Reverend's Reviews: Myths & Nightmares

During my time in a Roman Catholic seminary twenty years ago, the late philosopher-professor Joseph Campbell was revered for having situated Christianity within what he termed the "monomyth," a millennia-spanning heroic adventure found in every human culture. Today, Campbell -- who was raised Catholic -- would likely be condemned as an apostate given the Church's current, conservative climate.

For the uninitiated, the new documentary Finding Joe (opening today in Los Angeles and soon to rollout nationally) serves as a crash course in Campbell's life work involving myths, slaying and/or befriending figurative dragons, and the ultimate encouragement, drawn from Hindu tradition, to "follow one's bliss." Utilizing interviews with such diverse personalities as Deepak Chopra, Mick Fleetwood and Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind) as well as a number of clips from movie classics including the Star Wars saga, The Lord of the Rings and The Wizard of Oz, Finding Joe provides considerable insight into Campbell's writings if not necessarily the man. (To learn more about Campbell himself, check out Bill Moyers' late 1980's PBS series, The Power of Myth.)

The film -- written, produced and directed by Patrick Takaya Solomon -- is nicely shot and edited but generally employs a standard "talking heads" approach and lectures more than it engages. It is strongest whenever it quotes Campbell directly, with such reflections as "Many of us are metaphorically-impaired" (referring to the equation of mythology with metaphor) and "I don't believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive" among the stand outs. There are also some charming vignettes sprinkled throughout in which children dramatize chapters from Campbell's seminal work, A Hero with a Thousand Faces.

There is also wisdom to be found in Campbell's conclusion that true power results when each of us learns to "love and accept yourself as you are." Finding Joe may not be the most accomplished piece of cinema, especially when compared to some of the Campbell-inspired films it spotlights, but its subject remains undeniably inspiring.

What might ultimately emerge as one of the best movies of 2011 also opens today in LA and New York City: Jeff Nichols' excellent suspense-drama Take Shelter. Frightening, moving and thought-provoking by turns, it stars Michael Shannon (an Academy Award nominee for 2008's Revolution Road and soon to be seen as the villainous General Zod in the Superman epic, Man of Steel) as Curtis LaForche, an unassuming Ohio sand miner with a loving wife (Jessica Chastain, current belle of the cineplex ball in the wake her eye-opening turns in The Tree of Life, The Help and The Debt) and deaf daughter.

Curtis is well respected at work and in their community. However, just when the LaForches are prepping their daughter for a cochlear implant that will, if successful, enable her to hear, Curtis begins to have apocalyptic visions and nightmares involving a devastating storm, flocks of angry crows and a pack of seemingly-escaped mental patients out to get his little girl. He subsequently becomes obsessed with expanding and fortifying the family's storm cellar, much to his friends' and neighbors' consternation. Are Curtis's dreams prophetic, or is he succumbing to the same paranoid schizophrenia that struck his mother (a cameo by the always welcome Kathy Baker, of Picket Fences and Edward Scissorhands fame) when she was the same age as Curtis is now?

I think master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock would have approved of Take Shelter, especially with its visual allusions to The Birds and its beautifully ironic finale (which will likely polarize audiences). Shannon deftly balances the stoic and the terrified, and Chastain gives another, now seemingly expected great performance. Also fine are the movie's eerie storm effects and other effective scares dished up by Nichols along with visual effects supervisor Chris Wells (Avatar, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and editor Parke Gregg.

In the end, Take Shelter powerfully illustrates that the only real safety to be found when disaster looms -- whether real or imagined -- is with the one(s) we love.

Reverend's Ratings:
Finding Joe: B
Take Shelter: A-

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

Reverend's Preview: Seeing Red at Gay Days Anaheim 2011

It’s once again time for GLBT fun-seekers to get out those red T-shirts and head to the Disneyland Resort. Gay Days Anaheim will be held this weekend, September 30-October 2.

Gay Days was established in 1997 by a small group of gay fans of all things Disney. A similar "unofficial" event is held each spring at Walt Disney World in Florida. The California event has grown to attract more than 30,000 GLBT people annually from throughout the state and the US. Attendees traditionally wear red shirts to identify themselves as GLBT, since Disneyland and its neighboring theme park — Disney’s California Adventure — will remain open to the general public during the weekend.

Besides all the fun the parks have to offer, two major dance parties are held during the weekend. "Wonderland" will be held the night of September 30 at Ralph Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney, with all proceeds from the event benefitting the Trevor Project. Academy Award-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (Milk and the upcoming J.Edgar) will preside over the VIP room. On Saturday night, DJ Kimberly S and The Voice's Frenchie Davis will headline "Kingdom", Gay Days’ signature dance party at Downtown Disney’s House of Blues.

Recognizing the growing participation by lesbian women in Gay Days events, a Saturday ladies' night starring comedian Suzanne Westenhoefer will be held for the very first time. The weekend will also feature a first-ever lesbian lounge at the Anabella Hotel across the street from Disneyland.

Other special events planned include "An Intimate Conversation with Carol Channing", in which the 90-year-old Broadway legend will talk about her life and career at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel on Sunday. Glee star and 2011 Emmy-nominee Dot Marie Jones (Coach Beiste) will also be on hand, hosting the VIP cocktail party on Saturday with Gay Days regular Bruce Vilanch. Plus, both days in the parks will feature gatherings only available over Gay Days weekend, including a group photo, a PFLAG luncheon, group meet ups at varying attractions, and many more events targeted to youth, bears, couples and Mouseketeers of every ilk.

Gays Days Anaheim are fun for all ages, and many GLBT couples with children attend. The weekend is filled with ice cream socials, scavenger hunts and other family-friendly events, not to mention the rides, parades and shows for which the Disney parks are famous. A new Little Mermaid ride at California Adventure will no doubt be a popular draw, as will the recently-revamped Star Tours attraction in Disneyland. Other highlights of the weekend include free gift bags at the Gay Days Welcome Center (located inside the Trillium Room of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel), and a Gay Days Pin Trading event on Sunday.

A complete schedule of Gay Days events as well as tickets, discounted park passes and hotel rooms and, yes, official red T-shirts can all be accessed through Gay Days Anaheim website.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

Folk Icons

Like every American gay man in 2000, I was glued to the TV for the premiere of Queer as Folk, the US version of the critically-acclaimed yet controversial British series of the same name.  I had heard about the "no-holds-barred" show from across the pond, with its frank depictions of gay life in Manchester and all its notorious scenes of sex, drugs and house music, but was still floored by what I saw onscreen.  Was this really on TV? (To paraphrase their competitor's slogan, no "it's Showtime".)

I became an instant fan of the US QAF, even if the writing tended to be over-the-top and the acting was questionable at times.  Naturally, as with most "Americanized" adaptations of British television (from The Office to Being Human), there were plenty of cries of "the original is better", yet I was never able to actually watch the UK QAF to see if all the nay sayers were right... until now.

Available today on DVDfrom Acorn Media is Queer as Folk: The Complete UK Collection, a three-disc set that includes all ten episodes of the original QAF (series one, originally aired as eight half-hours, is presented here as four one-hour episodes).  Even though it has been 12 years since the series' faithful debut on England's Channel 4, QAF UK still feels fresh and vibrant and equally daring, and far from just a curiosity piece for those who have only seen QAF US.

For those viewers there will be plenty of deja vu moments while watching the original, as the US version borrowed heavily from it during its first year.  And the basics are the same:  Stuart (Brian in the US/played by Aiden Gillen) is the king stud of Canal Street (Liberty Avenue), always accompanied by his put-upon best friend Vince (Michael/Craig Kelly) and followed by the "one-night stand that wouldn't go away", 15-year-old newbie Nathan (Justin/Charlie Hunnam).  Other familiar characters, such as Vince's overly-supportive mom Hazel (Debbie/Denise Black) and flamboyant fashionista Alexander (Emmett/Antony Cotton), are also on hand, but here the stories focus mainly on the three points of the dysfunctional love triangle at its center.

Minus the glitzy sheen that permeated America's, this QAF is grittier and more down-to-earth. This realism is no more so apparent than with episode three's tragic end to sad sack Phil (Jason Merrells), known as Ted in the US. Even so, the original still feels less cynical than its American counterpart, at least until its infamous final episode, where series creator Russell T. Davies seemingly gives up on any semblance of reality and logical character motivations half-way through and starts blowing stuff up.

Davies supplies a lengthy essay on QAF's origins for the set, which also features a healthy selection of bonus materials, including cast and creator interviews, photo galleries, deleted and extended scenes, trailers and the "making of" feature What the Folk?

Click hereto purchase Queer as Folk: The Complete UK Collection from Amazon.com.

Reel Thoughts Interview: West Side Stephen

“You are speaking indeed to the legend himself!”

With an introduction like that, you know that you are in for a great interview. Stephen DeRosa, a talented Broadway veteran and television actor, did not disappoint. The New York City native will be coming to a town near you in the West Side Story tour in the role of Gladhand, the male authority figure who tries to pacify the warring student gangs at the high school dance. “If you blink, you’ll miss me,” DeRosa joked. “I’m on for three minutes but I try to chew as much scenery as I possibly can.”

DeRosa, a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, was born and raised in Queens. “Don’t say it,” he exclaimed. “The joke’s already built in!” He went to school at Georgetown for politics, “but it involved too much acting.” Recently, DeRosa became an indelible part of the hit HBO series Boardwalk Empire, playing the role of comedian Eddie Cantor for director Martin Scorcese and Sopranos writer Terry Winter. He feels very fortunate to have parlayed a one-time role into three appearances, since the real Eddie Cantor was a friend of lead character Nucky Thompson, played by Steve Buscemi.

West Side Story is celebrating more than fifty years of exciting audiences with the battle between the white Jets and the Puerto Rican Sharks in New York’s Upper East Side. Most of the songs have become standards that everyone knows, such as “Tonight”, “I Feel Pretty” and the satirical immigrant anthem “America”. This latest revival directed by David Saint, based on Tony Winner Arthur Laurents’ original work, is innovative in that the Spanish-speaking characters do speak in Spanish much of the time. DeRosa loves the production, and says that you will not have any trouble understanding the scenes where this happens. “That’s part of the fun of my character, he tries to speak Spanish.”

“(Stephen) Sondheim and Laurents always hoped that the show could be a little more authentic. You need to read the book Original Story by Arthur Laurents, because it’s delicious. It’s his autobiography. It is such a good read for anyone who’s gay and anyone who loves the theater. You will devour it. It’s about being gay in the 40s and 50s, it’s about the creative process, it’s about trying to have integrity in Hollywood and all of the crazy backstage drama that happened on Broadway.” DeRosa explained that Laurents and Sondheim got the chance to tinker with the show’s book and lyrics, and that audiences will enjoy it. “It’s a very timely piece, and Arthur wanted it to be even more timeless. He wanted it to be about “Us vs. Them”. There’s always an “Us vs. Them” mentality and usually one of the main things that gets in the way is language, communication. “

“David (Saint) has given the show a real pace, he’s really infused the show with younger actors who have more passion and more energy. And there’s a playfulness, too. The “Officer Krupke” number’s just going to blow your mind, it’s so much fun. And it’s surprisingly homoerotic, which came from the text and from giving the actors the freedom to be as stupid as they wanted to be. It’s amazing how when you get a bunch of (mostly straight) boys together to fool around, inevitably, weird gayish, fratty kind of shit comes up. It’s very interesting.”

Based on the immortal story of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Leonard Bernstein, Sondheim and Laurents moved the action to the disaffected youth in the Big Apple, where rival gangs of immigrants and those who used to be immigrants battle each other for turf, and a boy and a girl from opposite sides have little chance of finding love. Tony and Maria give it their best shot, even as all of their friends and relatives try to tear them apart.

DeRosa made his first big Off-Broadway splash in a historic revival of Charles Ludlam’s The Mystery of Irma Vep, playing opposite Everett Quinton (Devil Boys from Beyond) in the multiple roles that Quinton had originated. DeRosa also played opposite Vanessa Williams as the Baker in the revival of Sondheim’s Into the Woods.

“It’s a great job, this job,” DeRosa exclaimed. “I got to work with the late, great Arthur Laurents who was so loving and generous and who rewrote some of my role, to try and bring a little more humor. It’s a great show and audiences love it. Plus, you get to go to work and be surrounded by gorgeous men in various states of undress. It’s a good job, I’m lucky. I’ll take it,” he said laughing.

“The bottom line is, it’s West Side Story. The score just blows your mind how beautiful it is, and the dancing... these kids are doing the original choreography and they’re all in their early twenties and strong enough and agile enough to (do it). It’s really exciting.”

Interview by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.