and Robert meet in person. It is badly dubbed and features some laughably dated camera shots and techniques as well as a weird music score. However, Passing Strangers was ahead of its time in its open and honest depiction of the cruising lifestyle and the desire by some gay men for a true romance. As the older, experienced Tom writes, "I want to love someone." It's simple but somewhat groundbreaking for the time. From today's perspective, the movie gives a glimpse at a time that was at once more hedonistic yet more innocent for gay men. It is also historically significant for Bressan's inclusion of footage from the very first San Francisco Gay Freedom Parade, which he shot in 1972.

Bressan's Forbidden Letters (1979) will be available in August. It becomes apparent soon after the start of this legal drama with porn interludes that the director's technique improved in the five years since Passing Strangers. Definitely worth checking out next month on Pink Label TV.

Reverend's Ratings:
Hamilton: A-
The Family Tree: B
The Prince (El Principe): B+
Passing Strangers and Forbidden Letters: B

Reviews by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film and stage critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.

The First Dorian TV Awards Salute the Last of Schitt's Creek

Soar of the Roses

The final season of the international sleeper hit Schitt's Creek proved to be irresistible to GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics with their inaugural Dorian TV Awards. The beloved Canadian comedy (brought to us stateside by Pop TV) landed a leading seven nominations, including Best TV Comedy and individual nods for the entire Rose family: Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Dan Levy and Annie Murphy.

Netflix triumphed overall with a whopping 21 total nominations, most notably six for Hollywood, Ryan Murphy's glitzy re-imagining of Tinseltown's tawdry history, including four for its cast too (Jeremy Pope, Patti LuPone, Joe Mantello and Jim Parsons) but curiously not for Best TV Movie or Limited Series. Two HBO critical darlings, Bad Education and Watchmen, did land in that category, bringing their total haul to four nominations each, including a pair of acting nominations each (Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney for the former, Regina King and Jean Smart for the latter).

"Nun for me, thank you"

Other series reaping multiple mentions are Netflix's The Crown, Dead to Me and Ozark and FX's Mrs. America and What We Do in the Shadows, as well as previous Dorian Award winners Killing Eve, RuPaul's Drag Race and the Academy Awards. See the comments section below for the complete list of nominations.

Since 2009, GALECA (of which I and fellow Movie Dearest critic Chris Carpenter are longstanding members) has bestowed the annual Dorian Awards to both movies and TV at the beginning of the year, corresponding with the yearly film award season that culminates with the Oscars. However, this year marks the first time the Dorian TV Awards will fly solo, now more closely aligning with the television industry's highest honor, the Emmy Awards, which are handed out in the fall. The winners of the first annual Dorian TV Awards will be announced August 21st.

Stay tuned.....

Reverend's Reviews: Pictures for a Pandemic Pride

Happy socially-distanced Pride, everyone! Viruses, rioters and looters may be abundant nowadays but we in the LGBTQ community must do the best we can to celebrate. It is interesting to note that Pride month each year commemorates a riot, a street protest in June, 1969 that was sparked when bar patrons at New York City's Stonewall Inn, led by trans people of color, fought back against routine police violence. Over the next six days, the small band of patrons were joined by 1,000 protestors who clashed in the streets with police and energized the movement for LGBTQ equality.

Sadly, today also marks four years since the Pulse massacre in Orlando, Florida. We must take a moment to remember the 49 lives senselessly stolen at the popular gathering place for young LGBTQ people. Out today in virtual release via Laemmle Theaters in Los Angeles and others is a powerful new documentary, For They Know Not What They Do, that incorporates one Pulse survivor's story. The film is Daniel Karslake's sequel to his 2007 film For the Bible Tells Me So and continues the exploration of how religion has been used to oppress many LGBTQ individuals. Thankfully, it also shines a hopeful light on the growing number of conservative Christian parents who are becoming more accepting and supportive of their "sinful" children.

Karslake provides intimate, sympathetic portraits of four US families. One is an evangelical Christian married couple who struggled with both a gay brother/brother-in-law and their own gay son, the latter of whom became involved in the "ex-gay" reparative therapy movement with tragic results. Another couple confronted the difficult reality that their daughter is transgender; she is today political activist Sarah McBride. A bi-racial Christian couple similarly struggles to accept their transgender son.

And then there is the Hispanic Catholic family with a gay son and grandson, Vico. His traditional, Puerto Rican grandmother was the more resistant to Vico's sexuality but she grows to a greater understanding after Vico survived the 2016 Pulse shooting. Tragically, several of his friends were killed or wounded that night. One can't not be moved by this family's story.

For They Know Not What They Do incorporates appearances by such anti-LGBTQ stalwarts as Pat Robertson, Focus on the Family, and Exodus International. But there are also powerful, unexpected statements of support for our community from some Protestant Evangelical clergy and congregations. The film is ultimately uplifting, proving that "conversion" of hearts and minds is possible for those anti-LGBTQ folks who need it most. For more information about how to watch it, visit the First Run Features website.

Suspense writer Shirley Jackson hasn't been widely regarded as an LGBT pioneer despite the presence of some such-oriented characters in her books, notably The Haunting of Hill House. This perception is sure to change thanks to Shirley, the new biopic/psycho-drama now available on Hulu and other streaming services. Director Josephine Decker won a Special Jury Award for Auteur Filmmaking at January's Sundance Film Festival, while Elisabeth Moss gives a spellbinding performance as the neurotic author that is already gaining her end-of-the-year awards talk.

In the film, Shirley resides with her husband Stanley (played by the reliably great Michael Stuhlbarg) on the campus of the women's college at which he teaches. She already has a successful writing career but is struggling with her new work. That is, until a young married couple arrive to temporarily live with Shirley and Stanley. Fred (handsome Logan Lerman) is Stanley's new teaching assistant, and his wife Rose (a strong turn by Odessa Young) is expecting their first child.

There are obvious shades of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? as the hosts begin to play seductive mind games on their unsuspecting boarders. Interestingly, Fred and Rose increasingly become like Stanley and Shirley. The film also features lesbian interactions between Shirley and Rose as well as resonant feminist commentary. Decker makes it all Gothic and occasionally morbid à la Jackson's stories. Shirley is both insightful and creepily entertaining.

Darren Coyle's Chasing Sunshine offers a decidedly lighter take on not only lesbian relations but the state of modern love in general. Though made in 2018, it is newly available for streaming via Amazon and other sites. Set in San Fernando Valley and the greater Los Angeles area, this romantic comedy centers on struggling actress Darcy (a winning performance by out actress Kassie Thornton, who sports an "It Gets Better" t-shirt throughout).

When Darcy discovers a note she believes to be from her secret admirer slid under her door, she embarks on what becomes an increasingly wacky scavenger hunt. Being car-less, however, forces Darcy to recruit her best friend's boyfriend, Jack (Trevor Penick, very funny), as her driver. The enjoyably mismatched duo have discussions and debates as they drive to each new clue. They also pick up Jack's occasional Lyft clients, who provide some of the film's funniest moments.

Coyle has a good eye for offbeat SoCal locations as well as a good ear, as evidenced by David Ricard's jaunty, a cappella bebop score. Chasing Sunshine is at times perceptive, at times silly but a feel-good flick worth checking out during Pride month.

Last but not least among new movie offerings for Pride is Boys on Film 20: Heaven Can Wait. This latest assortment of gay-themed shorts from around the world is out now on VOD and DVD from Peccadillo Pictures. Of note, the Boys on Film collection is now at 20 years the world's longest-running short film series.

While the 11 shorts offered here are consistently good, two of them – Just Me and Mine – are decidedly downbeat. Another pair, Chromophobie and Manivald, are noteworthy for their unique animated takes on gay life. Don't Blame Jack serves as the 29-minute centerpiece of this 2 1/2-hour showcase. It is the sensitively-written and -performed story of a bipolar man failing to find stability, until he happens to meet an understanding (and sexy) new guy.

I really liked the visually-impressive Mankind, about a gay man, Will, who is accepted as a finalist for the first manned mission to Mars. It will be a one-way trip, however, which is unhappy news to Will's lover. And this collection's finale, The World in Your Window, is a touching must-see about an 8-year old boy struggling to console his father in the wake of his mother's death. He gets unanticipated help from a tough, tattooed neighbor.

Whether you'll be venturing out or staying in, there are numerous safe ways to celebrate Pride!

Reverend's Ratings:
For They Know Not What They Do: A-
Shirley: B+
Chasing Sunshine: B-
Boys on Film 20: Heaven Can Wait: B

Reviews by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film and stage critic of Movie Dearest and Rage Monthly Magazine.

Dearest Review: Oh, Goddess!

Believe it or not, Showgirls has been in our lives for 25 years now. Who could have guessed back in 1995, when Paul Verhoeven's infamous NC-17-rated "erotic drama" was first unleashed onto the world, that we would still be talking about it today? Instantly reviled as one of the worst movies ever made by critics and moviegoers alike, it has since been embraced by cult and/or LGBTQ audiences as a camp classic and even reevaluated by a few daring souls who freely, unironically label it a masterpiece.

It is these Showgirl stans, representing both Team Trash and Team Art, that add their voices to the new documentary You Don't Nomi, available on demand and digitally June 9th. And by "add their voices", I do mean just that, as none of the commentators are interviewed on screen; nope, no talking heads here. There's no room for them, as director Jeffrey McHale takes a deep dive into not only the world of Showgirls but the worlds of all of Verhoeven's cinematic oeuvre, from the Oscar nominated Turkish Delight up to the Oscar nominated Elle. He re-frames footage from Showgirls into actual scenes from Robocop, for example, juxtaposing the sex and sin of the former alongside the violence and mayhem of the latter. It's an interesting approach that gets stretched thin at times, but then there's a reveal like Verhoeven's fetishistic attachment to women's fingernails that makes the artistic conceit worthwhile.

April Kidwell as Nomi in Showgirls: The Musical

You Don't Nomi largely eschews the typical format of the usual "making of a classic movie documentary", relegating archival interviews (circa the film's premiere) of the three main players (Verhoeven, screenwriter Joe Eszterhas and Nomi Malone herself, Elizabeth Berkley) to the start of the proceedings, while limiting obvious observations (e.g., "All About Eve remade with strippers") to brief asides. Also of note, particularly to Jessie Spano devotees, is a shockingly robust collection of clips from Berkley's Saved by the Bell glory days.

This leaves the meat of the doc to the unseen "Greek chorus" of aforementioned commentators, who range from the author of a book of poetry inspired by Showgirls to the leading lady of the Off-Broadway musical adaptation to drag icon Peaches Christ (seen at midnight screening pre-shows rising from a papier-mâché Goddess volcano dolled up as either Nomi or Cristal, naturally). It is their startlingly heartfelt and at times surprisingly personal connections to Showgirls that I found fascinating, attesting to the all-mighty power of film – even if that film is as bad as Showgirls.

Dearest Rating: 7/10

Reviews by Kirby Holt, Movie Dearest creator, editor and head writer.