Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss (1998)

Billy Collier (Sean P. Hayes), is a 26-year-old photographer in LA who announces, "My name is Billy, and I am a homosexual." He is tired of being the "other woman" with his attached lover Fernando (Armando Vales-Kennedy). Billy decides to recreate famous Hollywood screen kisses using drag queens in the female roles. While out with his roommate Georgiana (Meredith Scott Lynn), he meets Gabriel (Brad Rowe). That night at a party, Billy's friend Perry (Richard Ganoung) agrees to finance Billy's Screen Kiss project and Billy runs into Gabriel. Billy recruits him to model and shoots his first setup, and the two develop a friendship. At Billy's apartment they share a bed, but Gabriel rejects his sexual advances and Billy sleeps on the couch. Gabriel gets an underwear modeling job and goes to Catalina. Billy follows after him but cannot find him. Eventually Billy wonders if Gabriel was just using him. The movie ends with the opening of Billy's "Hollywood Screen Kiss" exhibition, which includes his photos of Gabriel. Perry shows Billy a magazine with the underwear ad featuring Gabriel and suggests that Billy give him a call. Billy says no. Near the end of the night, Billy meets Joshua (Robbie Cain), suggesting that along with his artistic success Billy may have found a boyfriend as well.

This film has fantasy sequences of Billy and Gabriel in romantic scenes. Billy carries a Polaroid camera with him everywhere, and his memories are illustrated with photos. "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss" opens with a series of photos and a monologue by Billy explaining how he grew up gay "in a small town in Indiana, where there's plenty of corn, fast cars, and straights. Lots and lots of straights. I mean, a lot." Some scenes are backed up by old classic songs lip-synced by the drag queens, a running gag throughout the film. There are cameos by Paul Bartel as Rex Webster and Warhol "superstar" Holly Woodlawn as Holly. The music score was composed by Alan Ari Lazar. Written and directed by Tommy O'Haver, a remake of his short film "Catalina".

Like It Is (1998)

Craig (Steve Bell) is a rough young man in Blackpool working as a bare-knuckle club fighter who has difficulty accepting that he is gay. He's not only fighting in sleazy matches, but fighting his coming out as a homosexual. Outside a dance club he meets Matt (Ian Rose), a Londoner working for Kelvin (Roger Daltrey), a shady but enterprising record producer. Matt's roommate is a client, singer Paula Poptart (Dani Behr), who is Matt's friend but also insecure as a performer. Craig comes down to London to join Matt, but this presents problems for Matt, who has had lots of gay sex but has never fallen in love. Matt's feelings, Kelvin's demands, Matt's dream to run a club, Paula's jealousy, and Craig's lack of job skills combine to put Craig and Matt's relationship in jeopardy.

"Like It Is" shows the London club scene well, and gives a positive look at gay life rarely seen in films. The main characters are gay, sex scenes are not exploitational, and the gay boxer theme breaks down the usual stereotypes and cliches. The performances of both Bell and Daltry are first-rate. Steve Bell was British amateur featherweight champion in real life. Blackpool is shown as bleak in comparison to London, symbolizing an environment of repression and brutality in contrast to a more liberal and sophisticated environment. The movie includes profanity, drug-use, nudity, and sex scenes in a blend of drama, humour, fast paced action, and quiet moments. Don McGlashan composed the incidental music. Robert Gray wrote the screenplay and Paul Oremland directed.

Mambo Italiano (2003)

This funny and clever movie is set in the Little Italy area of Montreal. Angelo Barberini (Luke Kirby) is the son of Italian immigrants Gino (Paul Sorvino) and Maria (Ginette Reno). He shocks his parents and his sister Anna (Claudia Ferri) by moving out and revealing that he's gay. A funny line is, "Italians move out either when they marry or when they die." Angelo's policeman boyfriend Nino Paventi (Peter Miller) refuses to come out of the closet, especially not to his Sicilian mother Lina (Mary Walsh). The gay lovers move in together. Nino passes as straight, but Angelo hates being in the closet. This independent comedy-drama has a surprise ending.

The ethnic humor makes the film like "My Big Gay Italian Wedding". Some critics complain about stereotypical Italians, but that is the charm and beauty of it. Italian culture and tradition have rarely been portrayed in cinema so realistically. Italians love this movie! One Italian wrote: "Fat Italian men are perhaps the funniest group of people in the world. They are not simply funny because they know how to tell a joke, or they know how to pull off a good pratfall, but more because all you have to do is look at them, and they can make you burst out laughing." The confession scene is hilarious, as is the gay helpline scene. Émile Gaudreault and Steve Galluccio wrote the screenplay, based on Galluccio's theatrical play of the same name. The story is based on Galluccio's own life and experiences. Émile Gaudreault directed.

Y Tu Mamá También (2001)

This Mexican movie is about two 17-year-old friends Julio (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Tenoch (Diego Luna). They have a lot of sex, including masturbation sessions, as they grow up. It's a coming-of-age story about the boys taking a road trip with Luisa (Maribel Verdú), a woman in her late twenties. They're heading for an imaginary secluded beach called la Boca del Cielo. Luisa has awkward sex with both boys, who begin to fight until she threatens to leave them. By chance they find a beach coincidentally called Boca del Cielo. The trio get drunk and have sex. A narrator explains the boys return home, Luisa stays behind, and they stop seeing each other. In the final scene a year later Tenoch informs Julio that Luisa died of cancer a month after their trip. Tenoch excuses himself, and they never see each other again. The movie is mostly straight, but becomes gay near the end. It's like a raunchy "Beavis and Butthead" or "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" film in some ways. It combines straightforward storytelling with periodic interruptions by a narrator providing additional information about the characters, events, or settings. In addition to explaining the narrative, it sometimes draws attention to economic and political issues in Mexico. The title translates as "And your mother, too", but the film was released in English-speaking markets with the original Spanish title. Written by Carlos Cuarón and directed by Alfonso Cuarón.

Angels in America (2003)

Set in 1980s NYC, this six-hour epic concerns a group of mostly gay men who are caught up in a series of disasters that range from love to religion, from politics to philosophy, and especially the AIDS epidemic in a generally unsympathetic society. AIDS patient Prior Walter (Michael Gambon) has some visions in which his dead ancestors rise to speak to him, the floor cracks open to reveal a burning book, and a beautiful woman with majestic wings crashes through his roof. She is the Angel of America, she tells Prior he is a prophet, and she has come to bring him a message for mankind. Joe (Patrick Wilson) and Harper Pitt (Mary-Louise Parker) are a dysfunctional couple doubting their faith in the Mormon Church, Joe a homosexual, Harper a valium-addicted and mildly psychotic woman with hallucinations as strange as those of Prior Walter's. Roy Cohn (Al Pacino) and Joe Pitt are in the closet: Pitt out of shame, and Cohn to preserve his power. Meryl Streep is terrific in her three roles, there is superb acting by the entire cast, with a wonderful and clever script magnificently filmed. It captures the essence of what being gay was like in the 1980s.

This adaptation of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway play was subtitled "A Gay Fantasia On National Themes" which is an accurate description of this ambitious and compelling epic. "Angels in America" is an HBO TV mini-series with a runtime of 360 minutes about a group of New Yorkers confronting AIDS, homophobia, life, death, and the divine in the Age of Nazi Reagan. HBO broadcast the film in various formats: two three-hour parts that correspond to "Millennium Approaches" and "Perestroika", as well as six one-hour "chapters" that correspond to an act or two of each of these plays. The first three chapters ("Bad News", "In Vitro" and "The Messenger") were initially broadcast on December 7, 2003 to international acclaim, with the final three chapters ("Stop Moving!", "Beyond Nelly" and "Heaven, I'm In Heaven") following. "Angels in America" was the most watched made-for-cable movie in 2003, receiving much critical acclaim. It not only won a record 11 Emmys, it won practically every award it possibly could.

Tony Kushner wrote the screenplay adaptation of his stage play, Thomas Newman composed the music score, and Mike Nichols directed.

Trick (1999)

Gabriel (Christian Campbell) is an office worker by day and aspiring Broadway composer by night. He meets Mark (John Paul Pitoc), a muscular Go-Go dancer in a gay bar. They go to his place and then to his friend Perry's (Steve Hayes), but are prevented from having sex because of interference from a roommate, friends, and former lovers. When they go to a gay bar, Mark is atttacked in the restroom by drag queen Miss Coco Peru (Clinton Leupp) and accused of behaving badly when they "tricked". Gabriel sadly leaves for his apartment, followed by Mark who explains what really happened. Gabe does not believe him. There are many complications involving others, but frankly it seems far too boring to write about it here. In the morning, Mark gives Gabriel his phone number and heads home. Gabe calls the number on a nearby payphone, and is relieved to learn that it is Mark's actual number. They did not have sex, but a relationship develops that is superior to the one-night-stand they wanted.

This breezy gay romantic comedy about the misadventures of two men trying to find a place to have sex is interesting for the fact that except for a kiss and a brief encounter beneath a piano, there are hardly any references to gay sex. At times the film is uneven, but it has a talented cast, a witty screenplay, with an endearing message. "Trick" has an excellent soundtrack of dance music, and David Friedman composed the incidental music. Jason Schafer scripted and Jim Fall directed.

Beautiful Thing (1996)

Basically this is a gay love story set in Thamesmead, a working class area of SE London dominated by council housing estates. Jamie Gangel (Glen Berry), is an unpopular student who lives next door to athletic Ste Pearce (Scott Neal), who is beaten up by his father and drug dealer brother. Jamie's homosexuality remains concealed, but his introverted nature and dislike of football cause his classmates to bully him. Ste sleeps over with Jamie and they kiss, but Ste then avoids him. Eventually Ste accepts Jamie's love and their relationship develops when they visit a gay pub. The film deals with their sexuality, love, and others finding out. There are sub-plots dealing with heterosexual friends, family, and neighbours. The movie ends with the two boys dancing in the courtyard of their council flats to The Mamas & the Papas' song "Dream a Little Dream of Me".

"Beautiful Thing" started as a play written in 1993 by Jonathan Harvey. A screen adaptation was released in 1995 by Channel 4 Films, with a revised screenplay by Harvey. Initially the film was only intended for TV broadcast, but it was so well-received that it was released in cinemas. The atmosphere of the film is heavily influenced by a soundtrack almost entirely by Cass Elliot of The Mamas & the Papas. Hettie Macdonald directed.

Latter Days (2003)

"Latter Days" is about party boy Christian Markelli (Wes Ramsey) and Aaron Davis (Steve Sandvoss), a Mormon missionary. Aaron is from Pocatello, Idaho and is sent to LA with three other missionaries to spread their faith. They move into a bungalow next to the apartment of openly gay Christian, an aspiring actor, and his roommate Julie Taylor (Rebekah Johnson), an aspiring singer. Christian works as a waiter at Lila's, a trendy restaurant owned by retired actress Lila Montagne (Jacqueline Bisset). Intrigued by his new neighbors, Christian makes a $50 bet with his co-workers that he can seduce one of them. Christian soon realizes that Aaron is a closeted homosexual. One day he nearly seduces him, but Aaron becomes upset by Christian's stance that sex "doesn't have to mean anything." Aaron says Christian "equates sex with a handshake", accuses him of being superficial and shallow, and walks out. Worried that Aaron is right, Christian joins Project Angel Food to deliver meals to people with AIDS.

Mormon Paul Ryder (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), has a cycling accident, and an upset Aaron encounters Christian, who comforts him with a hug and then they kiss. But they failed to notice the return of Aaron's roommate. Christian is ordered to leave and Aaron is sent home in disgrace. Ryder tells him that Aaron has a five-hour layover in Salt Lake City. Christian catches the next flight there and eventually finds Aaron standing in the snow outside the terminal. Christian confesses his love, and Aaron admits his own feelings of love. With all flights cancelled due to a snowstorm, Christian and Aaron spend a loving and intimate night together in a nearby motel. However, when Christian awakes in the morning, he finds Aaron gone, his pocketwatch left behind as a gift. Christian returns sadly to Los Angeles.

Aaron's kissing another man violated the rules of the Mormon Church regarding homosexuality. On arriving home in Idaho, Aaron is excommunicated by the church elders, led by his own father (Jim Ortlieb), who is the Stake President (regional leader). Aaron is rejected by his father and scolded by his mother (Mary Kay Place) when he said that Christian told him he loved him. She says that he needs to pray for forgiveness, though Aaron disagrees and says that what if it isn't something he did, but who he is. His mother slaps him, causing him to cry. Overwhelmed by despair, he tries to commit suicide. Aaron is sent by his parents to a treatment facility to undergo aversion therapy to "cure" him of his homosexuality.

Christian eventually locates Aaron's home address and phone number. On phoning, he is devastated to be told by Aaron's mother that "Thanks to you, my son took a razor to his wrists. Thanks to you I have lost my son." Believing that Aaron is dead, Christian spends the next few days thinking non-stop about Aaron, as he constantly holds his pocket watch. Christian seeks out the family home in Idaho, where he tearfully returns Aaron's family heirloom watch to his mother. She realizes she was too harsh, but is too late to stop Christian before he drives off.

Aaron returns to Los Angeles in search of Christian. Arriving at Christian's apartment, he is heartbroken to find a shirtless stranger answering the door. Assuming he is another one-night stand, Aaron makes his way to Lila's restaurant. Christian is shocked but overjoyed at seeing Aaron alive, and their reconciliation ends the movie on a happy note. Together with Christian's co-workers, they celebrate Thanksgiving and look forward to a happy future together.

"Latter Days" is funny, sexy, emotional, with too many unrealistic coincidences. It was written and directed by C. Jay Cox. He based both characters, Christian and Aaron, on himself. Cox was raised as a Mormon and served at a mission before coming out as gay, and wondered what the two halves of himself would have said to each other if they ever met. Eric Allaman scored the soundtrack to the film after shooting wrapped, and composed much of the music himself. In 2004, the "Latter Days" screenplay was adapted into a novel by T. Fabris. The book is faithful to the movie, but adds several extra scenes that explain confusing aspects of the film and gives more information about the characters' backgrounds.