If you’re a fan of overly theatrical, archly campy cinema, then sit down (pun very much intended). I’ve got a film for you! Filmmaker Amanda Kramer first came to my attention with her 2022 feature, Please Baby Please, which showcased her distinctive voice as a cinematic absurdist. Combining John Waters-esque emphatic, over the top performances... Continue Reading →
It’s funny how the catchphrase “Stop the insanity!” means something so different now than when anyone of age in the 90s first heard it. Now it feels like my mantra in response to the horror show of the daily news cycle, whereas during the grunge/dot-com decade, the phrase only referred to a ubiquitous infomercial exercise... Continue Reading →
For decades now, people constantly tell me how movies just aren’t as good as in the past. To use a technical term, I “poo-poo” that sentiment and respond that great movies have been around, you just have to look a little harder. Some years yield better results than others, and for me, 2025 gave us... Continue Reading →
Fairyland, the screen adaptation of Alysia Abbott’s memoir of growing up with a gay dad in San Francisco during the 70s and 80s has finally hit theaters. I eagerly awaited this film as that time and place means a lot to me. As a kid from small town Ohio, I have vivid memories of seeing... Continue Reading →
I have a confession to make. I really didn’t like the late, great William Hurt’s performance in the 1985 film, Kiss Of The Spider Woman. I don’t care that he won the Oscar, I found him way too mannered, affected, and “playing gay” the entire time. Hurt should have won two years later for his... Continue Reading →
In my lifetime of loving movies, a few come to mind as ones I considered fantastic but that I’d never want to see again. Requiem For A Dream, Irreversible, American History X, and The Last King of Scotland count among them, mostly for their graphic brutality. I now can add The Long Walk to that... Continue Reading →
James Sweeney made an auspicious feature filmmaking debut in 2019 with his snappy, dialogue-packed Straight Up. This hilarious and touching story of a gay man who decides he wants to date women out of sheer loneliness showcased a bold and original cinematic voice. He established a distinct visual style of negative space framing and surreal... Continue Reading →
Nothing gives me more cinematic pleasure than when John Waters characters shout their lines. Every booming rant seems like something I’d never say myself, but wished that I had. Can you imagine Divine whispering, “If I don’t get those cha-cha heels for Christmas, Mom and Dad are dead”? It doesn’t work. It MUST be loud... Continue Reading →
Where have you seen this one before? A grizzled, graying gay filmmaker fixates on a past relationship which prevents him from moving forward in present day. If Pedro Almodóvar’s wonderful Pain And Glory comes to mind, you have just won the trivia contest, but not so fast, as Before We Forget, co-written and directed by... Continue Reading →
schnook: noun - informal - def: a person easily duped, a fool - “Don’t be a schnook! It’s a scam!” I love comedies about schnooks. From the intrepid duo at the heart of American Movie, Beavis And Butt-head, Dumb And Dumber and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, I’ve always had a soft spot in my... Continue Reading →
