Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green (2006)

26 year-old Ethan Green (Daniel Letterle) lives with roommate Charlotte (Shanola Hampton) in a house owned by his ex-boyfriend Leo Worth (David Monahan) in West Hollywood. Ethan has been dating former pro baseball player Kyle Underhill (Diego Serrano), so when Leo says he plans to sell the house, Ethan starts dropping hints to Kyle that they should live together. But when Kyle actually asks him to move in, Ethan breaks up with him. Ethan hooks up with a younger man, Punch Epstein (Dean Shelton), who works in a real estate office. Together they delay the sale of Leo's house by convincing him to sign with the LA's worst realtor, the chronically depressed Sunny Deal (Rebecca Lowman). After a one-night stand, Ethan has decided he wants to get back together with Leo. Unfortunately, Leo has become engaged to an abusive control freak, Republican Chester Baer (Scott Atkinson). Ethan's event planner mother has agreed to plan their commitment ceremony. Leo, Punch and Kyle end up in a threesome in Ethan's bedroom. Punch decides that Ethan isn't mature enough and dumps him. Kyle, who was considering taking Ethan back, abruptly changes his mind. Chester forgives Leo and they go ahead with their plans. The house sells, Charlotte and Sunny move in together and Ethan signs a lease at a local retirement community. Ethan crashes the ceremony but only to give Leo his blessing. At the altar, Leo has an anxiety attack and has to be taken away in an ambulance. A few days later Ethan settles in at the retirement community and the screen fades to black with the words "The End". The screen fades back up on Leo talking with a lady retiree. As Ethan stands nearby, Leo tells her that he gave Chester his ring back and broke up with him. Leo has realized that he still loves Ethan. He and Ethan reconcile and the film ends as they kiss.

This movie is a romantic comedy about a gay man with difficulties in dating and finding a rented apartment. It's based on Eric Ormer's syndicated comic strip that appears in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender publications. The strip's title character is Ethan Green and it was started in 1989. Director George Bamber's adaptation is entertaining, some characters are gay stereotypes, and it's difficult to sympathize with Ethan's problems. The film does not challenge intellectually, but it does contain some scenes that make it fun to watch. Since this is a low budget production, there was little opportunity to illustrate the sci-fi themes that are in the strip. Viewers not familiar with the strip will still understand it. Roy Firestone composed the original music, David Vernon wrote the screenplay, and George Bamber directed.

Urbania (2000)

Charlie (Dan Futterman) is an ordinary man haunted by the absence of his boyfriend, Chris (Matt Keeslar). Unable to sleep, he roams the streets of NYC looking in various bars for him. During the course of his journeys, Charlie keeps running into a number of different urban legends: the woman who cooks her dog in the microwave, the man who wakes up to find he is missing a kidney, a rat in a hot dog bun, a baby left on a car top, a tourist's toothbrush, needles in public-phone change slots--all of which makes NYC look surreal and scary. There are many dream-like hallucinatory flashbacks. He encounters Dean (Samuel Ball), a tough young man Charlie has met somewhere before, and who may hold the answers to Charlie's questions. Dean is racist, sexist and homophobic. Charlie pretends to be straight, buys Dean drinks and smokes a joint with him. Then Dean takes Charlie to a gay cruising area looking for victims, but Charlie is able to warn away the intended target. Dean is now almost incapacitated by alcohol and drugs and Charlie gets him into Dean's car and drives him to a secluded marshy area. With flashbacks we learn that several months earlier Dean and two of his buddies had attacked Charlie and raped and murdered Chris. Charlie's purpose is finally revealed: he wants revenge. He had pulled a knife on Dean and forced him to kneel and fellate the knife blade. Suddenly, Dean collapsed with an epileptic seizure. Charlie slit his throat. Chris challenges Charlie, not believing that he killed Dean. Charlie admits that he wanted to but couldn't. Instead, he drove off in Dean's car, abandoning him in the marsh. Charlie stands up from where he's been kneeling, at a makeshift memorial near where Chris was killed. He walks home and has one more flashback. He sees himself on the street, cradling a dying Chris. He kisses him goodbye and passes by him. When he turns back, he is gone. Charlie makes it home and finally is able to sleep.

This film mixes comedy, drama, film noir, and gay cinema in new and interesting ways. A directorial debut from Jon Shear (Jon Matthews), "Urbania" moves from the present time to flashbacks and flashforwards, never losing its viewers for a second. It's based on the stage play "Urban Folk Tales" by Daniel Reitz, who wrote the screenplay with John Mathews. Marc Anthony Thompson composed the original music, and Jon Matthews directed.

Strange Fruit (2004)

William Boyals (Kent Faulcon) is a successful New York lawyer and gay African-American who returns to the life he escaped from to investigate the murder of his gay childhood friend, Kelvin Ayers (Ron Allen). He was lynched in the parking lot outside of a gay night club in rural Louisiana. Boyals is forced to wade through a bog of conspiracy involving a network of local law and a dangerously entrenched subculture. Deputy Mathers (Christopher May) warns him, “Just remember, things ain’t always what they seem.” At the same time, he finds himself having to confront the reasons he left in the first place. He must fight the racism of the local police force and endure the homophobia of his own mother Martha (Cecile M. Johnson).The harder he looks, the deeper he gets, until the veil is pulled back to reveal a quagmire of racism and homophobia that threatens his life. Sheriff Jensey (Sam Jones), who allows his deputies to watch porn videos in the police station, is as homophobic and racist as they come. He is such a despicable villain that seeing Boyals put him in his place during their first meeting at the police station is one of the most enjoyable scenes in the film. Patrons of the Gator, the local gay bar where Kelvin was murdered, refuse to talk, wary of destroying their only safe place to gather. But with the assistance of Kelvin’s brother, Duane (David Raibon), Boyals soon focuses on a likely suspect: Jordan Walker (Shane Woodson), Sheriff Jensey’s redneck nephew. Then the truth is revealed so quickly at the conclusion that you’ll miss some of it if you blink.

Written, directed, and produced by openly bisexual Kyle Schickner, "Strange Fruit" is an entertaining, suspenseful thriller. Some of the scenes are a bit heavy-handed in their melodrama--particularly the opening scene in which Kelvin is murdered. But the film makes up for it with sympathetic characters. Kent Faulcon is solid in the lead role, and David Raibon steals every scene he appears in playing the comic-relief sidekick. The film's title comes from the Billie Holiday song of the same name, derived from the 1937 poem by Abel Meeropol inspired by a photo of the lynching of a black man.

Westler (1985)

In 1985, before the re-unification of Germany, Felix (Sigurd Rachman) a queen in West Berlin is in a happy relationship with an American from Los Angeles. While showing his American lover around East Berlin, Felix spots cute Thomas (Rainer Strecker). After a few lustful stares Felix introduces himself. The two become lovers in a passionate relationship. Their only problem is they live on opposite sides of the Berlin wall. The relationship with the American ends, and from then on Felix travels back and forth to East Berlin as often as he can because the curfew forces him to return every evening. Felix and Thomas have only one day per week and four to five hours to be together. When the East German authorities become suspicious, Felix is pulled over and that's when the troubles begin. Thomas decides to flee to the West. They go to Prague and from there Thomas is told that he will be smuggled to Hungary from where he must make his own way to Yugoslavia. The movie ends without telling us what happens next, which is quite disappointing considering it's not a cliff-hanger serial.

Don’t expect too much from this film. After Germany's re-unification, it has historical value but has lost its relevance since the fall of the Berlin Wall. It does tell us to never allow walls to be built between us again. In its time it was a fringe indie film that justified itself on its political predicaments, but there’s little else in terms of character development, plot, or any emotional stimuli that keeps it relevant. Despite its political baggage the film seems shallow, never showing us the atrocities that happened in East Germany. Instead we see an awkward strip search and a few moody faces at the border. The film looks dated, the sound is in mono, and the faded footage looks almost like a home movie. At one point we lose the sound for a 20-minute montage. Partly filmed incognito and illegally in East Germany, there are sections where, due to the lack of a microphone, the actors are moving their mouths but we cannot hear them. This was caused by the East German government not allowing sound to be recorded outside. The 1980's synthesizer soundtrack is something you'll enjoy or hate. "Westler" is a conventional film in German with English sub-titles. Engelbert Rehm composed the original music, Egbert Hörmann and Wieland Speck wrote the screenplay, and Wieland Speck directed. The English title is "East of the Wall" or "Westler: East of the Wall".

Sibak (1995)

Three young and good-looking brothers live with and support their parents in Manila in the Philippines . They dance at the male "Club Exotica" and work as homoerotic Sibak or "macho dancers," better described as hustlers or male prostitutes. Joel at 21 has a wife and child, plus a regular boyfriend. Dennis, the middle brother, likes the wild scene of pick-ups. He and Joel are saving money to buy back lost family land on the island of Cebu. Sonny is the youngest and has dropped out of university. He sees dancing as a way to make money and spends time with Michelle, a transvestite. Dennis and his pals steal car radios. When a homeless youth who is not what he appears to be moves in, a chain of events is set in motion that brings tragedy. The colorful gay world of Manila livens up the almost documentary-style story of the daily lives of these men and their families, and the tale comes to a sudden, dramatic conclusion.

Overall the film is honest, disturbing, but ultimately depressing. This movie is not a typical gay film, although there are predominantly gay themes in the story that are treated with dignity and sensitivity. As well, there are some sexually explicit parts and some poorly choreographed violence. "Sibak" has a strong plot and gives a gritty insight into the way of life some people must follow. It has drama, comedy, tragedy, romance and kinship. One of the most popular Filipino films abroad, this is an acclaimed semi-sequel to Lino Brocka's "Macho Dancer" (also scripted by Ricardo Lee). Directed by Mel Chionglo, the cast includes: Ryan Aristorenas, Perla Bautista, Noni Buencamino, Richard Cassity, Grandong Cervantes, Luis Cortez, Lawrence David, Alex Del Rosario, Gino Paul Guzman, Leonard Manalanson, John Mendoza, Cherry Pie Picache, Danny Ramos, and Gandong Vervantes Jr. Ricardo Lee wrote the screenplay, and Nonong Buencamino and Ramon Reyes composed the original music. In Tagalog with English sub-titles. The English title is "Midnight Dancers".

Where the Truth Lies (2005)

In the 1950's, Lanny Morris (Kevin Bacon) and Vince Collins (Colin Firth) are the most popular entertainers in America. Lanny is the comedian and Vince is the straight man. They know how to make audiences roar with laughter at their jokes, or cry at one of their polio telethons. The pair is a favorite of Sally Sanmarco (Maury Chaykin), a mob boss who owns nightclubs up and down the East coast. He makes sure they have anything they want. The "anyone they want" is handled by Lanny's man-servant, Reuben (David Hayman). At the top, wealthy, and powerful, then something terrible happens to threaten their success. A dead beauty Maureen (Rachel Blanchard) turns up in their hotel suite. Their reputations are tarnished, but with perfect alibis neither is charged with the crime. Their partnership, unfortunately, is destroyed. Lanny and Vince manage to create separate careers. As the years pass, neither speaks to the other or to anyone else about the girl's death. The reason for the break-up of Morris and Collins becomes one of show business' greatest mysteries.

Then in the 1970's, writer Karen O'Connor (Alison Lohman) decides to turn this mystery into a hot story. Karen discovers a kinky menage-a-trois that may have led to murder, and unravels a shocking tale of love and lust, buried secrets, treachery, and betrayed trust. She persuades a publisher to offer Vince one million dollars to collaborate with her on writing the untold story of his life with Lanny. Karen hears that Lanny has written his own tell-all book, and flies to New York to meet her publishers. On the plane she comes face to face with sleazy Lanny himself and learns the truths are more complicated and dangerous than she thought. The story is fairly confusing and the movie is OK, but a lot of the plot is devoted to hiding the fact that Vince is gay. And the film is tepid, the sex is unconvincing, the mystery lacks a sense of danger, and the resolution is not shocking. The voice-overs and flashbacks are mostly confusing and distracting. Colin Firth is miscast, Kevin Bacon is alright, but Allison Lohman is a boring heroine. Mychael Danna composed the original music, Atom Egoyan wrote the screenplay derived from Rupert Holmes' novel, and also directed.

Swan Lake (1996)

Director and choreographer Matthew Bourne's "Swan Lake" is his third modern interpretation of a classical ballet for "Adventures in Motion Pictures", one of the UKs most popular dance companies. This made for TV production features the complete London West End Show that toured around the world. Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" is set in the present day and features a supporting cast of male swans. The unhappy and unloved Prince Siegfried (Scott Ambler) is mocked, betrayed and rejected by everyone around him. When he decides to commit suicide by throwing himself in a lake at a city park, a beautiful swan (Adam Cooper) emerges from the water. The Prince and the swan become close friends, but their friendship is destined to end in tragedy.

Act 1 of the ballet opens in the Prince's bedroom as he has a nightmare of the sexy swan above his bed. The next few scenes are of the Prince's life: the parties, his girlfriend, and a visit to a ballet. After the ballet the Prince and his girlfriend fight and he follows her to a Soho club. At the club he meets and goes home with a sailor--our first indication that this is no ordinary ballet. In Act 2 the Prince lands on a park bench, drunk, sad, and alone. He spies some swans and proceeds to enter their lives in a spectacular dance sequence. The lead swan (Cooper) dances a very sexual duet with the Prince. They almost kiss, flirt, and chase each other. The other swans dance topless around the two as the Prince is enticed into the swan's world. The swans, including Cooper, wear frilly pants but no shirts--which emphasizes the sexuality of the piece. Act 3 is set at a party where a young man courting the queen looks a lot like the swan causing an altercation. The Prince is distraught and in Act 4 he becomes quite ill and dies suddenly in his bed. Behind the bed is the swan holding his handsome young Prince as he finds peace at last.

The swan represents to the Prince everything he wants to be: strong, beautiful, and free. Matthew Bourne said, "We have gone for something much simpler and more universal. AMP's Swan Lake is about a man with no love in his life. He is rejected by his unsuitable girlfriend, his mother, the Queen, cannot express affection for her son, yet flaunts her young lovers in his presence. And his restricted lifestyle makes it impossible to connect with people without the threat of scandal." This "Swan Lake" was the big hit of 1996 with a myriad of modern influences and themes used to astonishing effect.

It's never an overtly gay ballet, although the pas de deux at the height of Act 2 delivers a strong homoerotic charge. It has humour and evokes feelings of sadness and sympathy for the characters. Adam Cooper is superb as the swan and his dance is breath-taking, and his performance as the evil doppleganger is equally impressive as he dirty dances his way into the queen's affections. Scott Ambler as the Prince mixes drama with dance perfectly, and without his performance as the weak, shy, loveless prince this production would be nothing. On DVD "Swan Lake" is presented in full screen 4:3 video format with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound to showcase Tchaikovsky's score performed by The New London Orchestra. Peter Mumford directed.

Wonder Boys (2000)

Professor Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas) is the author of a very successful novel who is trying to write another, but is struggling with writer's block because of the success of his past and the weight of his future. His wife announces she's leaving him and he also manages to get the chancellor (Frances McDormand) pregnant--and her husband chairs Grady's department. In the meantime, he and his student James Leer (Tobey Maguire) are trying to find a jacket once owned by Marilyn Monroe, and a nubile college girl, Hannah Green (Katie Holmes) boarding with Grady has a crush on him. His literary agent/editor Terry Crabtree (Robert Downey, Jr.) pressures him to finish a novel seven years in the writing. James stirs paternal feelings in Grady and raises homo-erotic urges in Terry, who is accompanied by a transvestite. Terry is the highlight of the cast, stealing many scenes and is funny in a loud role. He spends a night with James and wants to publish his book, too. Grady's most gifted writing student is a pathological liar and also a pot head like himself. His peculiar behavior launches the professor on a odyssey of self-discovery and many misadventures. It all takes place over a long weekend of debauchery of one form or another.

Adapted from Michael Chabon's novel and distilling it to its amusing and melancholy essence, screenwriter Steve Kloves and director Curtis Hanson have created an unsentimental and darkly funny tale. These characters may be down on their luck, but they don't feel sorry for themselves. The cast is exceptional, with Maguire in a great performance and Downey at his manic best. The ending of "Wonder Boys" is a little too trite, but after everything these characters go through, a happy ending seems appropriate. Grady speaks the last lines: "As for me, I lost everything: my wife, my book, my job, everything that I thought was important. But I finally knew where I wanted to go. And now I have someone to help me get there."

Whole New Thing (2005)

Emerson Thorsen (Aaron Webber) is 13 years old and lives with his hippie parents Kaya (Rebecca Jenkins) and Rog (Robert Joy) in their eco-home in the wilds of Nova Scotia, Canada. He recently had his first wet dream, and completed writing and illustrating his first book. But the home-schooled youth can barely add two plus two, so his mother enrolls him in the local school. There he meets Don Grant (Daniel MacIvor), his English teacher. At age 42, Don is a closeted gay loner and has settled into a life of perpetual adolescence. He makes regular visits to a park washroom for dangerous anonymous sex.

In the classroom, Emerson stirs things up and Don sees a bit of himself in his new pupil. Emerson, who is initially scornful of his teacher, quickly develops a crush on Don. The overly confident boy, raised in a household of nudity and sexual openness, is too open for Don, who has to curb Emerson's feelings without crushing his spirit. In the process, both student and teacher learn valuable lessons about surviving growing pains. There is a sub-plot involving Emerson's mother cheating on his father causing their marriage to disintegrate. It is less interesting, though still good, but takes the focus away from the main plot. This Canadian film is very entertaining and well done. It's handled with good taste, intelligence, and the acting is excellent, especially by Webber in his first film role. David Buchbinder composed the original music, Amnon Buchbinder and Daniel MacIvor wrote the screenplay, and Amnon Buchbinder directed.

Juste une Question d'Amour (2005)

Twenty-three year-old student Laurent (Cyrille Thouvenin) lives with his parents Jeanne (Danièle Denie) and Pierre (Idwig Stephane) behind the family Pharmacy. Laurent is gay, though he soon shares an apartment with his "girlfriend" Carole (Caroline Veyt) who accepts his sexuality and serves as a front for Laurent's closeted role with his parents. He is doing poorly studying agriculture because his close cousin Marc died recently and had been disowned by his aunt and uncle for being gay. Laurent must keep his sexuality secret so his parents will not be hurt. His marks in school are so poor that he must do an internship in field agriculture to raise his academic standing. Cédric (Stéphan Guérin-Tillié) is his tutor, an openly gay man with an understanding and loving mother Emma (Eva Darlan) in a garden setting that also serves as Cédric's agricultural research lab. The two become happy lovers until Cédric insists that Laurent be in an open relationship, which means his parents will know his preferences. Afraid that his parents will disown him, he flees and Emma tells Laurent's parents the truth. The trauma of the characters resolves the story. This French made for TV movie is realistic, brave, intelligent, powerful, sensitive, and informative, with an excellent cast and a great soundtrack. It was made for the general public. Charles Court composed the original music, Pierre Pauquet wrote the screenplay, and Christian Faure directed. In French with subtitles, the English title is "Just a Question of Love".