Wilde (1997)

The film opens with Oscar Wilde's (Stephen Fry) 1882 visit to Leadville, Colorado during his lecture tour of the United States. Despite his flamboyant personality and urbane wit, he proves to be a success with the silver miners as he regales them with tales of Renaissance silversmith Benvenuto Cellini.

Wilde returns to London and weds Constance Lloyd (Jennifer Ehle), and they have two sons in quick succession. While the second child is still an infant, the Wildes are playing host to young Canadian Robbie Ross (Michael Sheen), who seduces Oscar and helps him come to terms with his homosexuality. On the opening night of his play "Lady Windermere's Fan", Wilde is re-introduced to the dashingly handsome and openly foppish poet Lord Alfred Douglas (Jude Law), whom he had met briefly the year before, and the two fall into a passionate relationship. Hedonistic Alfred is not content to remain monogamous and frequently engages in sexual activity with rent boys while his older lover plays the role of voyeur. Alfred's father, the Marquess of Queensbury (Tom Wilkinson), objects to his son's relationship with Wilde.

Marquess of Queensberry: Where d'you stand on cremation?
Wilde: I'm not sure I have a position.
Marquess of Queensberry: I'm for it. I wrote a poem about it. "When I am dead, cremate me." That's how it starts. 'When... I am dead... cremate me". Whaddya think of that for an opening line?
Wilde: It's... challenging.

Douglas: (Wilde is ill in bed) You look such an idiot lying there. Revolting. Have you forgotten how to wash?
Wilde: As a matter of fact, I'm dying for a glass of water
Douglas: Well, help yourself. You know where the jug is.
Wilde: Bosie, darling...
Douglas: It stinks in here. You'll be wanting me to empty your chamber pot next.
Wilde: Well, I emptied your chamber pot... I looked after you...
Douglas: Well, I'm not looking after you. Not now. You don't interest me, not when you're ill. You're just a boring, middle-aged man with a blocked-up nose.
Wilde: Bosie, dearest boy...
Douglas: Shut up! Dearest boy! Darling Bosie! It doesn't mean anything! You don't love me! The only person you've ever loved is yourself. You like me, you lust after me, you go about with me because I've got a title. That's all. You like to write about Dukes and Duchesses, but you know nothing about them. You're the biggest snob I've ever met, and you think you're so daring because you f**k the occasional boy.
Wilde: Bosie, please... You're killing me...
Douglas: You just about do when you're at your best. You're amusing, very amusing, but when you're not at your best, you're no one!
Wilde: All I asked for was a glass of water...

Carson: In this poem by Lord Alfred Douglas, "Two Loves", there is one love, true love, which, and I quote "fills the hearts of boy and girl with mutual flame." And there is another: "I am the love that dare not speak its name." Was that poem explained to you?
Wilde: I think it's clear.
Carson: There's no question as to what it means?
Wilde: Most certainly not.
Carson: So, is it not clear that the love describe relates to natural and unnatural love?
Wilde: No.
Carson: Oh. Then what is 'the love that dare not speak its name?'
Wilde: "The love that dare not speak its name", in this century, is such a great affection of an elder for a younger man as there was between David and Johnathan. Such as Plato made the very basis of his philosophy, and such as you may find in the sonnets of Michelangelo or Shakespeare. It is, in this century, misunderstood. So much misunderstood that it may be described as 'the love that dare not speak its name', and on account of it I am placed where I am now. It is beautiful. It is fine. It is the noblest form of affection. There is nothing unnatural about it. It is intellectual. And it repeatedly exists between an elder and a younger man when the elder has intellect and the younger man has all the joy, hope and glamour of life before him. That it should be so, the world does not understand. The world mocks at it and sometimes puts someone in the pillory for it.

The Marquess of Queensberry eventually baits Wilde by publicly demeaning him shortly after the opening of his play "The Importance of Being Earnest", and when Wilde makes a complaint of criminal libel against him, his sexual preference is exposed and he is arrested and tried for gross indecency. He chooses to fight the charge rather than flee the country. Eventually sentenced to two years' hard labor, he is visited in prison by his wife, who tells him she isn't divorcing him but is taking their sons to Germany and that he is welcome to visit as long as he never sees Douglas again. Oscar is released from prison and the film ends with his attempt to reconcile with Lord Alfred Douglas.

WILDE is the story of Oscar Wilde, the brilliant Victorian poet, writer, playwright, wit, and martyr for homosexuality. First the film establishes Wilde as a loving family man, complete with wife Constance and two sons, and portrays him as a dignified genius who is pained by his homosexuality. From his initial encounters with Robbie Ross, his first male lover, to his tragic affair with the beautiful and bratty Alfred "Bosie" Lord Douglas, Wilde is shown as a conflicted artist, fighting with his own urges as he amazes everyone around him. Bosie's father objects to his son's relationship with Oscar and eventually has him arrested and tried for gross indecency. Sentenced to two years' hard labour, Wilde is eventually released and the film ends with his attempt to reconcile with Bosie. Throughout the film, portions of the Wilde fairy tale "The Selfish Giant" are woven in: first by Wilde telling the story to his children, then as narrator, and finishing the story as the film ends with his tragic death.

Wilde: I do believe in anything, provided it is incredible. That's why I intend to die a Catholic, though I never could live as one.
Robbie Ross: I've given in and become a Catholic. I find Confession wonderfully consoling.
John Gray: I can't go to Confession when I want to kill Bosie... and myself...

The cast also includes: Vanessa Redgrave (Lady Speranza Wilde), Gemma Jones (Lady Queensberry), Judy Parfitt (Lady Mount-Temple), Zoë Wanamaker (Ada Leverson), Ioan Gruffudd (John Gray), Matthew Mills (Lionel Johnson), Jason Morell (Ernest Dowson), Peter Barkworth (Charles Gill), Robert Lang (C.O. Humphreys), Philip Locke (Judge), David Westhead (Edward Carson), Jack Knight (Cyril Wilde), Jackson Leach (Cyril Wilde, aged 4), Laurence Owen (Vyvyan Wilde), Benedict Sandiford (Alfred Wood), Mark Letheren (Charles Parker), Michael Fitzgerald (Alfred Taylor), Orlando Bloom (Rent Boy), Bob Sessions (Mine Owner), Adam Garcia (Jones), and many others. Arthur Sullivan and Debbie Wiseman composed the original music. Julian Mitchell wrote the screenplay from Richard Ellmann's book. Brian Gilbert directed.

In her review in the New York Times, Janet Maslin called the film "a broad but effectively intimate portrait", and added, "Playing the large dandyish writer with obvious gusto, Stephen Fry looks uncannily like Wilde and presents an edgy mixture of superciliousness and vulnerability." In the Los Angeles Times, Kevin Thomas stated the film, "has found a perfect Oscar in the formidably talented Stephen Fry...Coupled with Julian Mitchell's superb script...and director Brian Gilbert's total commitment to it and to his sterling cast, this deeply moving Wilde is likely to remain the definitive screen treatment of Oscar Wilde for years to come." In the San Francisco Examiner, David Armstrong wrote the film, "benefits from its lush period costumes and settings but gains even more from an accomplished cast of British film and stage actors . Gilbert's direction is sturdy but uninspired, and Ehle's part is underwritten. To her credit, Ehle movingly conveys the sad frustration that Wilde implanted in his lonely wife; but Ehle has to do the work, playing her feelings on her face, with little help from Julian Mitchell's screenplay."

La Cage aux Folles (1978)

"La Cage aux Folles" is a gay French/Italian farce about Renato Baldi (Ugo Tognazzi) and Albin Mougeotte (Michel Serrault) who run a transvestite club in Saint-Tropez. Renato's son Laurent (Rémi Laurent) comes home to inform him he is getting married. Because his father lives a very openly gay lifestyle with Albin, a drag queen who performs in his club, Laurent is concerned that his father make a good impression on his fiancée's conservative family, who are involved in politics and very concerned about negative publicity. The fiancée, Andrea Charrier (Luisa Maneri), has lied to her family by claiming Laurent's father is a cultural attaché. The lie is ultimately exposed when the families meet. The groom's father invites the mother, Simone (Claire Maurier), to come, but then Albin decides to dress up as a woman and pretend to be the mother, and the result is classic farce. When the truth is out and the bride's parents start to storm out in anger, they discover that the press are outside waiting. The only way they can leave is by way of the gay club they hate and do it in drag to escape detection. Simon Charrier (Mechel Galibru), father of the bride, who has been fuming all day about "the honor of his party", is suddenly forced to dress up like a woman. When he confronts his conniving chauffeur (Venantino Venantini), who has been accepting bribes to give tips to the press about his employer's whereabouts, he punches him in the face.

"La Cage" (subtitled "Birds of a Feather" on the American poster) was for years the most successful foreign film to be released in the US. It's an adaptation of the 1973 play by Jean Poiret. Michel Serrault as Albin also starred in the original stage production. The film score was composed by Ennio Morricone, Frances Veber wrote the screen play and Édouard Molinaro directed. A 1983 Broadway musical titled "La Cage aux Folles" based on the play and the film was quite successful. In 1996, an American remake entitled "The Birdcage" was released, starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane.

"La Cage aux Folles II" (1980) is the very funny sequel. Ugo Tognazzi and Michel Serrault reprise their roles and this time take on the secret service in a cross-country and cross-dressing adventure. To make Renato jealous, Albin waits in a local café dressed as a woman hoping to be picked up. He gets more than he bargains for when a spy uses him as an courier of secret microfilm. On the run from ruthless agents, Albin and Renato flee to Italy where they hide out on a farm with Albin posing as Renato's wife. Once again scripted by Francis Veber and directed by Édouard Molinaro.

"La Cage aux Folles 3: The Wedding" (1985) is a disappointing second sequel. Michel Serrault and Ugo Tognazzi reprise their roles in the French/Italian sex farce series. The plot is about the gay night club facing financial ruin. Their only hope is an inheritance from one of Albin’s wealthy relatives. Unfortunately, the inheritance is conditional upon Albin getting married and producing an heir within 18 months. It's funny, entertaining, and enjoyable, with atrocious dubbing. It lacks charm, good jokes, is filled with clichés, and the wit and magic are gone. Scripted by Michel Audiard and Christine Carère, it was directed by Georges Lautner.

My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)

This movie is set in the London Asian community during the Nazi Thatcher years. Omar (Gordon Warnecke), the son of a Pakistani journalist, runs his uncle's laundrette. His car is attacked by a group racists, including an old friend of his, Johnny (Daniel Day Lewis). Johnny helps Omar, and they resume a love affair that was interrupted when they graduated from high school. With Johnny's help The laundrette becomes a success, but Omar's alcoholic disgruntled father (Roshan Seth) is unhappy with his son's occupation and asks Johnny to persuade Omar to go to college. Omar decides to take over two laundrettes owned by a friend of Nasser (Saeed Jaffrey), with the help of Salim (Derrick Branche). Johnny's friends attack him for supporting the Asian community, and beat him savagely until Omar saves him. Omar dresses his wounds, and the two bond. The film ends with them splashing each other with water while topless.

Originally made for TV, this film was later released in cinemas and eventually became an international success. The screenplay by Hanif Kureishi depicts London life in the Thatcher Era through the complex and often funny relationships between members of the Asian community. It tackles many issues such as homosexuality, racism, and England's economic and political policy during the 1980s. The soundtrack was written by Stanley Myers and Hans Zimmer. Non-original music includes the waltz Les Patineurs by French composer Emile Waldteufel, and excerpts from Puccini's Madama Butterfly. Picture quality is watchable but not the best.

Luster (2002)

This drama is about the queer punk scene, focusing on blue-haired poet Jackson (Justin Herwick). Every gay man in LA is in love with him except for the guy he loves, Billy (Jonah Blechman)--a hustler who enjoys being beaten up. The film takes place over one weekend. On Friday Jackson wakes up after an orgy and goes to his job at his friend Sam's (Shane Powers) record store. He gets a call from Sonny Spike (Willy Garson), a closeted gay rock star. Leaving work, he meets Derek (Sean Thibodeau), who falls in love at first sight. Jackson meets Sonny who asks him to write the lyrics for his next album. Jackson goes home and sees his cousin Jed (B. Wyatt) in the shower, which inspires thoughts of incest. Jackson and Jed go back to the store just in time to head out to a book signing with Sam. There Jackson runs into Billy, who he'd met at the orgy. Jackson admits his love for Billy, who tells him he won't have sex with him. The author spots Jed, who then writes about Jed's body.

On Saturday morning Jackson writes several poems. Jed is in the desert with Alyssa (Pamela Gidley), a lesbian photographer. Jackson gives his poems to Sonny, who changes the sex of the subjects to female. Alyssa takes her photos of Jed to a gallery and lands a showing in NYC. Billy wakes up next to Jed and engages in some sexual torture. Sam visits his mother to tell her he has paid off her mortgage. Jackson returns home and finds Jed handcuffed in the shower. On Saturday night Sam, Jackson, and Jed go on a bar crawl through the city. Jackson runs into Sonny and Billy in the restroom of one bar and beats Billy up for what he did to Jed. Then Sam drops Jackson and Jed off at Jackson's and gives Jed a videotape to give to Jackson. Jed goes inside and he and Jackson make love.

On Sunday morning Jackson takes Jed to the airport for his flight back to Iowa. Jed tells him about the tape. Jackson returns home to find Alyssa and her girlfriend Sandra (Susannah Melvoin), who tell him that Sam has killed himself. On the tape, Sam says he's in love with Jackson and knows he'll never be able to be with Jackson the way he wants to. Distraught, Jackson runs all the way to Derek's place. He has Derek reassure him that Derek loves him. Jackson strips naked and tells Derek "I'm all yours." Jackson says he doesn't know if he loves Derek but he does think Derek's pretty special, and special is "pretty fuckin' good."

Critical reaction to Luster was sharply divided. The New York Times dismissed the film as "relentlessly bright and superficial, even when the subject turns to self-destruction. It's as if the filmmaker, along with most of his characters, had taken too many self-esteem seminars at the local Learning Exchange." However, The Los Angeles Times concluded it "lives up to its title as a fresh, bittersweet look at the pursuit of love", populated by "attractive, appealing people" and it has a "charming, skittish quality, and Lewis finds pathos and humor in his characters' often painful search for love. There are moments in which the actors seem a bit self-conscious, yet this low-budget picture is a calling card for pretty much everyone in front of the camera." All characters are artists and it's rare for a gay-themed movie to depict gay, bi, lesbian, and straight situations. Dennis Cooper wrote the poetry and Everett Lewis wrote the script and directed.

Big Eden (2000)

NYC artist Henry Hart (Arye Gross) abandons his big Chelsea gallery opening at the Whitney Museum when he receives a phone call from Grace (Louise Fletcher) in Big Eden, a tiny town in Montana. Hart takes the next flight to Big Eden to care for his grandfather Sam (George Coe) who has suffered a stroke. Hart was raised in Big Eden by his grandfather. Complications arise when Dean Stewart (Tim DeKay), father of two and Hart's old flame enters the picture. Hart left Big Eden 20 years ago because of Dean, and his unrequited love is now stronger. But Pike Dexter (Eric Schweig), the shy Native American owner of the town's general store complicates this quirky gay love story further when Hart falls in love with him as well. Dexter also falls for Hart. Emotions surface on rare occasions, such as when Dean and Hart have a final Thanksgiving day face-off--in a closet.

Not only is there no sign of homophobia in Big Eden, but the locals seem obsessed with the progress of Henry's gay romantic life. The movie is talky and too mainstream in both style and storytelling for gay film fans who prefer stronger work. Filmed in Montana, mostly in and near Glacier National Park, it has a great soundtrack of country songs and incidental music composed by Joseph Conlan. Thomas Bezucha wrote the screenplay and directed.

The Sum of Us (1994)

Australian widower Harry (Jack Thompson) and son Jeff (Russel Crowe) have a close unconventional bond. Harry is excessively open-minded about his uncloseted Rugby-playing son's unsuccessful search for gay love, and takes an active part in Jeff's search for Mr. Right. Harry's mother was a lesbian, probably accounting for his attitude toward Jeff. Eventually Harry, using a dating service, finds a divorcee named Joyce Johnson (Deborah Kennedy), who may not be so understanding after noticing a gay magazine in Harry and Jeff's house. Jeff's gardener boyfriend, who is closeted from his own homophobic father, finds it difficult to relate to Harry's matchmaking ways. Unfortunately, Harry suffers a massive stroke and is disabled, leaving him unable to speak or walk. Jeff cares for him as best as he can, while Jeff's boyfriend is kicked out of his home when his father sees him on TV in a gay parade. Harry and Jeff meet up with him in the supermarket one day, and Harry gives Jeff the go-ahead to try to rekindle their relationship.

This Australian gay comedy originated as a stage play, and like the play, the characters sometimes speak directly to the camera--breaking "the fourth wall". To some extent it's a one-joke movie about the father's tiresome and unwelcome enthusiasm for his son's sex life. The film follows no formula, it's a refreshing display of of what a family without prejudice looks like. David Faulkner composed the music, and David Stevens wrote the script from his play. Geoff Burton and Kevin Dowling directed. Stevens' screenplay won awards from the Australian Film Institute and the Montréal World Film Festival, and the movie was named Best Film at the Cleveland International Film Festival.

Party Monster (2003)

"Party Monster" is a dark drama/comedy set in the NYC club scene of the 1990's. It's about the rise and fall of Club Kid promoter Michael Alig (Macauley Culkin), the real-life gay king of New York's "Club Kids," a group of young carousers who ruled the city's nightlife in the late 1980s and early '90s. It begins with Alig as a small-town outcast who lives with his mother. Moving to NYC, he learns the party scene from James St. James (Seth Green), who teaches him the rules of fabulousness: "If two or three people are posing for a photo always, always, always, make sure your the one standing on the left so the caption will read your name first. Once something appears in print it automatically becomes true. There is no such thing as bad publicity, and never dish anyone in print". Despite St. James' warning Alig hosts a party at the local Limelight club, which is owned by Peter Gatien (Dylan McDermott) and soon becomes the hottest club in New York. Alig is named "King of the Club Kids" and goes on a cross country search for more club kids. Alig and James pick up Angel Melendez (Wilson Cruz), Gitzie (Chloe Sevigny), and Brooke (Natasha Lyonne). Soon after meeting, Gitzie becomes Alig's new girlfriend and Brooke and Angel move into Michael and St. James's New York apartment. However, after Michael descends into the world of drug abuse, his life spirals out of control, eventually culminating in his murder of Angel by injecting him with Drano and throwing him in the East River. Gitzie and Michael decide to go to rehab and treat it as a "Second Honeymoon", leaving St. James behind. St. James then begins to write his Great American Novel, published as "Disco Bloodbath" and later as "Party Monster". This film is based on St. James' memoir "Disco Bloodbath", scripted and directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato. The real Michael Alig is expected to be released from prison by 2011.

Parting Glances (1986)

Michael (Richard Ganoung) and Robert (John Bolger) are a gay couple in NYC who separate because Robert is leaving for Africa for 2 years. Nick (Steve Buscemi) is Michael's ex-boyfriend with AIDS, and Michael still loves and looks after him. The film takes place over a two-day period, with many of the scenes at a farewell party for Robert hosted by the couple's friend Joan (Kathy Kinney) and at a dinner party hosted by Robert's employer Cecil (Patrick Tull) and his wife Betty (Yolande Bavan), who have an unconventional marriage. Michael encourages Nick to attend Robert's going-away party, and tries to get Robert to stop avoiding Nick, the lead singer of a punk band whose video MTV has put into current rotation. Michael travels around town, visits a record store, is pursued by a cute young cashier, has dinner with the married couple, criticizes Robert for his callousness, and tries to nursemaid Nick--whose defiance against convention, pity, and nightmares makes him the moral center of the film, rather than a victim. As Robert gets ready to leave, Nick plays a prank on Michael to test his devotion.

This acclaimed independent drama is a realistic and honest look at urban gay life in the 1980s during the Nazi Reagan era and the height of the AIDS epidemic. Many film critics consider it an important movie in the history of gay cinema. It was one of the first films to address the AIDS crisis. Some viewers believe it is the best gay film and the best AIDS film ever made. It was the only movie made by writer/director Bill Sherwood, with a budget of "$300,000. He died in 1990. The film was shot mainly in his apartment and the actors wore their own clothes. There is plenty of humor, and Sherwood was a musician so there are many interesting selections heard in the soundtrack. Bronski Beat songs "Love and Money", Smalltown Boy", and "Why" are included. A restored print of "Parting Glances" received its world premiere at the Director's Guild of America in Los Angeles in 2007.