I love dark comedies and big swings. They’re among my favorite movie flavors. With such titles as Dr. Strangelove, Heathers, War Of The Roses, and Fargo offering us peak form, I found myself studying their mastery of tone and ability to somehow make us care about a gallery of unsavory characters. It’s an exceedingly fine... Continue Reading →
“I was born in 1938 in a little house on the edge of the Mississippi River. My father worked on a steamboat. His name was Steamboat Milton.” So begins Paul Reubens at the start of Matt Wolf’s remarkable documentary Pee-Wee As Himself, placing himself squarely in the role of unreliable narrator to his own life... Continue Reading →
I know, I know, my review title is crass and probably a little inappropriate, but I’m frustrated at the moment and will take sexual innuendo any way I can. It’s hard out there for us singletons. I’ve often said that I’ve never felt more alone than when in a roomful of other gay men. I’m... Continue Reading →
I’ve often wondered what people really mean when they say, “They don’t make movies like they used to”. Are they talking about the scripts, directing, cinematography, subject matter, overall tone or something else? When I look back on films from the 1940s, for example, I often experience empty sound editing, flat staging, and tin-eared dialogue.... Continue Reading →
Really good romantic comedies have had a tough time melting my cold, dead heart as of late. For me, the formula wore thin right around the time Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan started exchanging those pesky e-mails. Despite a resurgence in the past couple of years with such films as Anyone But You and Hit... Continue Reading →
Every year, instead of making a Top Ten List of my favorite movies, I like to pay homage to a long-discontinued but influential annual column called “Moments Out Of Time” from Film Comment magazine. Their critics would cite their favorite scenes, images, or lines of dialogue, even from films they may not have liked. As... Continue Reading →
All of the great musicals I’ve seen have what I like to call “lift”. Call it a key change, increase in tempo, clever wordplay, or a simple crescendo, but it’s that you’ll-know-it-when-you-feel-it burst of energy almost willing you out of your seat. I knew Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, the creators of Six, had the... Continue Reading →
William S. Burroughs’ unfinished novella, Queer, tells the story of an alcoholic, junkie American writer named William Lee, who, while escaping legal issues in the States, finds himself among other expats in Mexico City circa 1950. He spends his time at a local watering hole or cruising for men in the streets. There he meets... Continue Reading →
Never heard of Allee Willis? If not, trust me, no matter your age, you know her work. This iconic songwriter/visual artist was responsible for writing or co-writing “September” and “Boogie Wonderland” for Earth, Wind & Fire, “Neutron Dance” for The Pointer Sisters, “What Have I Done To Deserve This?” for Pet Shop Boys, The Color... Continue Reading →
At 83 years old, fashion designer/icon Patricia Field seems to accomplish more in one morning than most people do in a month. Slackers and ageists, take note! In Michael Selditch’s joyful documentary, Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field, you’re guaranteed to conclude that you haven’t done enough with your life. Best known for her... Continue Reading →
