Head On (1998)

Nineteen-year-old Ari (Alex Dimitriades) walks out of a Greek wedding in Melbourne. He is young, handsome, unemployed, bisexual, and alienated. The movie follows him and his friends through 24 hours of excess, from a family party to a Greek nightclub, then to a gay nightclub where he meets up with Sean (Julian Garner), a dreamy college friend of his brother's who may offer a loving alternative to self-destructive excess. His father Dimitri (Tony Nikolakopoulos) calls him an animal and his mother Sophia (Eugenia Fragos) pleads with him not to leave home. Ari despises his once-beloved parents, former radical activists, for becoming traditional. His closest friend Johnny (Paul Capsis) is open about his cross-dressing, defiantly dressing up as his own dead mother, but Ari can’t face the consequences that would follow coming out. Instead he seeks short-term pleasure in drugs and anonymous sex in seedy alleys and public toilets. When Ari and Johnny are arrested and brutalized by a pair of cops, however, the chance for redemption seems very remote. The film does not have a happy ending.

This Australian movie directed by Ana Kokkinos is based on the acclaimed novel "Loaded" by Christos Tsiolkas. The film gained notoriety upon its release for its sexual explicitness, including a highly graphic male masturbation scene performed by Dimitriades, who is good looking, but a bit too old to play a teen-ager. Ollie Olsen composed the music. Ana Kokkinos and Mira Robertson wrote the screenplay derived from Christos Tsiolkas' book.

C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)

Zac Beaulieu (Marc-Andre Grondin) is a kid who thinks he has the coolest dad (Michel Côté as Gervais) on the block. Mom Laurianne (Danielle Proulx) dotes on Zac, thinking he has healing gifts from God. "C.R.A.Z.Y." tells the story of a young man dealing with his emerging homosexual feelings while growing up with four brothers and a conservative father in 1960s and '70s Quebec. The title is derived from the first letter in the names of the five brothers: Christian, Raymond, Antoine, Zachary and Yvan, and also refers to their father's love of Patsy Cline's hit song "Crazy", written by Willie Nelson. When Zak's gayness emerges, his homophobic father becomes angry and distant, then eventually loves him for who he really is.

Yet another gay coming of age movie, this time from Quebec, Canada, where "C.R.A.Z.Y." was a huge award-winning box office hit. The movie is not easy to categorize. It's a drama, but also a flashback comedy. One of the film's themes is the waning influence of the Roman Catholic Church in Quebec society during the "Quiet Revolution". Period music is an important element of the movie, and a good portion of the film's budget was spent on rights for songs by Patsy Cline, Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, as well as David Bowie's "Space Oddity" and many others. The Charles Aznavour song "Emmenez Moi" is repeated over and over in the film, often sung by the father. He also sings another Aznavour song, "Hier Encore", as part of Zac's 20th birthday celebrations. Original music is by David Bowie. The film was directed and co-written (with Franחois Boulay) by Jean-Marc Vallיe. The language is French, and DVDs are available with and without English subtitles.

Food of Love (2003)

Adapted from David Leavitt's 1998 novel "The Page Turner", this film is the story of a love affair between an 18-year-old man and his much older mentor. Paul (Kevin Bishop) is a music student working as an assistant for a classical pianist, Richard Kennington (Paul Rhys). The two meet first in San Francisco, then in Barcelona and begin a relationship, but they must contend with Paul's neurotic mother Pamela (Juliet Stevenson) and Richard's boyfriend and manager Mansourian (Allan Corduner). Richard flees to New York, and when he meets Paul again, he is a Julliard student, promiscuous and in an affair with yet another middle-aged man. The movie has first and second acts, but no conclusion. Act I is the development of the relationship between Paul and Richard. Act II is about Paul's move to NYC, where he becomes a disillusioned jerk. No Act III. When the story begins to reach a climax, it ends with no resolution of any plot threads. The final scenes seem empty.

"Food of Love" is complex, interesting, polished, with occasional insights into the lies we believe and tell to others. The sad thing is that none of the characters really learn anything about themselves. They simply discover that people lie and life sucks. And the idea that a young sensitive gay pianist might be happy in the romantic clutches of leering, ugly, bald, and smug men who are in their fifties stretches credibility. This Spanish/German film is well-done on a low budget, with beautiful music, and some good acting. Charles Cases composed the music, and Ventura Pons wrote the screenplay and directed.

In the Flesh (1997)

Oliver (Dane Ritter), a 21 year-old clean-cut student, is living a double life. His upper-class family sees a decent young man, but they know nothing of his night life as a gay hustler. Suspected of murder, he turns to his lover Philip Kirsch (Ed Corbin)--a closeted undercover narc probing the drug traffickers involved in the homicide. Soon Philip becomes Oliver's reluctant alibi for the murder charge. Kirsch risks his job for Oliver, insisting he is innocent of the crime. He follows Oliver around like a lost puppy, searching his medical files, and inviting him to live in his house until he finds a place of his own. Soon the hustler becomes the hustled when he becomes the target of a murderer. What remains is the two attempting to stay alive amid corruption and greed in a seedy suburb of Atlanta. One of Philip's cop buddies plays a role in the film's finale, in a contrived twist.

It's a thriller/love story with interesting characters, from the attractive leads to the suspicious bartender, rent boys, and an older cop who has seen it all. Although low budget with some wooden acting, the character development is good and the film is quite appealing. However, some viewers describe it as cheesy, emotionless, predictable, with hackneyed plot twists and weak writing. We get to see a gratuitous sex scene between a male and female, but no gay sex. Eddie Horst composed the music, and Ben Taylor wrote the screenplay and directed.

Friends & Family (2003)

Stephen Torcelli (Greg Lauren) and Danny Russo (Christopher Gartin) are a gay NYC couple who have it all: a fabulous house, good friends, lots of money, and each other. When Stephen's meddling mother Ada (Beth Fowler) and undercover FBI agent father (Frank Pellegrino) show up for an unexpected visit, their lives are thrown into chaos as they try to hide their big secret. The parents know the guys are a gay couple, but they think they run a catering company for a living, even though neither of them can cook. What they don't know is that their son and his boyfriend are part of a gang of enforcers for Don Victor Patrizzi (Tony Lo Bianco), a notorious New York mob boss. They are hit men for the Mafia! If Stephen's father learns of their criminal activities he'll be obligated to report them.

Meanwhile, Don Patrizzi's daughter Jenny (Rebecca Creskoff) announces her engagement and her father decides to throw her an engagement party combined with Mr. Torcelli's birthday party. Mrs. Torcelli suggests the boys cater the party, sending them into a panic. Fortunately one of Don Patrizzi's sons is an excellent chef and the other is a master decorator, so the Patrizzi boys take care of the food and the decor. As a special treat for Jenny, Don Patrizzi forcibly "invites" US Senator Pete (Bruce Winant) under his control to the party. This guest is of the most interest to the parents of Jenny's fiance, Alma (Tovah Feldshuh) and Matt Jennings (Patrick Collins). They run a militia group which has declared war on the US government and they want to hold the Senator hostage.

Oblivious to this threat, Don Patrizzi's soldiers have been enlisted to serve as waiters for the party. Reasoning that a catering company owned by a gay couple would have gay employees, they have a flamboyant friend of the Danny and Stephen's give them a crash course on being gay--including the correct order of Elizabeth Taylor's husbands and the proper use of the expression "puh-lease!".

All goes well at the party until the Jennings and their militiamen strike. They take the guests hostage and force the Senator to record a message for the media. Stephen and Danny, fearful that the tape will lead to police action and a deadly shootout, neutralize the militia with the help of the newly gay-acting Patrizzi soldiers and some drag queens who came to the party. With their cover blown, Stephen and Danny tell Mr. Torcelli that they're ready for him to turn them in. However, the birthday he's celebrating is his 60th, meaning that he's been mandatorily retired and is no longer with the FBI.

This movie is often slow-moving, with too many stereotypes, predictable jokes, and forced situations, but it is entertaining. With too many characters interacting in too many ways, the film feels crowded, confused, and frenetic. Kurt Hoffman composed the original music, Joseph Triebwasser wrote the screenplay, and Kristen Coury directed.

The Business of Fancydancing (2002)

Seymour Polatkin (Evan Adams) is a successful American Indian gay poet who reluctantly returns to the reservation he left 15 years ago to attend the funeral of Mouse (Swil Kanim). "I've had sex with one Indian woman, 112 white boys and two black men," he laughs, "but I've never slept with an Indian man." His former best friend Aristotle Joseph (Gene Tagaban) views him as a pathetic token of his tribe, a "little public relations warrior" who "puts on little beads and feathers for all these white people." The film explores issues that contemporary American Indians face, including cultural assimilation, stereotypes, and substance abuse, with a sometimes strongly symbolic style. There are simple, dream-like interludes of individual characters performing ceremonial dances in complete blackness, and episodes of Seymour reading his poetry aloud.

Indian filmmaker Sherman Alexie (writer of "Smoke Signals"), does a good job of bringing to life the fear, frustration, tension, and bitterness of his cast of characters, as well as the blood ties that bind them together. The movie was shot on digital video and sometimes the image quality is not very good. Music was composed by Mohican composer Brent Michael Davids. The violin solos were composed and performed by Swil Kanim (Mouse), and the film also features Sherman Alexie's poetry, who wrote the screenplay and directed.

Cock & Bull Story (2004)

Jack "Jacko" O'Malley (Brian Austin Green) is a violent street punk who hates "faggots". His friend Travis Coleman (Bret Roberts) is a handsome boxer with a dream of getting out of Chicago's Soutside. His biggest problem is Jacko, who's always taking him out to cause trouble when he should be training. The two are very close friends and there is more fighting in dark alleys than in the ring. Virtually every scene is filled with homophobic language. Travis' sexual ambiguity is eventually exposed and this powerful film explores the roots of homophobia: repressed homosexuality. The film is about homophobia, and although it's a good movie to watch with good acting and a good plot, it's probably disappointing for most gay viewers. It was written and directed by Billy Hayes, the real-life protagonist of "Midnight Express".

American Beauty (1999)

(first lines)
Jane Burnham: I need a father who's a role model, not some horny geek-boy who's gonna spray his shorts whenever I bring a girlfriend home from school. What a lame-o. Someone really should just put him out of his misery.
Ricky Fitts: Want me to kill him for you?
Jane Burnham: Yeah. Would you?

Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) and his wife Carolyn (Annette Bening) are a seemingly perfect suburban couple who make life-changing choices mostly because of Lester's mid-life crisis. He is a father and advertising executive who serves as the film's narrator: "I'm 42 years old. In less than a year, I'll be dead. Of course, I don't know that yet. And in a way, I'm dead already." He describes himself as a loser in a dead end job with bosses he doesn't respect. Carolyn is an ambitious realtor who feels unsuccessful at fulfilling her potential, and his 16-year-old daughter Jane (Thora Birch) is unhappy and struggling with her self-esteem. Jane hates her parents and is saving money for a breast augmentation operation. Lester is reinvigorated when he meets Jane's sexually precocious friend and classmate Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari) at a high school basketball game. He immediately develops an infatuation for her, much to his daughter's dismay. Throughout the film, Lester has sexual fantasies about Angela and red rose petals.

His new neighbours are US Marine Corps Colonel Frank Fitts (Chris Cooper), his wife Barbara (Allison Janney), and their teenage son Ricky (Wes Bentley). Fascist Col. Fitts has homophobic disgust for a gay couple who are also neighbors, and believes Ricky is gay and having sex with Lester. This is not true, he only supplies marijuana for Lester, but Ricky claims to be gay to escape from his father. Frank controls Ricky with very strict discipline and gives him drug tests regularly. Ricky, a smoker and drug dealer, makes deals with a client of his so he can have clean urine samples to pass these tests. He frequently uses a hand-held video camera to record his surroundings and keeps hundreds of tapes in his bedroom.

Carolyn begins an affair with her business rival Buddy Kane (Peter Gallagher). Lester is about to be laid off, then he blackmails his boss, quits his job and takes up low-pressure employment at a fast food chain. He trades in his car for a 1970 Pontiac Firebird, starts running, and lifts weights so he can "look good naked" to impress Angela, whom he overheard tell Jane that she'd find him sexy if he had more muscles.

Brad Dupree: (reading Lester's job description) "My job consists of basically masking my contempt for the assholes in charge, and, at least once a day, retiring to the men's room so I can jerk off while I fantasize about a life that doesn't so closely resemble Hell." Well, you have absolutely no interest in saving yourself.
Lester: Brad, for 14 years I've been a whore for the advertising industry. The only way I could save myself now is if I start firebombing. I guess I'll have to throw in a sexual harassment charge.
Brad Dupree: Against who?
Lester: Against you. Can you prove that you didn't offer to save my job if I let you blow me?
Brad Dupree: Man, you are one twisted f**k.
Lester: Nope. I'm just an ordinary guy who has nothing left to lose.

Carolyn: Uh, whose car is that out front?
Lester: Mine. 1970 Pontiac Firebird. The car I've always wanted and now I have it. I rule!

Lester: I figured you guys might be able to give me some pointers. I need to shape up. Fast.
Jim Olmeyer: Are you just looking to lose weight, or do you want increased strength and flexibility as well?
Lester: I want to look good naked!

After watching Ricky and Lester make a drug transaction through the garage window, Frank mistakenly concludes that the two are engaged in a sexual relationship. That evening, Ricky returns home, where Frank beats him and accuses him of being gay. Ricky falsely admits the charge and goads Frank into turning him out of their home.

Frank Fitts: Where did you get that?
Ricky Fitts: From my job.
Frank Fitts: Don't lie to me. Now, I saw you with him.
Ricky Fitts: You were watching me?
Frank Fitts: What did he make you do?
Ricky Fitts: Oh, Dad, you don't really think that me and Mr. Burnham were...
Frank Fitts: Don't you laugh at me. Now, I will not sit back and watch my only son become a c**k-sucker.
Ricky Fitts: Jesus, what is it with you?
Frank Fitts: I swear to God, I will throw you out of the house and never look at you again.
Ricky Fitts: You mean that?
Frank Fitts: You're damn straight I do. I'd rather you were dead than be a fuckin' faggot.
Ricky Fitts: You're right. I suck d**k for money.
Frank Fitts: Boy, don't start.
Ricky Fitts: Two thousand dollars. I'm that good.
Frank Fitts: Get out.
Ricky Fitts: And you should see me f**k. I'm the best piece of ass in three States.
Frank Fitts: Get out. I don't ever want to see you again.
Ricky Fitts: What a sad old man you are.

Ricky goes to Jane and asks her to flee with him to New York City. An emotionally distraught Col. Fitts kisses Lester in his garage. Later gunshot rings out and blood spatters on the kitchen wall in front of Lester as he is shot from behind. Ricky and Jane find him dead. Lester's final narration reflects on his life, and the actions of the other characters at the moment of his death.

(last lines)
Lester: I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. First of all, that one second isn't a second at all, it stretches on forever, like an ocean of time... For me, it was lying on my back at Boy Scout camp, watching falling stars... And yellow leaves, from the maple trees, that lined my street... Or my grandmother's hands, and the way her skin seemed like paper... And the first time I saw my cousin Tony's brand new Firebird... And Janie... And Janie... And... Carolyn. I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me... but it's hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life... You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry... you will someday.

AMERICAN BEAUTY is a cinematic triumph that is both funny and sad, disturbing, yet provocative and deep. This compelling well-paced film is an extraordinary achievement that reveals a tragic and realistic story about a family that is anything but ordinary. It has many layers and it deals with the disparity between appearances and their underlying realities. Lester's abrupt break with his superficial world is refreshing, and the circumstances that evolve from it are both provocative and entertaining. The beautiful cinematography, good music score, precise and evocative screenplay, and first-rate acting make this movie stand above most others. AMERICAN BEAUTY was a massive success both critically and commercially, and the film won a total of five Oscars, including Best Picture. Writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, Edward Guthman called it "a dazzling tale of loneliness, desire and the hollowness of conformity". Jay Carr for the Boston Globe called the film "a millennial classic". The New York Post called it "a flat-out masterpiece".

The cast also includes: Allison Janney (Barbara Fitts), Scott Bakula (Jim Olmeyer), Sam Robards (Jim Berkley), Barry Del Sherman (Brad Dupree), Ara Celi, Amber Smith (Christy Kane), John Cho, Fort Atkinson, Sue Casey, Kent Faulcon, Brenda Wehle, Lisa Cloud, Allison Faulk, Krista Goodsitt, Lily Houtkin, Carolina Lancaster, Romana Leah, Chekesha Van Putten, Emily Zachary, Nancy Anderson, Reshma Gajjar, Stephanie Rizzo, Heather Joy Sher, Chelsea Hertford, Amber Smith, and many others. Thomas Newman composed the original music. Alan Ball wrote the screenplay derived from his stage play. He saw a paper bag floating in the wind near the World Trade Center plaza and this inspired him to write it. Sam Mendes directed.

Running with Sissors (2006)

In 1972, six-year-old Augusten (Joseph Cross) is trapped between his parents: his mother Deirdre Burroughs (Annette Bening), a poet with delusions of fame, and his father Norman (Alec Baldwin), an alcoholic math professor. When the Burroughs' marriage disintegrates, Deirdre begins therapy with the eccentric Dr. Finch (Brian Cox), an unconventional shrink. At age 12 Augusten moves in with the doctor’s family, and has irregular visits by his crazy mother. He befriends Neil Bookman (Joseph Fiennes), Dr. Finch's adopted 33-year-old son, and the two enter an erratic gay sexual relationship. The story is about the missing boundary between reality and fantasy, and the broken bond between a mother and her son.

Based on the book "Running with Scissors: A Memoir" by Augusten Burroughs, the film relies on music to express the emotions of the characters and to ground viewers in time. It brings the memoir to life with classic 1970s songs by Elton John, the Average White Band, and Nat King Cole. In an interview for the movie, Augusten Burroughs said he felt the movie was about a quest for family. James S. Levine composed the incidental music. Ryan Murphy wrote the screenplay and directed.

Voor een Verloren Soldaat (1993)

Set in the Netherlands near the end of WWII, the film is a flashback recalling an adolescent gay relationship between 12 year-old boy Jeroen Krabbé (Jeroen Bowman) and a Canadian soldier, Andrew Kelley (Walt Cook). Jeroen reminisces about the time in 1944 when he (Maarten Smit) and other children were sent to the countryside by their parents to escape the war. Amsterdam suffers from food shortages, with more food available in the country. He stays with an eel fisherman's family, but despite the abundance of food, he is plagued by homesickness. Things change when the village is liberated by Canadian troops. Jeroen meets Andrew Kelley, a Canadian soldier in his early twenties, who befriends him. Jeroen revels in the attention the soldier showers on him, and eventually their relationship becomes sexual. His foster parents are aware of the closeness between Jeroen and the soldier, but it is unclear in the film whether they are aware of the sexual nature of the relationship. After a few more days, Walt's troop are ordered to move and Walt leaves without saying goodbye to Jeroen. The boy is heartbroken, having only a photo to remind him of the soldier. After the war is over, he returns to his family back in Amsterdam, where he decides to go to America later in his life. The film ends by returning to the present with Jeroen attempting to incorporate his experiences in his latest ballet work.

It's another coming of age movie handled with tact, style, and feeling. Foster father Hait (Freark Smink) loves the boy selflessly, whereas Andrew's love is selfish, exploitive and his aim is seduction. Joop Stokkermans composed the incidental music. Don Bloch and Roeland Kerbosch wrote the screenplay derived from Rudi van Dantzig's novel. Roeland Kerbosch directed. In Dutch with some English, and with English subtitles. The English title is, "For a Lost Soldier".