Queer Review, Classic Review?: Thelma and Louise (1991)

Thelma and Louise
Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: Callie Khouri
Cast: Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Christopher McDonald, Brad Pitt

Overview
A story of two woman who go on a crime spree, Thelma and Louise contains one of the most iconic endings in movie history. At it's core, this is the story of a relationship between two repressed woman who find out what they are capable of while fleeing from their old lives.

Synopsis
Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) are two woman whose vacation plans go horribly awry . While stopping at a bar on their way out of town, they meet a handsome stranger, who Thelma spends most of the evening flirting and dancing with. When the two go outside however, he attempts to rape her, and she ends up being rescued by Louise, who ends up shooting and killing the attempted rapist. This results in Thelma and Louise running from the law, as they try to figure out how to survive in a world that is not friendly towards woman.

The Queering
I am of two minds about this movie in regards to there being a queer subtext, which I had heard about before viewing. On one hand there is clearly a strong bond between Louise and Thelma that transcends mere friendship and they even share a kiss in the closing moments of the movie. On the other hand, there is little evidence that this bond goes beyond the platonic. In other words, this is going to get both a classic review tag and queer review tag.

Thelma and Louise probably appeals most strongly to women, than it does for anyone else. That is not to say that other people could not enjoy this female empowrment romp, but that woman are more likely to appreciate what it offers. Most of the male characters are presented as jerks. Thelma's husband is a control freak who appears at any moment ready to lash out in an uncontrolled rage. In addition to the attempted rapist, there is also a truck driver who makes lewd offers to the two and a handsome young man, who seduces Thelma, only to steal all of the pair's money. In contrast, there are only two men with any decency. The Detective Hal (Harvey Keitel) who is investigating the murder and Jimmy (Michael Madsen) who is in love with Louise.

Overall, this is a well made movie and as I watch more and more of movies made more than two decades ago, I more and more find myself lamenting for a time when movies like this were able to get made. For example, it is difficult imagining the ending being used in today's filmmaking environment. The acting by Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis is superb and Ridley Scott, not known for directing character driven pieces, somehow succeeds exceptionally well here.

Granted, there are plenty of formulas at work in Thelma and Louise, but they are well enough executed and with enough interesting variations, to keep it from feeling formulaic. The writing is both a curse and a weakness. While Callie Khouri successfully manages to develop two interesting and complex female leads, there are numerous small, yet noticeable, plot holes throughout. For example, how did Hal get the licence plate number for the car? And was I the only one who thought that the small army chasing down Louise and Thelma at the end was a tad over the top?

In any event, the strengths cancel out any weaknesses and I can only say that this is one damn fine motion picture.

Recommendation
Strongly recommended.

The Rating

Trailer


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Queer Review: Milk (2008)

Milk
Director: Gus Van Sant
Writer: Dustin Lance Black
Cast: Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna, James Franco, Alison Pill, Victor Garber, Denis O'Hare

Overview
Harvey Milk was among the first openly gay politicians run and be elected to a major public office in the United States, and the first in the state of California. Milk is the Gus Van Sant directed biopic of Harvey Milk's life, with Sean Penn in the title role.

Synopsis
Milk starts out with the initial meeting between Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) and his longtime lover Scott Smith (James Franco) in a subway station and ends with his assassination at the hands of Dan White (Josh Brolin). In between we are shown Milk's early political campaign struggles and the events of his brief political career once he was elected, along with the strained political relationship he had with Dan White. There is also some time focused on Anita Bryant's homphobic campaigns against civil rights, which featured legislation to make it legal to fire "homosexual" teachers in California and that Harvey Milk publicly campainged against.

The Queering
On the whole, this is a fairly standard bio-pic. However, there are a few things that do make it stand out. The first is Sean Penn's performance as Harvey Milk which embodies the cliche of "bringing [insert historical figure here] to life". The other is the amount of insight provided into Harvey Milk and the homophobia that existed during the time period.

I also have to say that there are also plenty of emotionally moving scenes. This is what makes the film work. Without emotional investment in the struggles of Harvey Milk, this picture would simply not work.

However, I do have a minor criticism, although this is more broadly applied to Hollywood on the whole. Are there not enough mainstream pictures about gay white men now? It's not like there are not any other historical figures to choose from. When are we going to see a bio-pic of Sylvia Rivera, Ruth C. Ellis, George Washington Carver, or Bayard Rustin? I am just getting a little tired of there not being a heck of a lot of variety out there to choose from when it comes to queer films.

In any case, what Milk sets out to do, it does well. There is also enough insight into Milk's life and philosophy here to make it worthwhile viewing. Two quotes from Milk in particular stand out for me. I found the first the most insightful. When is when Supervisor Dan White tells Harvey that "you have an issue", Harvey responds with, "It's more than an issue, this is our lives we're fighting for."

The other one is the most moving:

I ask this... If there should be an assassination, I would hope that five, ten, one hundred, a thousand would rise. I would like to see every gay lawyer, every gay architect come out - - If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door... And that's all. I ask for the movement to continue. Because it's not about personal gain, not about ego, not about power... it's about the "us's" out there. Not only gays, but the Blacks, the Asians, the disabled, the seniors, the us's. Without hope, the us's give up - I know you cannot live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. So you, and you, and you... You gotta give em' hope... you gotta give em' hope.

Recommendation
Highly recommended. Milk makes a good starting point for those who wish to know more about the history of gay activism and queer politics.

The Rating

Trailer


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Queer Review: X-Men: First Class (2011)

X-Men: First Class
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Writers: Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, Jane Goldman, and Matthew Vaughn. Story by Sheldon Turner and Bryan Singer.
Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, Nicholas Hoult, Jennifer Lawrence

Overview
X-Men: First Class is a prequel to the original X-Men movies, X-Men, X2-X-Men United, and X-Men: The Last Stand. However, while many are labeling X-Men: First Class as a member of the superhero origins genre, I think it is more interesting to look it a "coming out of the closet" tale with mutants, as opposed to queers.

Synopsis
We start out with a brief sequence set during the Holocaust, where Erik Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender) who will become Magneto, is being studied by Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon). After Shaw kills Erik's mother, Erik spends the rest of the movie hunting down Shaw for one purpose, to exact bloody vengeance. In other scenes, we are shown how Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) first meet and later, a few glimpses of Xavier at Oxford, my favorite glimpse being of Xavier chugging down beer while celebrating his graduation.

Shaw's ultimate goal though is to start a nuclear war and here he is the instigator behind the Cuban Missile Crisis. While he is doing that, Xavier and Erik are recruiting mutants using a primitive version of Cerebro that was created by Beast (Nicholas Hoult) in order to build a mutant army for the CIA to stop Shaw.

The Queering
There is some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that Mystique was actually straightened out as I had feared from the trailers. Here she not only kisses Beast, but also tries to sleep with Magneto and gets all jealous when Xavier tries to pick up other woman at Oxford. The good news is that Mystique, along with Beast, are given a much more interesting queer subtext in this movie. As I said at the beginning, this is more a coming out story for the mutants then it is an origins story and Mystique and Beast are the ones whose struggles are the most interesting when viewed through this lens. Magneto's speech to Mystique about how she was both beautiful and perfect in her natural blue scaly body was particularly moving to me. "Mutant and Proud" indeed.

The struggle between Professor Xavier and and Magneto is also intriguing, as much of what Professor Xavier appears to be advocating is that mutants should live in the closet even if this costs them their freedom. His condescending attitude towards Mystique where he encourages her to look "normal" highlights this. Magneto has always been one of the most complex superhero villains to grace the silver screen and the way this movie fleshes out his motivations while having him advocate that mutants should be visibly "out" to the rest of the world, only adds even more interesting layers to his character.

As far as the acting goes, I am tempted to give into bad puns and label Michael Fassbender's work here "magnetic". In any case, Fassbender's performance could stand toe to toe with Ian McKellen's performance in the original. James McAvoy is not quite as successful, but then he is playing a much younger and more naive Professor Xavier who had a sheltered upbringing and I think that's what makes him come across as a pale imitation of Patrick Stewart. In other words, McAvoy's performance, while not great, works within the context of this movie.

Prequels, by their very nature, are difficult to get right. The fact that we know where all of the characters and various plots will end up, means there often is a distinct lack of suspense. We know that at some point Xavier is going to lose the ability to walk, that Magneto will don Shaw's helmet, and which one of those two Mystique will ultimately choose to side with. However, by introducing an interesting thematic parallel to the queer experience of "coming out", X-Men: First Class manages to make for compelling viewing in spite of the obstacles that come from being a prequel.

Recommendation
Highly recommended, particularly for those who enjoyed the early X-Men movies, but I would be so bold to claim that this can be enjoyed by anyone.

The Rating

Trailer


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Queer Review: Shortbus (2006)

Shortbus
Director: John Cameron Mitchell
Writer: John Cameron Mitchell
Cast: Sook-Yin Lee, Paul Dawson, Peter Stickles, Alan Mandell, Raphael Barker, PJ DeBoy, Lindsay Beamish, Jay Brannan

Overview
Shortbus is the most sexually explicit narrative (as opposed to pornographic) film I have ever seen. Director John Cameron Mitchel also directed Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which happens to my personal favorite queer movie. Here, Mitchel is taking things in much different and even more ambitious direction - make a narrative feature with lots of queer sex acts that also functions as a work of art.

Synopsis
Sofia (Sook-Yin Lee) has what I would assume to be an unusual problem for a sex therapist in that she has never experienced an orgasm. When she meets James (Paul Dawson) and Jamie (PJ DeBoy), they invite her to the Shortbus, a sex club for people of all persuasions, genders, and orientations. Sofia goes there with her husband Rob (Raphael Barker) where she meets Severin (Severin) a dominatrix and the interactions the two woman engage in help create catalysts that help them move forward with their respective issues. At the same time, James and Jamie have brought a third partner into their lives Ceth (Jay Brannan). James is suffering from depression and has an ulterior motive for allowing Ceth into their lives, at the same time this introduction upsets an obsessed stalker, Caleb (Peter Stickles).

The Queering
What I like about John Mitchel Cameron movies is that he clearly cares about using movies to explore deeper themes regarding the human condition. There are a lot of things being said in Shortbus and while not all of them are profound, most of them are at least provocative. There has been a long standing debate for decades as to whether or not "porn" can even be considered art. Producers of pornographic materials have long attempted to prevent their works from being banned in a puritanical world by introducing flimsy story lines into movies that are ostensibly created for the sole purpose of being an aid to masturbating humans. It is clear that Cameron intends to muddy this line by introducing dirty sex into what is an otherwise purely artistic film.

What makes Shortbus different from most narrative features is that the central problem revolves around the main character attempting to have an orgasm, rather than find true love. In short, the plot of Shortbus is the same basic plot used by pretty every other porn film in existence. However, while most straight pornography is about the subjugation of the female subjects to a masculine sexual desire, Mitchel differentiates Shortbus by making the focus on a woman's liberation. This is the key here, and what I would argue makes Shortbus worthy of artistic consideration.

While making Shortbus Mitchel used improve workshops with the actors to create the characters. Between that and the main theme being about unleashed womanhood, I was strongly reminded of Top Girls, a play I had to study for the Play Analysis for the Stage class I took in college.

This not a film for the timid. Characters are shown masturbating, ejaculating, penetrating, and fucking. Sex and art are frequently linked, such as when a shot of cum adds to a Pollack type painting. The point of the Shortbus Club (and by extension, the movie) is to turn sexual acts into works of performance art. Also, think about the implications of Caleb the Stalker, as he watches Jamie, James, and later Ceth, as they all have sex in their apartment.

Just one last thing I want to point out. There are more than a few animated sequences of New York City that are used in clever ways throughout the film. The most notable being at the beginning with an extended shot of the Statue of Liberty, which I am guessing was Mitchel's way of announcing that lady liberation was going to have her way.

Recommendation
Strongly recommended, at least for those who will not mind the mingling here of hardcore porn and art.

The Rating

Trailer


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Queer Review: I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)

I Shot Andy Warhol
Director: Mary Harron
Writer: Mary Harron and Daniel Minahan. Based upon the book by Jeremiah Newton. Additional material provided by "The Letters and Diaries of Candy Darling" and research by Diane Tucker.
Cast: Lili Taylor, Jared Harris, Martha Plimpton, Stephen Dorff

Overview
The story of I Shot Andy Warhol is based upon the true tale of militant lesbian Valerie Jean Solanas (Lili Taylor), a 1960's radical feminist who wrote the S.C.U.M. (Society For Cutting Up Men) Manifesto. As far as I could tell, director Mary Harron's flick stuck as close to the established record as possible. This is a good thing, as this dramatic tale is not one that needed any embellishment.

Synopsis
Valarie Solanas started out as a panhandler/prostitute trying to make her way in NYC, along with her friends Stevie (Martha Plimpton). While there, Solanas meets Candy Darling (Stephen Dorff) who introduces her to Andy Warhol (Jared Harris). Solanas then forcefully attempts to get Warhol to produce a play of hers as well as publish The S.C.U.M. Manifesto, even though he shows nothing more than polite interest. All of this, inevitably leads to Solanas's declining mental stability, resulting in her believing that Andy Warhol is trying to control her life and then to that inevitable day of violence.

The Queering
After watching I Shot Andy Warhol, I now have a better understanding of why Warhol would produce something as terrible as Woman in Revolt even though I still do not think that cinematic disaster can be excused in any way.

However, it is important to note that while I Shot Andy Warhol attempts to understand Solanas as a human being - for example we see bits and pieces of her childhood and the time she spent at college - it does not attempt to condone her actions or philosophies, merely show how someone could be driven to these extremes. Solanas is portrayed as someone with a rapidly deteriorating mental health, which can be seen as a result of the discrimination she had faced as a woman and the sexual molestation that occurred when she was a child. And Warhol comes across as an innocent here, someone who had Solanas foisted upon him and who only reacted with a feigned politeness to attempts on Solanas's part for Warhol to produce and publish her works.

The S.C.U.M. Manifesto is considered a feminist classic in some circles and I Shot Andy Warhol takes time to show us insights into Solanas's thought process. Excerpts from S.C.U.M. are read to us by Solanas in black and white shots highlighting by implication the personal demons that Solanas obviously faced.

The star of this movie is obviously Lily Taylor, whose hard as nails performance drives the movie through even the roughest patches. Taylor is the one who makes the movie. Any performance of a lesser caliber might have made I Shot Andy Warhol unwatchable in some of the more difficult scenes, but with Lily Taylor's mesmerizing performance, everything else falls into place. Jared Harris plays Andy Warhol as a quiet, mousy kind of guy. Although I always imagined an artist with Warhol's reputation to have had more of a presence personality wise, my boyfriend informed me that Harris's interpretation is valid.

Recommendation
While Solanas's philosophy and writings, particularly The S.C.U.M. Manifesto may be offensive to some, I do not think that should be a barrior for anyone to view I Shot Andy Warhol. Highly recommended.

The Rating

Promo



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Queer Issue: Thoughts on the Failed Sissy Boy Experiements

I just got done watching Anderson Cooper's 360 report on "The Sissy Boy Expirement". For a couple of reasons I want to discuss here, this viewing has left me somewhat emotionally shaken.

In this report (which can be watched below) Cooper talks about the experiments done on "Kraig" in order to make him more masculine. Kraig later committed suicide at age 38. It is stories like this remind me that as bad as I sometimes think I had it growing up, there are those who had it much worse.

The reason I am so emotional now is because how much my experiences growing up mimic Kraig. When I was a kid I played with these dolls (I believe they were called treasure trolls) and spent a lot of time cutting up socks and combing their hair. I can remember at the same time that I started playing with these dolls, that I was also starting to develop attraction to members of my own sex. If I knew friends were coming over, I made very sure that these toys were well hidden. But when I was alone, I spent a lot of doing things I imagine many of my more macho friends were not.

I also spent a lot of time reading (there was no TV in the house). Granted most of this was stuff like The Hardy Boys or The Boxcar Children but I also spent a lot of time reading a series called The Babysitters Club which was aimed exclusively at those of a feminine persuasion.

I feel I should be grateful then, that while my Mom's reaction to my coming out was not perfect (Sorry Mom, but telling your son that he's now safe to be dating girls because now there's no risk of him raping them, is not quite the best response), at least I was not shipped off to an Ex-Gay camp to be subjected to extreme aversion therapy.

Like Kraig, I did try to commmit suicide. Thankfully, unlike him, I did not succeed. While "The Sissy Boy Experiment" was a terrible thing, it simply a more extreme example of what society does to queer people everyday. Color coded chips may not be used to keep score, but people are constantly rewarded for conforming to heterosexual gender norms by *not* being subjected to bullying, not having to fear the lose of job and housing, or in the most extreme cases, not having to face actual violence.

What George Reekers, who did the study that was the focus of this report, was attempting to justify and normalize societies discrimination and ostracizing of LGBTQIA people. The fact that he failed is not surprising, but the fact that someone had the balls to do this is not only shocking, but is also extremely frightening on many levels.

Queer Review: Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)

Kiss of the Spider Woman
Director: Hector Babenco
Writer: Manuel Puig. Based upon the novel by Leonard Schrader.
Cast: William Hurt, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga, José Lewgoy, Milton Gonçalves

Overview
Kiss of the Spider Woman became one of the most popular gay films in Latin America after it was released in 1985. Featuring some astounding acting and writing, this is one of the more impressive queer films to come out of the 1980's that I have seen.

Synopsis
The story of Kiss of the Spider Woman revolves around two cell mates in an unspecified South American prison. One is a drag queen Luis Molina (William Hurt) who was convicted of corrupting a minor and the other a political activist being tortured for information, Valentin Arregui (Raul Julia). These two form an intimate bond as Molina tells Valentin stories in order to help them forget the harsh realities of their situation. All of these stories, the most prominent one which comes from a Nazi propaganda film, feature a metaphorical Spider Woman/femme fatale. Molina is also a metaphorical Spiderwoman who, even though he his falling in love with Valentin, has pledged to help the prison warden (José Lewgoy) and a secret police officer (Milton Gonçalves) by earning Valentin's trust in order to obtain vital information Valentin has regarding anti-goverment groups.

The Queering
This is a movie that is rife with subtexts and metaphors, making it all the more worthwhile for those who like to think while they watch a movie rather than those who like being dazzled by pretty explosions and soulless special effects. On one hand, I am not the sort of person who believes as many critics have suggested, that the death of mature and artful cinema is upon us, even in 2011 and our summer of sequalitis, dumb action movies, and 3D overuse and abuse. On the other hand, watching a movie like Kiss of the Spider Woman where the emphasis is on telling an interesting story and developing complex characters, did make me realize how rare movies that take a serious look at the human condition are becoming and therefore how precious a film like this really is.

The most interesting subtext revolves around the Spider Woman (Sonia Braga), a metaphor that made me think of the black widow who devours her arachnid lovers. Like the black widow, Molina represents a clear danger to Valentine, even when Molina declares his deep love for the political agitator. The greatest suspense comes from wondering if Molina will betray Valentino in order to secure his parole or if he will keep any information Valentino passes on to him secret.

The relationship between Molina and Valentine forms the crux of Kiss of the Spider Woman's thematic soul and represents one of the most subversive queer relationships I have seen in the movies. There are layers and complexities to their relationship beyond anything that usually finds it's way onto theater screens. There is one scene where Molina and Valentine make love, but nothing is shown and the movie on the whole is almost entirely devoid of sexual content. The love they share is clearly platonic and not based on any physical attraction, making what appears to be an inevitable betrayal all the more frightening.

Naturally in a movie like this, the acting of both the leads, William Hurt and Raul Julia, is of the highest caliber and neither one strikes a wrong note. As the amgiguous Spiderwoman that Molina idolizes, Sonia Braga is exudes the necessary feminine mystique, exuding both pose and danger at the same time.

Recommendation
Highly recommended. This is the perfect antidote to all the CGI and 3D nonsense that will be thrown in audiences faces this summer.

The Rating

Trailer


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