I Think I Do (1997)

Bob (Alexis Arquette), Brendan (Christian Maelen), Sarah (Marianne Hagan), Matt (Jamie Harrold), Carol (Lauren Vélez), and Eric (Guillermo Díaz) share an off-campus apartment at George Washington University in Washington DC. Bob is in love with his room-mate Brendan. At a Valentine's Day party, Bob makes a clumsy pass at Brendan and is punched, then sleeps with Sarah.

Five years later, the former flatmates gather again for Matt and Carol's wedding and sparks fly as the ex-roommates navigate through their reunion. Bob is accompanied by his soap-star lover Sterling Scott (Tuc Watkins). Sarah still carries a torch for Brendan but Brendan now realizes he's gay. Carol has such an untraditional attitude toward her wedding that she invites everybody back to the bridal suite for an after-party. Brendan declares his love for Bob, while elsewhere a drunken Sterling announces he and Bob are going to "marry". Having been accidentally locked out of their room by Sterling, Bob ends up sleeping with Brendan. At brunch the next morning Bob's love-bite gives the game away. After some soul-searching and discussions, Bob and Brendan eventually leave happily together.

This 1930s-style screwball comedy with a modern twist is funny, witty, intelligent, heartwarming, but requires a taste for topical humor and clever conversation. It's a Gen-X "Big Chill" update without the politics, with characters who are funny and sympathetic. Brian Sloan wrote the screenplay and directed.

Doing Time on Maple Drive (1992)

Phil Carter (James B. Sikking) is a successful restaurateur, married for many years to Lisa (Bibi Besch). They have three grown children: Karen (Jayne Brook), Tim (Jim Carrey) and Matt (William McNamara). Karen is married to Tom (David Byron), Tim works in his father's restaurant, and Matt is a Yale student. Matt brings fiancée Allison (Lori Loughlin) home to meet the family. While there the relationships between the family members are tested, and the secrets hidden behind the "perfect family" image are exposed. Allison discovers that Matt is gay and has left a long-term boyfriend to marry her to please his parents. She leaves and he has to explain to his family why Allison has abandoned him.

Matt is injured in a car crash, and he returns home to recuperate. As he recovers, the family is revealed to be dysfunctional. Tim is an alcoholic. Matt's car crash was a suicide attempt from the pressure of being gay and closeted from his parents and lying about Allison breaking their engagement because of it. Lisa is in complete denial about all of the family problems. Karen's husband Tom learns that Karen is pregnant and she's considering having an abortion. Tom angrily confronts her father Phil, saying that while Phil may be destroying his own family he won't allow Phil to destroy his. He takes Karen away. Matt confronts his parents, and tells his mother that she already knew he is gay because she saw him with another boy. Lisa continues to struggle with denial, but Phil begins to take steps toward understanding.

So, the family includes an alcoholic son, a gay son who is trying to be straight to please his family, a daughter and her husband with marital problems, an ultra-conservative father who is hard on his children, and a mother who cares too much what other people think and hides behind a lie. Plus a girl who thinks her fiance is straight, but has to face the truth.

This Fox made-for-TV drama is an honest, respectful, and tasteful look at a dysfunctional family. Great performances, a good script, and a compelling story with no melodrama make it worth watching. Laura Karpman composed the original music, James Duff wrote the screenplay, and Ken Olin directed.

Les Petit Fils (2005)

84 year-old Jewish grandmother Mamie Régine (Reine Ferrato) is growing old in her cluttered Paris apartment. Every two weeks her 24-year-old grandson Guillaume (Guillaume Quatravaux) travels from his seaside home to visit her. But he is sullen, argumentative, insulting, and sometimes extremely distant. Régine puts up with it, and simply offers him more to eat. His mother died two years ago of breast cancer at the age of 47, and he keeps coming back to Régine’s because he has nowhere else to go. She is, and has always been, his only family. Guillaume's mother's ashes are kept in an urn on Grandma’s balcony. Régine is a worldly woman, not at all sentimental. As Guillaume quietly weeps over the dinner table, she says, “Stop that, don’t do that.” When she hires handsome young housekeeper Maxime (Jean-Philippe Sêt) to help her with cleaning, Guillaume becomes suspicious and then jealous of him. He and Régine begin to bond, Maxime points out Guillaume’s mean behavior to Régine, but she is forgiving, saying it’s to be expected considering what he’s been through. Maxime and Guillaume slowly build a friendship, and they are both probably gay. Guillaume starts to relax, even as he plans to scatter his mother's ashes in Scotland to honor her final wish. The ending is upbeat and offers hope that the characters will have a better relationship.

"Les Petit Fils" is a charming and heartwarming tragi-comedy about family dynamics and the inter-action of a grandmother, her gay grandson, his lover, and a new gay housekeeper. It's a character-driven movie, shot on video. Bertrand Bonello composed the music, and Ilan Duran Cohen wrote the screenplay and directed. In French with English subtitles, the English title is "Grand Sons".

Gone but not Forgotten (2003)

Drew Parker (Aaron Orr) is a small town forest ranger who meets yuppie Mark (Matthew Montgomery) after he falls while rock climbing. Mark wakes up in the hospital with amnesia and sees that Drew has remained by his side since the accident. As he recovers, he and Drew form a close friendship that slowly grows into something much more. Drew offers to move in with Mark to help him out until he regains his memory, which propels the two men into a passionate affair. But things start to change as Mark's memory slowly returns and their time together is cut short when the hiker's old life comes back to reclaim him. The scene in the living room where Mark asks Drew to tell him about the rescue is riveting, and their love scene goes beyond the typical Hollywood sanitized nonsense, and is tastefully done.

This sexy and intriguing love story has a soap opera plot with a balance of humor, happiness, hope, sadness, and seriousness. The dialogue and scenes do jump awkwardly occasionally, but the good cast has great chemistry, acting is simple and natural, with good dialogue and great cinematography. The supporting role of Ariadne Shaffer as Catherine Reeves is like watching Kathleen Turner 20 years ago. The musical score is great, especially "Staring Straight Into The Sun" by Jared Young. Incidental music was composed by Shaun Cromwell, and Michael D. Akers wrote the screenplay and directed.

Consenting Adult (1985)

Young and shy college sophomore Jeff Lynd (Barry Tubb) discovers his attraction to men. After struggling with himself he comes out to his parents with details of his sexual preference. His mother Tess (Marlo Thomas) is shocked beyond belief but eventually listens to her son and tries to understand his feelings. She is convinced that Jeff can be "cured" through psychiatry. However his proud father Ken (Martin Sheen) is unable to accept his son for what he is--as much as he wants to. Recovering from a near-fatal stroke, he feels devastated and betrayed. Only Jeff's married sister Margie (Talia Balsam) approaches the situation with understanding. Ken dies, leaving behind a mother, her son, and his friend to work out the things Jeff and his Dad never had the courage to talk about.

This pre-AIDS TV drama about a gay young man who comes out to his parents is a restrained exploration of the controversial subject. It's a "message" movie filmed on location in Vancouver with too little focus on the gay son. Sheen and Thomas are the stars, and the mother is portrayed as the courageous one, noble enough to offer her hand in friendship, and reassuring when she calls at the end with happiness in her voice. "Consenting Adult" is adapted from the 1975 novel by Laura Z. Hobson, based on her experience with her son, and was first telecast on February 4, 1985. Laurence Rosenthal composed the music, John McGreevey wrote the script based on Hobson's novel, and Gilbert Cates directed.

Ordinary Sinner (2003)

Peter Onorati (Brendan Hines) is a divinity student who questions his calling to the priesthood and drops out of the Episcopal seminary after his failure in counseling a gay youth. He moves into a shack near the campus where his lifelong best friend Alex (Kris Park) is attending college and where Father Ed (A. Martinez), a young Mexican Episcopal priest, has his congregation in the small Vermont college town. Father Ed has been an adviser and friend to Peter for some time and questions Peter's decision to give up his calling. The entire movie is centered around Father Ed, who uses his pulpit to question the preaching of a radical Christian cell on campus that is promoting prejudice and the hatred of homosexuals. He says if the bible states to kill homosexuals, then the town should start with him. His outing eventually results in his death which is surrounded in mystery. We see the aftermath and are forced to confront our prejudices as the details slowly come to light. Peter is impressive as a man who stands up to wrong and attempts to bring justice in the end. This is a murder mystery and the victim is a cliff diver. The murderer takes a rowboat and makes hundreds of trips to pile many rocks in the lake for the victim to hit his head.

Filmed with flashbacks that only make sense as the film draws to a close, the point of the film is to show how things get out of hand with tragic results when someone gets a crazy idea in his head. Ordinary people can end up doing horrible things, hence the title "Ordinary Sinner." It's an intriguing coming-of-age drama with romance, action, and social commentary--a good story, with a flimsy plot not very well told dealing with spiritual faith, sexuality, and homophobia in a small town. The coming out scene of the priest is the best part of this low budget film. Brian Adler composed the music, William Mahone wrote the script, and John Henry Davis directed

Hollow Reed (1996)

Hannah Wyatt (Joely Richardson) is a single mother who lives with her 9 year-old son Oliver (Sam Bould) and her architect boyfriend Frank Donally (Jason Flemyng). Hannah was married to Dr. Martyn Wyatt (Martin Donovan), but their relationship ended when Martyn acknowledged his homosexuality and left her to move in with his lover, Tom Dixon (Ian Hart). Oliver has suffered several injuries in recent months, and one day Hannah comes home from work to discover that Frank has severely wounded Oliver's hand when he lashed out with violence over some minor misbehavior. Hannah kicks Frank out of the house. But he returns, begging forgiveness and promises he'll never hurt Oliver again. She takes him back. Oliver is neither cute and precocious, nor too obviously traumatised. Martyn learns of Frank's violence against his son, and he sues to have full custody of Oliver for the sake of the child's safety. However, Hannah is terrified of both losing her son and being left without a man in her life. She and Frank join forces in court against Martyn, using his homosexuality as their chief weapon against him and try to poison Oliver's mind with homophobia against his father.

This tense domestic drama about child abuse and anti-gay prejudice features a good script and good acting. It's a British film made for Channel Four TV that is complex, intelligent, and emotionally charged, with one of the most convincing trial scenes on film. The soundtrack features selections recorded for the film by Elvis Costello, Annie Lennox, and Paul Weller, with incidental music composed by Anne Dudley. Paula Milne wrote the script from Neville Bolt's story. Angela Pope directed.

Querelle (1982)

Handsome French sailor and prostitute Georges Querelle (Brad Davis) is under the command of Lt. Seblon (Franco Nero), who desires him from afar. After arriving in Brest on Le Vengeur, Querelle murders his drug-smuggling partner Vic (Dieter Schidor) and begins visiting a notorious brothel, La Feria. He discovers that his brother Robert (Hanno Pöschl) is the lover of the lady owner, Lysiane (Jeanne Moreau). The brothers meet with a bizarre greeting halfway between a hug and a fighting match. Lysiane's husband Gil Nono (also Hanno Pöschl) tends bar and manages La Feria's underhanded affairs with the assistance of his friend, the corrupt police captain Mario (Burkhard Driest). Querelle plays dice with Nono. If he wins, he is allowed to make love to Lysiane, if he loses, he has to make love with Nono. Querelle deliberately loses, and finds he has a taste for passive gay sex. He falls in love with fellow murderer Nono, who killed a man who publicly insulted his manhood. To keep Nono for himself, Querelle betrays him to the police. But by now Querelle has become vulnerable and soon he belongs to Seblon. Wanted by the police for both his own crime and Querelle's, Nono goes on the lam. Querelle soon finds his hideout, and a strong bond develops between the two murderers--a friendship that will lead Querelle to the greatest love, and the greatest treachery, of his life. Seblon is aware that Querelle murdered Vic, but chooses to protect him. Near the end of the film, Seblon reveals his love and concern to a drunken Querelle, and they kiss and embrace before returning to Le Vengeur.

Director Rainer Werner Fassbinder was in the process of editing "Querelle" when he died of a drug overdose in June 1982. It was his 36th film. Faithfully adapted from Jean Genet's 1947 novel, "Querelle de Brest", Fassbinder considered it his most important film. The documentary "The Wizard of Babylon" partly chronicles the production of "Querelle" and includes the last footage taken of Fassbinder before his death. Peer Raben comosed the music, and the screenplay derived from Genet was written by Burkhard Driest and Fassbinder. The movie is also known as "Querelle--a Pact with the Devil" and "Querelly--ein Pakt mit dem Teufel".

The Hanging Garden (1997)

25 year-old Sweet William (Chris Leavins), a once fat and self-hating teen, ran away from home at age 15. Basically his only other alternative was suicide. Ten years later he returns to attend his sister Rosemary's (Kerry Fox) wedding. He's happy with his new life, a well-adjusted gay man with a partner, steady work, and a trim body. Haunted by his past miserable adolescence, being back at home revives all of his awful memories: overeating because it's the one thing nobody can stop him from doing; being hit by his drunken and abusive father Whiskey Mac (Peter MacNeill); and his mother arranging for him to have sex with a woman while she sat in the next room. As a gay, obese teenager (played by Troy Veinotte), William was caught having sex with his bisexual friend Fletcher (Joel S. Keller) in the garden by his grandmother when he was 15. Rosemary is marrying Fletcher. In the movie, both the adult and teen-age William, hanging as a fresh corpse in the garden, interact. In the version of reality where William dies, his family members cannot shed their memories of his death, whereas in the other version William is haunted by memories of his father's abuse and is unable to reconcile with him. Also, a new family member Violet (Christine Dunsworth) is revealed to have been fathered by William, because William's mother Iris (Seana McKenna) took him to a prostitute in an attempt to "cure" his homosexuality. In the garden where he may or may not have made a tragic decision as a teen, past and present mingle, the eyes of statues move, and everything drips with rain. The story is a surrealistic mix of fantasy (he commits suicide) and reality (he leaves and starts a new life). William must take care of his drunken father and then help organize a search for his missing mother. Interestingly, Fletcher, who's rejection almost led to William's suicide, is now very attracted to the handsome and sexy former childhood friend.

This darkly comic melodrama is about Sweet William and his family, in which everyone is named after a plant. The film is convoluted, contrived, and confusing, but enjoyable and entertaining, with subtle acting performances. With the background of Celtic music combined with beautiful camera work, the image of a garden as the family and a flower as an individual is nicely done. John Roby composed the music, and Thom Fitzgerald wrote the script and directed.

Partners (1982)

After a series of murders in the LA gay community, straight police sergeant Benson (Ryan O'Neal) is assigned to the case. He is ordered to go undercover as half of a gay couple. The other partner is officer Kerwin (John Hurt), a mousy police clerk everyone in the department knows is gay, although he thinks he's closeted. Benson is horrified at the thought, while Kerwin is shy, apprehensive, and would prefer to work in the office. In order to be noticed they have to be flamboyant enough to attract attention which Benson finds disturbing. The couple adopt their homosexual disguises, which include a lavender Volkswagen, a lavender jogging outfit for Kerwin, and lots of tight-fitting jeans and tank tops for Benson. They set up housekeeping in an apartment house filled with gays. At first, Benson's slovenly ways annoy Kerwin, whose sexual orientation and prissy manners are a source of annoyance for Benson. The film derives much of its humor from Benson's discomfort with homosexuality and his stereotypical ideas of "gay behaviour". Benson must tolerate the passes of aging queens and play the role of hustler in an effort to obtain information. Kerwin instructs Benson in the tricks of the trade, much of which is foreign even to him. Most of the time he putters around their apartment, cooking gourmet meals, emptying ashtrays, and looking grief-stricken when Benson brings home a woman to sleep with. We are shown the evolution of Benson's attitudes toward Kerwin and gay people in general. As the pair close in on the murderer, Kerwin reveals himself to be a far more capable cop than Benson assumes him to be.

This movie was made long before the openness of the the gay community and may seem somewhat simplistic in the way it deals with the subject, but that is part of what makes it so funny. It is respectful of both sides, and allows us to see what stereotyping is capable of leading to. Film critic Rex Reed wrote in the New York Post: "Hollywood's latest crime against humanity in general and homosexuals in particular is a dumb creepshow called "Partners"--stupid, tasteless and homophobic, this sleazy, superficial film implies that gay cops can't be trusted to work with straight cops because they might fall in love with them." Georges Delerue composed the music, Francis Veber wrote the screenplay, and James Burrows directed.