The Event (2003)

"The Event" is mystery story set in Manhattan's Chelsea district, an intense relationship drama about a series of unexplained deaths that occurs among the gay community. It tells the story of Matt Shapiro (Don McKellar) who has died in Manhattan, resulting in an aborted 911 call. Assistant District Attorney Nicole "Nick" DeVivo (Parker Posey) investigates the suspicious suicide, and interviews Matt's friends and family to piece together a portrait of Matt's life and finally his death. Matt's death is the latest in what could be a string of "assisted" suicides, and Nick's suspicions lead her to Matt's best friend, Brian (Brent Carver), who runs an AIDS hospice. Through her conversations with Brian, some of Matt's other friends, the man's mother (Olympia Dukakis), and younger sister Dana (Sarah Polley), Nick is able to piece together Matt's life after he was stricken with the illness. It is the man's older sister, the ostracized Gaby (Joanna P. Adler), who hints to Nick that her brother may have had some help. Flashbacks reconstruct the man's life and his relationships with friends and family. Nick believes that his death may have been the result of assisted suicide, which is against the law, even for victims of AIDS. When the true circumstances of his death are revealed, they prove to be far less important than how he lived, loved, and was loved.

The title of the film refers to the night when Matt died. His friends and family gather at his apartment to hold a farewell party, and at the end of the evening's festivities, with loved ones by his side, Matt's life will presumably reach a peaceful end. This melodrama begins as a powerful film with good character development, but becomes overly sentimental, obviously trying to manipulate our emotions. Christophe Beck composed the incidental music, and Thom Fitzgerald wrote the screenplay and directed.

Cowboys & Angels (2003)

Another coming of age comedy, "Cowboys & Angels" is about 2 Irish young men, straight Shane Butler (Michael Legge) and his gay roommate Vincent Cusak (Allen Leech). Set in Limerick city, Shane is handsome but geeky, works for the Department of Agriculture, and wants to enroll in art school. Vincent is a confident fashion-student and decorator. Despite being opposites in most ways, they soon become close friends. Vincent's artistry inspires Shane to greatness. When he meets and falls in love with Gemma (Amy Shiels), an ex-art student and best friend of Vincent's who now works in a fast food joint, he feels compelled to make some radical changes in his life. Fate steps in to lend a hand in the form of Keith (David Murray), a drug dealer who lives downstairs. Keith offers Shane the opportunity to make a lot of money by going on a drug run to Dublin. At first Shane refuses, but he desperately needs the cash. He goes on the drug run and lives to regret it. With the money he makes from the run, Vincent transforms him into one of the hippest guys in town. Unknown to Shane though, some shady figures have tailed him back from Dublin and are now watching the apartment.

The two leads have great chemistry and deliver career-making performances as they become best friends. This film is an energetic, captivating, and funny exploration of their difficulties in a fast moving sub-culture of drugs and clubs. Nothing new, but Legge and Leech make the film worth watching. Stephen McKeon composed the incidental music, and David Gleeson wrote the screenplay and directed.

Before Night Falls (2000)

In Cuba after the revolution in 1959, gay poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas (Javier Bardem) moves to Havana where he is swept up in the revolutionary spirit and joins a circle of writers and artists. His first novel, "Singing from the Well," is published in Cuba, but as Castro's oppressive regime gathers force, Arenas' homosexuality and political writing make him a target. He is arrested after two boys who have stolen from him falsely accuse him of sexual assault. Later he gets into trouble for having his books smuggled out of the country and published abroad. For a decade he goes in and out of prisons, escapes from prison and tries to leave Cuba on a tire inner tube. The attempt fails and he is rearrested. In prison he helps other inmates to write letters to wives and lovers. When he is forced to renounce his books, he is released. In 1980 he is told that, as part of the Mariel Harbor Boatlift, he is allowed to emigrate because of being gay. After first suspecting this might be a trick, he successfully claims homosexuality, and moves to Miami. Then he relocates to NYC with his friend Lazaro Gomez Carilles (Olivier Martinez). Arenas' hopes for a new life are destroyed by AIDS, and without health insurance, he kills himself in 1990 at the age of 45. A friend is present who promises not to alert medical services. Moreover, he speeds up death by suffocation with a plastic bag.

This was the second film of director Julian Schnabel, after "Basquiat" (1996). It took 4 years to produce the film, and it had its world premiere at the 2000 Venice International Film Festival. The most confusing thing in this movie is that Johnny Depp plays two separate characters: the first is a drag queen in jail, and the second is as a Lieutenant who interrogates Arenas. It's not clear if this second character is the first one out of drag, or if Depp is playing someone else entirely. Carter Burwell composed the music. The screenplay was written by Julian Schnabel, Cunningham O'Keefe, and Lázaro Gómez Carriles, based on the autobiography by Reinaldo Arenas. The Spanish title is "Antes Que Anochezca". Available in Spanish and English languages.

Almost Normal (2005)

Gay college professor Brad Jenkins ( Andrew Keitch) has a mid-life crisis at age 40 and is tired of being different because he is gay. Brad's best friend Julie (Joan Lauckner) urges him to end his self-pity and attend the upcoming family reunion that he has been dreading for months. The thought of the family gathering causes Brad to drink too much alcohol before getting behind-the-wheel. A violent crash yanks Brad back in time to his high school days, and the transported teenager soon discovers that in this parallel universe all of his former classmates are gay. The world is gay and to be straight is considered deviant behavior. Brad has to decide whether to remain in the past and be "normal" or attempt to return to his old life. Local jock Roland (Tim Hammer), who had ignored him before, now dates him. However, he grows attracted to a girl--his sister-in-law in the real world. Eventually, everyone dances with people of the opposite sex at the school ball, although they are in the gay fantasy world. Brad decides to return to his life as a professor, and is alarmed by a homophobic discourse on TV.

The film describes itself as "Back to the Future meets Peggy Sue Got Married", and that's a good description of this gay-themed comedy. It's good-natured, amusing, and conventional in its storytelling--except that it's a low-budget contemporary fantasy intended for a gay audience. Jonathan Joyner composed the music, and Marc Moody wrote the screenplay and directed.

The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy (2000)

In West Hollywood, photographer Dennis (Timothy Olyphant) prepares to celebrate his twenty-eighth birthday and says, "I can't decide if my friends are the best or worst thing that ever happened to me." His group of gay friends lean on each other to work their way through life. They gather around Jack's Broken Hearts restaurant and lounge, with owner Jack (John Mahoney) acting as their father figure, adviser, and the coach for their inept Broken Hearts softball team. The group includes: Cole (Dean Cain), a handsome, charismatic actor who often ends up with other people's boyfriends; Benji (Zach Braff), the youngest member of the group who finds himself going through some bad times; Howie (Matt McGrath), a psychology student who is known for overthinking every situation; Patrick (Ben Weber), the cynic of the group; and Taylor (Billy Porter), who has long boasted about his long-term relationship, which has just come crashing to an end. When the group's newest member, 23 year-old Kevin (Andrew Keegan) attempts to fit in, their friendships are put to the test.

This sweet and charming film is also known as "8 x 10", "The Broken Hearts Club" (UK), and "The Broken Hearts League". The characters support each other, annoy each other, and guide each other through trials and tribulations with relationships, careers, getting older, and life in general. It's fun, touching, and honest, with a few sad moments. Christophe Beck composed the music, and Greg Berlanti wrote the screenplay and directed.

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007)

Chuck Levine (Adam Sandler) and Larry Valentine (Kevin James) are best friends who are firefighters in Brooklyn. Chuck is single and Larry is a widower trying to raise his daughter Tori (Shelby Adamowsky) and son Eric (Cole Morgen). Distracted by sadness over his wife's death, he neglects to change the primary beneficiary of his pension from his wife to his children within the deadline. His only option is to marry someone, but he finds no woman who can be trusted with his children. Inspired by an article about same-sex domestic partnership rights, he decides to register Chuck as his partner, making him Larry's beneficiary and caretaker of Larry's children. Larry saved Chuck's life, so he agrees to the arrangement.

On the advice of their lawyer Alex McDonough (Jessica Biel) they are legally married in Niagara Falls, Canada when it becomes clear that their case is likely to be investigated. But when investigator Clinton Fitzer (Steve Buscemi) becomes suspicious, the two straight guys are forced to behave as love-struck newlyweds. Eventually they are taken to court, and the case becomes a media spectacle. The fraud is exposed, all the firemen claim they helped Chuck and Larry, and all are sent to jail. Councilman Banks (Richard Chamberlain) offers to free Chuck and Larry if they admit to a misdemeanor and raise funds for AIDS research. Larry meets another woman, suggesting he is starting to move on from his previous marriage. Singer Lance Bass makes an appearance to play a song emphasizing the importance of freedom.

Adam Sandler told Newsweek magazine: "I know Kevin, and it's kind of a strange thing to have to play. So to ease the tension, before the first day of shooting, we had sex with each other. We just got it out of the way so it wouldn't be an issue. It's an old tip I picked up from working with Jack Nicholson." The movie received mostly bad reviews. Newsday's John Anderson wrote, "What were they thinking? Simple: They weren't." Rupert Gregson-Williams composed the original music. Barry Fanaro, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor, and Lew Gallo wrote the screenplay. Dennis Dugan directed.

Nico and Dani (2000)

Nico (Jordi Vilches) goes to his best friend Dani's (Fernando Ramallo) summer beach house at a seaside town outside of Barcelona. They plan to lose their virginity while Dani's parents are away. It's a coming of age film for the 17-year-old characters, as one comes to terms with his homosexuality and the other with his heterosexuality. They have sex together. A pair of cousin girls, Berta (Esther Nubiola) and Elena (Marieta Orozco) enter the picture. Nico is much more interested in Berta than Dani in Elena. Nico gets to make love to Berta, making Dani jealous of her. Dani realizes he is in love with Nico and tells him, causing an argument between them. Then Dani goes out to get drunk and meets a gay writer friend of his father, Julian (Chisco Amado). After having dinner and sailing with him, Dani wants to make love, but changes his mind at the last moment and runs back to Nico. Both friends reconciliate, but summer is over and Nico returns home.

"Nico and Dani" is a Spanish film similar to "Beautiful Thing" and "Wild Deeds". The Spanish title is "Krámpack", meaning "mutual masturbation" or "hand job." The soundtrack is mostly excellent but derivative electric blues, which Lone Wolf loves, but considers inappropriate for the film. It works well, but is incongruous for teen-age Spaniards. Flamenco or Spanish pop would have been better. Joan Díaz, Jordi Prats, and Riqui Sabates composed the music. Tomàs Aragay and Cesc Gay wrote the script derived from the play by Jordi Sánchez. Cesc Gay directed. In Spanish with English subtitles.

My Brother Nikhil (2005)

From fabulous Bollywood comes "My Brother Nikhil" about Nikhil Kapoor (Sanjay Suri) who has been living in Goa for several years with his close-knit family. Nikhil wins a sports scholarship, but is then kicked off the swim team representing Goa. Starting out like an ordinary Indian film where everything is happy and bad things happen only with a burst of dramatic music, "My Brother Nikhil" lures you in with its sunny simplicity before turning darker and more complicated like a sudden thunderstorm on a summer day. Almost like a documentary, the story is told through the experiences and from the points of view of Nikhil's father, mother, boyfriend, lawyer, and his elder sister Anamika (Juhi Chawla). One day Nikhil is arrested for being HIV positive. Set from 1987 to 1994, a time when AIDS was not well understood, he is kept in forced isolation by law. His Parents desert him and his friends move away. The only two people who stand by him are his sister and boyfriend Nigel De Costa (Purab Kohli). Confined in an isolated sanatorium, Nikhil is left to rot. This film deals with the trauma of Nikhil and his fight for dignity, and is the first mainstream Hindi language movie where the main character is gay. The film is based on a true story. There is a beautiful excellent hit song, "Le Chale", heard throughout the whole film. Viveck Philip composed the incidental music, Amitabh Verma wrote the dialogue, and Onir wrote the story and directed. Shot entirely in Goa, the film is in Hindi with English subtitles, although about 20 percent of the dialogue is English.

Jeffrey (1995)

Jeffrey (Steven Weber) is a young gay neurotic actor in NYC who gives up sex for celibacy because of the AIDS epidemic. He decides to experience different joys such as exercise and body-building. At the gym he meets the man of his dreams, Steve Howard (Michael T. Weiss), a charming HIV+ hunk. He experiences an emotional conflict as he faces his fear in order to accept love. The story is filled with ridiculous homosexual stereotypes that are supposed to be funny. Co-star Patrick Stewart plays Sterling, an older gay decorator whose partner (Bryan Batt) dies of AIDS. Stewart plays a stereotypical gay man to perfection, not at all like his character in Star Trek TNG. This gay romantic comedy is based on the stage play by Paul Rudnick, who also wrote the screenplay. The movie features cameos by Olympia Dukakis, Victor Garber, Gregory Jbara, Robert Klein, Nathan Lane, Camryn Manheim, Kathy Najimy, Kevin Nealon, Ethan Phillips and Sigourney Weaver. One reviewer wrote: "The fact that is obvious to anyone who cares to notice is that this is just a highly pathetic American attempt to be comical and controversial in one ball of wax." Another wrote: "Jeffrey is an amazingly bittersweet comedy of love and lust in the Aids era. The story does have a question for all gay men with or without HIV and also deals sensitively with all aspects of relationships and life with or without the virus." Stephen Endelman composed the original music, and Christopher Ashley directed.

Shelter (2007)

22 year-old aspiring artist Zach (Trevor Wright) works as a short-order cook and helps his sister Jeanne (Tina Holmes), his disabled father (Don Margolin), and his five-year-old nephew Cody (Jackson Wurth). Zach wanted to go to art school, still draws, surfs, and spends time with this best friend Gabe (Ross Thomas), who lives on the wealthy side of town. He has an intermittent girlfriend Tori (Katie Walder). Then he falls in love with Gabe's older brother Shaun (Brad Rowe), who has returned home to cure a case of writer’s block. His sister learns that Zach has been spending time with Shaun and warns him that Shaun is gay and to keep Cody away from him. Though his sister cannot accept that Zach himself may be gay, both Gabe and Tori are supportive. One drunken night leads to a kiss between them, but Zach’s relationship with Shaun is strained by his sense of obligation to support his family versus his relationship with Shaun and his desire to pursue his own dreams. Shaun submits Zach’s art school application, and Zach is eventually accepted on full scholarship. When Jeanne’s boyfriend gets a job requiring her to move and leave Cody with Zach, Zach is forced to decide between putting others first and neglecting his own dreams, or fighting for what he really wants for himself and Cody. He finally discovers that affirming his love for Shaun and going forward with his art career is the best solution.

This simple and honest love story with a generic plot was filmed in 21 days, primarily in San Pedro and Laguna Beach, California, with additional shooting in Bel Air and Malibu, California. The artwork in the film is the work of LA artist Ryan Graeff. The movie soundtrack features original music by Shane Mack and others, with incidental music by J. Peter Robinson. Written and directed by Jonah Markowitz.