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.

The Birdcage (1996)

"The Birdcage" is the American version of "La Cage aux Folles". Armand Goldman (Robin Williams) owns a pupular drag club in South Miami Beach. His long-time lover Albert (Nathan Lane) stars in the club as Starina. The plot is the same as "La Cage", with Armand's future in-laws paying an unwelcome visit. Armand's son Val Goldman (Dan Futterman) and fiance Barbara Keeley (Calista Flockhart) bring ultra-conservative Republican Ohio Senator Kevin Keeley (Gene Hackman), co-founder of the right-wing "Coalition for Moral Order" to Armand's dinner party. During the meal, Louise Keeley notices that the soup bowls depict men in homoerotic poses. Armand says she is mistaken and fills everyone's bowl with soup before Mrs. Keeley or the Senator can take a closer look. The gay truth is revealed eventually, but Keeley has been discovered by the media so he and his wife escape Armand's club dressed as drag queens. Senator Keeley complains that he looks fat in his dress, and no men will dance with him. A number of songs written by Stephen Sondheim are used in this movie. Gay writer Michael Bronski wrote in Z Magazine: "The Birdcage is simple-minded, uninformed, laugh-track Hollywood junk and trades on the trendiness of certain aspects of gay male culture without ever understanding them. It also trivializes and diminishes gay lives by refusing to take them--or homophobia--seriously." However, Lone Wolf enjoys this movie and considers it superior to "La Cage". Elaine May wrote the screenplay based on the earlier screenplays of "La Cage" by Jean Poiret, Francis Veber, Edouard Molinaro, and Marcello Danon. Mike Nichols directed.

The Trip (2002)

"The Trip" is about 19 year-old gay rights activist Tommy (Steve Braun) and 24 year-old Alan (Larry Sullivan). They have a long-term relationship from their initial meeting in 1973 until 1984. At a party in LA, lean and lanky Tommy introduces himself to sexually and politically repressed Alan. Tommy has long hair, is openly gay, with a good sense of humor. The short-haired, muscular Alan is a member of the Young Republicans and an aspiring journalist. Alan is working on his first book, a treatise on homosexuality, and he invites Tommy over for dinner to interview him for the book. Tommy stays over at Alan's apartment who eventually says, "I'm not a fag like you, okay?" However, they soon begin a 4 year relationship.

In 1977, during Anita Bryant's crusade, the anti-gay book Alan wrote years before, "The Straight Truth", is published without his consent. The book destroys Tommy's credibility as a gay activist, resulting in Tommy and Alan's break-up. Years later they re-unite, but under tragic circumstances, as Tommy is now dying of AIDS. In a fitting end to their love story, Alan writes a second book, about his coming out process and his love affair with Tommy. The book is called "The Trip", and is dedicated to Tommy.

Genuine news footage is interspersed in the film, and incorporates the struggle for gay civil rights in the 1970s, the Moscone-Milk assassinations, the AIDS crisis, and the indifference of the Reagan Administration to it. Characters like Tommy's best friend, Michael (Alexis Arquette), Alan's mother (Jill St. John), and Beverly (Sirena Irwin) add humor to the movie, but each lends support to Alan's relationship with Tommy, and to him living as an openly gay man. Written and directed by Miles Swain.

Torch Song Trilogy (1988)

"Torch Song Trilogy" is a comedy/drama about Arnold Beckoff (Harvey Fierstein), a middle-aged gay man in NYC who works as a drag queen singing torch songs in an amusing husky voice. Part 1: "The International Stud" is set in 1971. Arnold meets Ed Reese (Brian Kerwin) and they fall in love. Ed, however, is uncomfortable with his bisexuality. He leaves Arnold for a girlfriend, whom he subsequently marries. His wife knows everything and is very open-minded about it all. Part 2: "Fugue in a Nursery" begins at Christmas 1973, when Arnold meets the love of his life, Alan Simon (Mathew Broderick), a model. They settle down together, later spending a weekend with Ed and his wife, where their relationship is tested but endures. The cute young ex-hustler's attraction to Ed is improbable and unrealistic. Eventually, they arrange to adopt a child together. At the end of the act, however, Alan is killed in a vicious homophobic attack. Part 3: "Widows and Children First!" is set in the spring of 1980. Arnold's mother (Anne Bancroft) comes to visit from Florida and verbally disapproves of Arnold's homosexuality and adoption of a gay teenage son David (Eddie Castrodad). She also hates Arnold's use of the family burial plot for Alan, they have a series of stormy arguments, and Arnold demands that she respect him for who he is. Arnold is very secure with his sexuality, but hurt when she tells him she wishes he had never been born. The following morning before she returns to Florida, they have a conversation, and for the first time they seem to understand each other.

This film was adapted by gay Harvey Fierstein from his play of the same title. The movie was directed by Paul Bogart, and was restricted to a running time of two hours at the insistence New Line Cinema, necessitating much editing and excisions. The time frame was regressed to a decade earlier than the play. Gay characters are mostly stereotypical, all of them are portrayed as promiscuous, and time rushes too fast throughout the film. Many of the plot points are easily predicted, especially the fate of Alan, which is telegraphed well in advance. However, it's a very good movie, with great performances, full of good intentions, with many rave reviews.

Love! Valour! Compassion! (1997)

This film is about the intertwined lives of 8 middle-aged gay men who share 3 summer holiday week-ends (Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day) in a large house two hours north of NYC. Set at a lakeside in Dutchess County, the men relax, reflect, and make plans. The house belongs to Gregory Mitchell (Stephen Bogardus), a choreographer, and his twenty-something lover, Bobby Brahms (Justin Kirk), who is blind. Each of the guests is connected to Gregory’s work in one way or another. Arthur Pape (John Benjamin Hickey) and longtime partner Perry Sellars (Stephen Spinella) are business consultants. John Jeckyll (John Glover), a sour Englishman, is a dance accompanist. Musical theater fanatic Buzz Hauser (Jason Alexander) is a costume designer and the most stereotypically gay man in the group. Buzz is HIV-positive, but refuses to discuss this with his friends. Only John's summer lover, Ramon Fornos (Randy Becker), and John's twin brother James (John Glover), who has AIDS, are outside the circle of friends. But Ramon is outgoing and eventually makes a place for himself in the group, and James is such a nice guy that he is quickly welcomed. Romance, aging, infidelity, flirtations, soul-searching, AIDS, truth-telling and skinny-dipping mix questions about life and death with a dress rehearsal for Swan Lake performed in drag.

Writer Terrence McNally adapted his Broadway stage play for this film. The script underwent many changes, eliminating almost all direct addresses to the audience and the conclusion of one of the subplots. McNally reunited the original cast, with the exceptions of Nathan Lane and Anthony Heald. Jason Alexander stepped in for Lane and Stephen Spinella replaced Heald. Directed by Joe Mantello, who also directed the original New York stage production.

Maurice (1987)

"Maurice" (pronounced Morris) is a semi-autobiographical story based on gay E. M. Forster's book, which he stipulated could be published only after his death. It was released in 1971. Set in pre-World War I England, the film concerns the coming of age of two young men who meet at Cambridge University. It's about Maurice Hall (James Wilby) an upper-class aristocrat who falls in love with fellow classmate Clive Durham (Hugh Grant). Clive eventually attempts a traditional life after the social banishment and imprisonment of another gay friend, Viscount Risley (Mark Tandy). After trying a "cure" for his homosexuality, Maurice falls in love with Clive's gamekeeper Alec Scudder (Rupert Graves).

Most of the film was shot at King's College, Cambridge. It differs from the novel with Maurice being age 11 at the beginning of the film, rather than 14. The film omits almost all of the novel's philosophical dialogue, and also many sub-plots such as Maurice's lust for schoolboy Dickie (the scenes dealing with this subplot were deleted from the final cut). It expands the character of Lord Risley and his 6-month imprisonment with hard labour for homosexual conduct (he is not imprisoned in the novel). In one deleted scene released in the 2002 edition, Risley ends up committing suicide, but this is not shown in the film. While undergoing treatment by Dr. Lasker-Jones (Ben Kingsley) to "cure" himself, Lasker-Jones warns him that at one time homosexuals were executed in Britain. He suggests that Maurice consider relocating to a country where homosexuality is not illegal and more tolerated, like France or Italy. Maurice asks him if England will ever change its attitudes towards homosexuality, to which Lasker-Jones replies, "England has always been disinclined to accept human nature." Richard Robbins composed the music, and Kit Hesketh-Harvey and James Ivory wrote the screenplay from Forster's novel. James Ivory directed.

200 American (2003)

Conrad (Matt Walton) is a gay man living in NYC, the CEO of an ad agency and a control freak whose lover has deserted him. He hires then falls in love with hustler Tyler/Ian (Sean Matic). Australian Ian came to NYC to start a new life, needed money to stay, and began hustling for 200 American dollars cash for his services. Ian claims he is straight and needs money to marry his girlfriend. Conrad gives him a job as an assistant to the photographer at his agency. It gets complicated as Conrad tries to make up with Martin (John-Dylan Howard), and Ian falls for Michael (Anthony Ames), his supervisor at the company. Michael eventually falls for Ian and the truth about Ian's hustling background is made clear in a way that impacts all of the characters in this drama. The soundtrack music is inappropriate, incessant, annoying pop music from the same composer. But it's a fun gay movie, much more than the typical "gay falls for a hustler" film. All the characters are shown to be needy, to have dark sides, and capable of change. They are also likeable men who just want to be happy. Richard LeMay wrote the screenplay and directed.

24 Nights (1999)

This Gay Christmas movie is about quirky Jonathan Parker (Kevin Isola), who has always believed in Santa Claus. He met a phony Santa when he was four years old, and the experience was so profound that he has never lost his faith in Saint Nick. Now 24, he is a pot-head college drop-out working in a in Greenwich Village gay bookstore who is a loser at love. Jonathan lives with his sister Marie (Aida Turturro). He writes a letter to Santa and handsome Toby (David Burtka), winner of the local "wet underwear" contest, starts working at the bookstore. Jonathan falls head over heels in love, convinced that Toby is the dream man sent to him by Santa. However, if Toby really is a gift from Santa, why is he a party animal all over NYC, and why has he brought his boyfriend Keith (Stephen Mailer) along with him? Jonathan must convince Toby, and has to fight to get him even if he has to ruin the lives of those around him in his pursuit of a fantasy man. Jonathan's family, including his brother-in-law Stan (Bob Bogue), and Stan's mother Lillian (Mary-Louise Wilson) is combative but, as Keith says, "They kind of grow on you." Marie steals the scenes she is in and has some funny lines as she bickers with Lillian. As Christmas approaches, Jonathan realizes Santa doesn't always deliver what boys want, he delivers what they deserve.

"24 Nights" is a sweet, cute, refreshing, touching, clever, heart-warming, and intelligent film produced on a low budget. The acting is first-rate and the soundtrack features pleasant Christmas tunes in the background. Kieran Turner wrote the screen play and directed.

Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)

Luis Molina (William Hurt) and Valentin Arregui (Raúl Juliá) are cell mates in a Latin American prison. Luis is an effeminate gay found guilty of immoral behaviour and imprisoned for seducing a minor. Valentin is a straight, bearded, revolutionary political activist prisoner. Most of the time Molina tells him stories about tacky Hollywood movies, especially his fondly remembered Nazi propaganda film "Her Real Glory", which Valentin detests. The stories are meant to comfort Arregui and distract him from his imprisonment and separation from the woman he loves. It becomes clear that Arregui is being poisoned by his jailers to force him to reveal what he knows. And Molina is in his cell to obtain information for his captors. A friendship develops between the two prisoners and eventually they have sex, which begins discreetly with the blowing out of a candle. The ending is tragic for both, although Arregui's end is softened with a lovely fantasy scene reminiscent of "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" ("La Rivière du Hibou").

Both acting performances are superb, and Hurt won a well-deserved Oscar. There is a movie within the movie starring Sonia Braga. The film is an adaptation of Manuel Puig's highly regarded 1976 novel "El Beso de la Mujer Araña". A Broadway musical "Kiss of the Spider Woman" was produced in 1993. Original music is by Nando Cordeiro and John Neschling. Leonard Schrader wrote the screenplay from Puig's novel, and Hector Babenco directed. This Brazilian/American drama is in English, and the Portuguese title is "O Beijo da Mulher Aranha".