Movies Dearz

The trailer for Clint Eastwood's latest epic, J. Edgar, shows Leonardo DiCaprio as the equally respected and reviled founder of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover, holding the hand of his #2 and confidante, Clyde Tolson (handsome Armie Hammer), in the backseat of their limousine. While historical evidence of a long-rumored romance between the two men is scant, the new film clearly entertains the rumors. The truth may be revealed in Hollywood tonight, when J. Edgar has its world premiere during the opening night gala for AFI Fest 2011, presented by Audi. It will open in theaters nationwide on November 11.

J. Edgar won't be the first movie to at least allude to questions about Hoover's sexuality. In 1991, Oliver Stone's JFK featured Tommy Lee Jones giving a mincingly-gay performance as Clay Shaw (a.k.a. Clay Bertrand), a New Orleans businessman accused of taking part in a conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy that involved Hoover's FBI and the CIA. The film also alleged that a ring of early-1960's call boys existed to discreetly serve political power players, including Hoover.

The new movie was written by openly gay screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, who won an Academy Award for his excellent script of 2008's Milk. Black has been a busy boy lately, having also penned the stage play 8, about the continuing battle in California over marriage equality. 8 had its world premiere in September at Broadway's Eugene O'Neill Theatre. In a recent Out magazine interview, Black said of his work on J. Edgar: "To the conservative right, Hoover was a hero. Of course, in the gay community, you hear he was gay and a cross-dresser. I was curious about where the truth lies. Here is a guy who was arguably the most powerful man in the United States in the 20th century... The truth was often more heartbreaking, more horrible than what people think."


Judi Dench, as Hoover's seemingly manipulative mother, and Naomi Watts also headline the film's all-star cast. DiCaprio may seem an unusual choice to play the title character, even with prosthetic make-up. Black defended the casting, saying "Hoover was a pretty good-looking guy in 1919! He was very fit... they called him 'Speedy.' It's not a huge stretch."

What is known about Hoover's relationship with Tolson is that the unmarried Hoover named the man he described as his "alter ego" as recipient of his estate upon Hoover's death in 1972. Tolson also received the American flag that draped the casket at the end of Hoover's funeral, and is now buried near Hoover at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, DC. Whether Eastwood and Black's J. Edgar reveals anything more remains to be seen. Still, it may emerge as one of the biggest gay-interest movies of 2011, if only due to the pairing of photogenic DiCaprio and Hammer.


Now in its 25th year, the AFI Fest annually spotlights several GLBT-interest films and/or filmmakers. Other screenings in this vein between now and November 10 will include the world premiere of With Every Heartbeat (a.k.a. Kyss Mig), a lovely, sincere domestic drama from Sweden about two women (one of them engaged to a man) who unexpectedly fall in love with each other during a family gathering; an evening with gay auteur Pedro Almodovar, this year's guest artistic director, which will include a screening of his Law of Desire as well as conversation with Almodovar and a yet-to-be-revealed "special guest" (could it be Antonio Banderas?); and Wim Wenders' 3D dance spectacle Pina.

Though I'm not a fan of its source material, I am looking forward to the fest's screening of Carnage. Based on the excessive, inexplicably acclaimed play God of Carnage, the usually-restrained Roman Polanski directs a dream cast (Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly) in the film. I'm also excited about the Los Angeles premieres of We Need to Talk About Kevin, starring GLBT fave Tilda Swinton as mother to a sociopathic son, and Lars von Trier's apocalyptic Melancholia. Watch for my reviews of these awards contenders in my festival wrap-up report here next week.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

Talk about a streak of fame! Robert Opel made Academy Award history when he famously ran naked past presenter David Niven at the 1974 Oscars, which led Niven to quip, “Isn't it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?" To show how far we haven’t come, this streaking stunt was decades before Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl “Nipplegate,” which seems almost quaint in comparison, yet Jackson’s areola ignited much more rabid Right Wing mouth-foaming than Opel’s penis. Opel even got invited to The Mike Douglas Show where the host serenaded him alongside Bea Arthur.

Uncle Bob (available on DVDthis week), as you might guess from the title, is a tribute to the man who gained national fame in an instant, made by his namesake and nephew Robert Oppel. The film is a fascinating look at a man who was a pioneer in gay rights political action, as well as an erotic photographer who created images as controversial as Robert Mapplethorpe’s. Sadly, Uncle Bob was murdered in 1979 in his San Francisco gallery called the Fey-Way Studios by thugs demanding drugs and money. The younger Oppel spends the film trying to make sense of how and why his uncle was gunned down in front of witnesses.


Oppel mixes archival footage with recreations of events where he plays his uncle, including his murder, and the effect is sometimes effective and sometimes too over-the-top and badly acted. Opel’s death occurred shortly after he staged an “execution” of Harvey Milk’s Twinkie-loving killer Dan White while dressed as “Gay Justice.” Director Oppel (seen, like his namesake in archival photos, frequently full frontal during the course of Uncle Bob) uses a heavy hand to explore the possibility that this act of performance art enraged the San Francisco Police Department, and that they somehow orchestrated his uncle’s murder.

This tangent, with scenes of cops yelling “Kill! Kill!” into the killer’s ear in a jail cell, isn’t necessary, though, because Uncle Bob was a fascinating man who interviewed and worked with the likes of Divine and the infamous Cockettes. The interviews with those close to Opel provide an engrossing look at life in the 1970’s Castro District of San Francisco, and more specifically a moving portrait of a man who led a radical and trail blazing life who was cut down in his prime.

Review by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

It’s not often that I get to sit down at a round table for an intimate chat (well, as intimate as it can be with five other journalists present) with three equally lovely, “name” actresses. But, thanks be to God, I had such an opportunity last week as I spoke with Carla Gugino, Malin Akerman and Emmanuelle Chriqui about their new movie, Elektra Luxx, which opens today. Throwing the film’s writer-director, Sebastian Gutierrez, into the mix made for a lively afternoon. Only one topic was off limits: Charlie Sheen.

Elektra Luxx — an unanticipated sequel of sorts to Gutierrez’s Women in Trouble (and the middle chapter of a now-planned trilogy) — is named after Gugino’s character, a former porn actress who finds herself pregnant by a deceased rock star. Striving to live a more conventional life, Elektra has taken to teaching a course on “How to Act Like a Porn Star in Bed” to women at her local community center. In a running joke, she has to share the space with her parish priest’s religious education classes. Elektra soon finds herself in over her head escaping from her past, as a private detective (Timothy Olyphant), a former co-star (Akerman), an obsessed porn blogger (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and the Virgin Mary (an uncredited cameo by Julianne Moore) all come knocking on her door.


During the interview, Gugino quickly proved herself to be not only as attractive as she is on screen but highly intelligent. A veteran of such diverse movies as Spy Kids, Watchmen, Race to Witch Mountain, the upcoming Sucker Punch and the cancelled-too-soon (in my opinion) TV series Threshold, Gugino shared some of her influences or role models for the character of Elektra Luxx.

“(Porn star) Jenna Jameson was a source of inspiration in this particular case,” Gugino noted, “because she wrote a book and has done very well and is an absolute business woman; that was certainly an influence.”

She continued her thoughts in terms of making character choices. “Being pregnant and a porn star is of course more significant than being pregnant and not a porn star,” Gugino said. “What I really just love about (Elektra) is that despite having many abortions and having slept with so many people and having drug problems, she still seems to have this sense of innocence; I really love this sort of untouched part of her.”


During one particularly well-written scene, St. Mary appears in Elektra’s bathroom. Referring to her “virgin” status, Mary off-handedly tells Elektra “That whole thing is blown out of proportion.” Mary also amusingly tells Elektra she can ask any question of her whatsoever “except ‘What’s the capital of South Dakota?” I asked Gugino what it was like to work with former Oscar nominee Julianne Moore.

“It was so great,” Gugino replied. “She was our dream Virgin Mary because we needed somebody who had a certain kind of resonance that it seemed Elektra would really listen to, so she couldn’t be too young and yet we also needed someone who had a certain pure quality to her. We were talking about ‘Who would be the perfect person?’ and the answer came, ‘Julianne Moore’.”

Gugino also gets to perform a musical number entitled “All I Want to Do is Fall in Love.” Given her character’s long blonde hair and costume, Gugino bears an uncanny resemblance to Christina Aguilera in the recent Burlesque while doing so. She pulls the song off extremely well, especially since — according to Gutierrez — Gugino only had a couple of hours to learn and rehearse it.


On playing Elektra again, Gugino said, “It was a lovely treat, like dessert or something. Somewhere while shooting (Women in Trouble), we realized there’s so much more to explore with this character.” That exploration will continue in the final film of the trilogy, which Gutierrez has titled Women in Ecstasy.

The Venezuela-born Gutierrez has written several big studio productions including Gothika, Snakes on a Plane and The Eye. He has also been a frequent collaborator on screenplays with gay filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar. Prior to Elektra Luxx, Gutierrez directed Judas Kiss (starring acting heavyweights Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman) and Rise in addition to Women in Trouble and Girl Walks Into a Bar (which also debuts today in Los Angeles and on YouTube).

Upon his arrival at the interview, Gutierrez immediately noted the rather blank room’s similarity to a set from a certain hit movie from last year as only a true cinema connoisseur could: “I’m a little weirded out by the Inception-like space we find ourselves in.”


We spoke extensively about the conflict Gutierrez has noted, as a foreign-born filmmaker, between how Americans “want to break the rules, but on the other hand there’s this puritanical streak that’s so embedded in the population”. (Interestingly, Philippe Diaz, the Latino writer-director of the recent release Now & Later, noted the same thing.) Gutierrez views Elektra’s struggle to overcome her pornographic past and fit into mainstream society as somewhat of a reflection of this dichotomy.

“The movie is actually very moral,” Gutierrez said. “Both this movie and Women in Trouble have a bark that’s much worse than their bite. (Elektra) is a woman with Catholic guilt talking to the Virgin Mary. I was raised Catholic and was taught you are supposed to forgive the sinner, especially if they repent.”

The writer-director continued: “Not being from (the US), I find it interesting that the place seems to be built on that push-pull between wanting to get away with everything and being very puritanical; while this movie is not really about that, it’s a fascinating thing to me.”

Lastly, supporting co-stars Malin Akerman — whom those who know her refer to as Mal (rhymes with “maul”) — and Emmanuelle Chriqui stopped by. Akerman is a rising star following her turns in Watchmen, Couples Retreat, last week’s happythankyoumoreplease and Children’s Hospital on the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. Chriqui is best known as Sloan on HBO’s Entourage and from Adam Sandler’s You Don’t Mess with the Zohan.


As Bambi Lindberg in Elektra Luxx, Chriqui plays the best friend of Elektra’s former co-star Holly Rocket. Holly is played by Adrianne Palicki, who had to cancel out of the press day due to her new, high-profile role as Wonder Woman in David E. Kelley’s new TV series based on the classic super heroine.

During one scene in the movie between Holly and Bambi, Holly confesses her love for Bambi to both their surprise. “It’s not about being straight or gay,” Holly says. “I love you; I’ve never been clearer about anything.” It’s a powerful and refreshing moment, and I look forward to their relationship’s further development in Women in Ecstasy.

As for Elektra Luxx, I loved the film’s humor and subversive attitude, which are especially strong in the first half hour or so (a James Bond-ish opening titles sequence and song are great). Some of the character vignettes in the middle third seem disjointed and most are a bit too serious after the movie’s strong, funny start. However, the entire cast is fantastic, with Moore’s brief appearance a particularly nice touch. Be sure to stay through the end credits for a fun, final send-off.

Reverend’s Rating: B-

UPDATE: Elektra Luxx is now available on DVD from Amazon.com.

Interview and review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

From a religious standpoint, I find it interesting that three of this year's five Academy Award nominees for Best Live Action Short Film deal with spiritual topics, and two of them involve priests. Has some sort of theological bias affected the nominating branch's members or is this another sign, following the strong showing at this year's Sundance Film Festival, of an increased interest in religious topics by filmmakers?

At any rate, these nominees as well as the five 2011 candidates for Best Animated Short Film are now available for public consideration in Los Angeles, New York and other select cities. In some cities, the Best Documentary Short Film finalists are also being shown, the first time this has been done prior to Oscar night (February 27 this year). All the nominees will be available for viewing on iTunes and cable's Movies on Demand beginning February 22.

I had the opportunity to screen the honored Live Action and Animated shorts in advance. All are worth seeing, but here are my more specific reactions to each of them:


LIVE ACTION SHORT FILMS:

The Confession: This is a sly, disturbing morality tale from the UK, and a study in Catholic guilt to the nth degree. It starts out innocently as two young boys prepare to make their first confession with their classmates. One is having difficulty identifying a sin for which he feels true remorse — which is necessary for absolution, according to Catholic practice — but things change dramatically in the wake of a prank the boys play that has unexpectedly tragic consequences. Dark stuff, but the film is extremely well-directed by Tanel Toom and beautifully photographed by Davide Cinzi.

Wish 143: The tonal antithesis of The Confession if also steeped in questions of morality, this is my personal favorite of the five. When a terminally-ill teenager is asked by the British equivalent of the Make a Wish Foundation what he would like to do before he dies, he knocks them for a loop when he responds that he wants to lose his virginity. A delicate subject is handled not only humorously but gracefully here primarily thanks to screenwriter Tom Bidwell and a great cast. The priest character, played by recognizable actor Jim Carter, is particularly indicative of the short's balance of laughs and compassion. When the young patient, attempting to convince the good Father that he deserves a night with a prostitute, states bluntly "I've got cancer, Father," the priest replies, "I don't care if you've got stigmata!"


God of Love: A decidedly tongue-in-cheek exploration of love and divine intervention. A lounge singer (played by Luke Matheny, who also wrote and directed) pines for the drummer in his band, but she only has eyes for his best friend and guitarist. Help mysteriously arrives via a box full of darts that have the magical effect of making those struck with them fall in love with the first person they see. Amusing, and well-shot in black and white, if a bit slight and amateurish for Academy Award contention in my opinion.

Na Wewe: The title of this selection from Belgium is pronounced "No wayway" and means "You too" in Kurundi. It sets up a tense showdown between travelers journeying in a bus through civil war-torn, 1990's Burundi and a group of rebels that stops them. The armed rebels, intent on distinguishing between Hutus and Tutsis on the bus (when most of the travelers are neither), somewhat learn a lesson in the futility of making such ethnic/tribal distinctions. If the film's ending is perhaps overly optimistic, even comical, this is still a worthy 19 minutes that may well win the Oscar in this category.


The Crush: While it isn't unusual for school children to develop romantic feelings for their teachers, it is rare for such situations to grow as intense as they do in this well-written, sweet and sour short from Ireland. Eight-year old Ardal, crushing on his newly-engaged teacher, challenges her fiancee to a duel to the death with pistols. To say much more would likely ruin the satisfying payoff.

ANIMATED SHORT FILMS:

Day & Night: Pixar has become not only an annual fixture in the Best Picture and Best Animated Feature categories in recent years, but among the nominated shorts as well. Day & Night, which played theatrically before Toy Story 3 last summer, similarly serves as the latter's "date" to the Oscars this year. A bit more artsy or experimental than usual Pixar fare, it's an enjoyable visual parable about prejudice that, if nothing else, is much better than the corny, cloying short involving baby-creating clouds (or something like that) that preceded last year's Up.


The Gruffalo: Beautifully animated if overlong and too slowly paced for a child-oriented tale (based on the book by Julia Donaldson). It benefits substantially from a great voice cast of name British actors, including this year's Best Supporting Actress nominee Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech) as well as John Hurt, Tom Wilkinson and Robbie Coltrane. Given the star power involved and its visual accomplishment, German co-directors Jakob Schuh and Max Lange will likely take home the Academy Award.

The Lost Thing: I'm hoping, though, that this imaginative, haunting short from Australia will emerge triumphant. A young man discovers a bell-laden, mechanical-crustacean hybrid with tentacles on the beach. While it serves as an odd pet for a time, he commits himself to finding a suitable home for it with other "lost things." Charmingly designed, the film can potentially be interpreted as a commentary on immigration, environmental displacement, adolescence or any number of other issues. Definitely my favorite among the animated shorts.


Let's Pollute: Speaking of environmental meltdown, this American production takes a sprightly approach to the subject in the guise of an 1950's-60's educational movie for elementary school kids. Amusingly animated, it becomes irritatingly heavy-handed and preachy at only 6 minutes in length. History, though, may yet prove it prescient.

Madagascar, Carnet de Voyage: A French-made travelogue through the title country that bears no relation to the DreamWorks series that stars Ben Stiller as a talking lion. Here, the filmmakers employ an arresting, unpredictable mix of animation styles. Although it doesn't really have a plot or a point, it may persuade more viewers to actually visit Madagascar than Stiller & Co. have done.

Visit Shorts International for more information. Click here to watch clips from all the nominated shorts.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Blade California.

Much was written in the mainstream press this past year about the seemingly inexhaustible talents of James Franco. When he wasn't studying for two Master's Degrees, publishing a book, writing poetry and saving the world from an onslaught of intelligent apes (oh, sorry, that's later this year, when he will headline the sci-fi prequel Rise of the Apes), Franco was playing one of Julia Roberts' lovers in Eat Pray Love, stalking hunky Steve Burton on General Hospital and directing a gay-themed short film (The Feast of Stephen) that appeared on the 2010 queer festival circuit.

Franco has long held viewers' attention, and gave memorable performances in both the Spider-Man trilogy and the Oscar-winning biopic Milk. The latter film, especially, sparked considerable "is he one of us?" speculation about Franco on the part of gay fans (according to recent reports, the actor is dating a woman). But Franco has also been regarded at times as laid back to a fault on screen. That perception changed dramatically in 2010, when Franco did exuberant, even joyful work in Howl and 127 Hours. In the first, Franco embodied the Beat Generation energy and protest spirit of gay poet Allen Ginsberg. In the second, the actor rivets in a largely immobile role, contemplating life as a hiker literally stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Next on Franco's growing list of broad achievements: co-hosting the Academy Awards ceremony with Anne Hathaway on February 27, where he will also more than likely be a nominee. Will nothing hold him down? You go, Franco! Movie Dearest salutes you.


Honorable Mentions:
The first season of Fox's hit musical-dramedy Glee introduced Chris Colfer to the world in the role of Kurt Hummel, a gay high school student who zigzags through various points of the coming out process. The untried actor-singer reportedly snagged the role shortly after stepping off the bus for his first professional audition. Colfer and Kurt have since become role models for a new generation of GLBT teens, with Colfer participating in the 2010 "It Gets Better" video campaign in the wake of a tragic number of suicides by bullied young people. I had the pleasure of being present last summer when Colfer presented his Glee co-star Jane Lynch with the Outfest Lifetime Achievement Award, and was impressed by his poise and sincerity. And can he sing! His rendition of "A House is Not a Home" this season was a standout among a number of impressive musical moments, culminating in his holiday duet on "Baby, It's Cold Outside" with Kurt's maybe-boyfriend, Blaine (Darren Criss). Keep up the great work!

We loved Colin Firth's performance as a gay college professor mourning the death of his longtime lover in last year's A Single Man. Duly Oscar nominated, Firth tragically (in the opinion of some of us) lost the award to Jeff Bridges. If Lady Justice is gay, she'll make sure the scale tips Firth's way this year for his acclaimed performance in The King's Speech, when he and Bridges will likely compete again in the Best Actor category. However, Firth has the edge this time around since (A) he hasn't won before and (B) he gave a simply glorious performance as stuttering, stammering King George VI. Definitely more crowd-pleasing than A Single Man, if no less significant a character study, The King's Speech explores the importance of national leadership at a time when the subject couldn't be more critical. Firth has turned in consistently great work (he was also fun in last year's St. Trinian's School for Girls), and now as a king in addition to his previous "queens."

By Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.

Sparks flew on Glee when Chris Colfer's Kurt Hummel first met Darren Criss' Blaine, leader of rival singing group the Dalton Academy Warblers. Those sparks turned into a bonfire when the dreamy Blaine launched into an a capella rendition of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream". Just like Kurt, we the audience knew it: we were in love. And a new star was born.

Thanks to Criss' smooth vocals and undeniable charm, "Teenage Dream" soon turned into the hottest Glee track to date. His other performances on the show — "Hey, Soul Sister" and the playfully romantic Blaine/Kurt (Blurt?) duet "Baby, It's Cold Outside" — also became "Gleek" faves. It's no wonder then that multi-talented actor/singer (known previously for his magical, musical turn as Harry Potter in a popular viral video) was quickly signed on as Glee regular. We eagerly await Criss' — and Blaine's —return when the show resumes its second season next month.


Honorable Mentions:
In a show that already serves up more than its fair share of beefcake, it must be hard for the new hunk on the block to stand out. But when Joe Manganiello, as heroic wolf man Alcide Herveaux, first stepped on to True Blood (and out of his clothes... Google it), we definitely took notice; his sexy shape shifter leaves us howling at the moon.

As for the big screen, no other actress had as great a breakout year in 2010 than Mia Wasikowska. Her first major starring role was as the title character in the worldwide smash Alice in Wonderland (and its endless franchise potential). Later in the year, she proved she has the acting chops playing daughter to moms Annette Bening and Julianne Moore in the indie hit The Kids Are All Right.

In a bittersweet victory, Victor/Victoria was named your biggest, gayest movie musical of all time per our latest MD Poll.

As we're sure you have already heard, Blake Edwards, the director of Victor/Victoria (as well as such other cinematic classics as Breakfast at Tiffany's, Days of Wine and Roses and The Pink Panther series), passed away earlier this week at the age of 88. In honor of his memory, here's a video tribute to his comic genius.

See the comments section below for the complete results for the poll.

American writer Ernest Hemingway produced an acclaimed body of work prior to his suicide in 1961, including classics A Farewell to Arms, The Old Man and the Sea and For Whom the Bell Tolls. He remains revered as a man's writer, weaving stories out of his military experiences during World War I and his enjoyment of such traditionally masculine pursuits as fishing, bullfighting and big-game hunting. Hemingway won both the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize in Literature.

His book The Garden of Eden was published posthumously in 1986 and now serves as the source for a movie — appropriately dubbed Hemingway's Garden of Eden — opening today in Los Angeles and New York from Roadside Attractions. The novel is regarded as at least semi-autobiographical, which makes the bisexual love triangle at the plot's center all the more intriguing. Unfortunately, just as Adam and Eve ran into trouble in the titular glen, so do Hemingway and the movie.


David and Catherine Bourne (played by Jack Huston of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and Mena Suvari, unforgettable as the object of Kevin Spacey's desire in American Beauty) are a wealthy newlywed couple enjoying an extended honeymoon in Europe during the Roaring '20's. They fill their days with nude sunbathing, cocktails and sex that, at Catherine's initiation, soon becomes adventurous. After cutting her long hair, she persuades David to "be the girl" during their lovemaking sessions.

David, alas, loses interest in this game and turns increasingly to his writing. He begins recounting his childhood memories of his father, who was a sometimes-violent elephant hunter in Africa (the transitions to dramatized segments from David's novel are laughably jarring). In the meantime, Catherine becomes involved with a local woman named Marita (the lovely Caterina Murino, best known to American audiences as Solange in the Bond re-boot Casino Royale). Catherine introduces Marita to David with visions of a ménage à trois in her mind. As David becomes interested in Marita exclusively, Catherine grows unhinged. Drunken tirades and burnt manuscripts follow closely behind.

A veteran director (John Irvin of Dogs of War and Widow's Peak, among others), the attractive lead performers and some stunning settings cannot bring credibility to this inherently stilted story. The talent involved here is sizable, including internationally acclaimed screenwriter James Scott Linville and supporting actors Matthew Modine, Richard E. Grant and, in her English-language debut, Almodóvar favorite Carmen Maura (who is tragically under-utilized). All involved obviously have good intentions but are done in by the hopelessly dated source material. Hemingway's Garden of Eden veers toward camp at times — mostly thanks to Suvari, who gets juicy lines like "We don't have to live life like normal people" — but, perhaps to its detriment, never crosses over.


Moving to the temptation-ridden concrete jungle that is New York City, All Good Things (also opening today in LA) traffics in similar topics of wealth, sex and betrayal; it relates the true-life story behind the most significant unsolved mystery in the metropolis's history. In 1982, after ten years of marriage to the heir of Manhattan's greatest real estate dynasty, Katie Marks disappeared. According to witnesses, Katie's husband David had been growing increasingly abusive but he has never been tried for her murder.

Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst are excellent as David and Katie, and it's great to see Dunst in a significant adult role post-Spider-Man (remember how impressive she was while still a young girl in 1994's Interview with the Vampire and Little Women?) As Katie tellingly says to David at one point, "I've never been closer to anyone, and I don't know you at all." Gay fans of Gosling, a previous Oscar nominee for Half Nelson and a potential contender this year for the controversial Blue Valentine, will be happy to know that he not only sports 1970's short shorts in All Good Things but also has a scene in which he is clad in wet tighty-whities (of which you can see a tantalizing glimpse in the film's trailer) as well as several scenes in drag!


Frank Langella is good if one-note in the heavy role of Sanford Marks, David's overbearing father. We're told Sanford owned "half of Times Square" during his heyday, and profited handsomely off the seedy hotels and massage parlors that dominated the district during the pre-Giuliani 1970's and 80's. SNL's Kristin Wiig is also on hand, somewhat incongruously, as the cokehead girlfriend of an associate of David's. The great Philip Baker Hall makes a brief but effective appearance as the apparent hit man in the murder of David's longtime friend and confidante, Deborah Lehrman (David did stand trial in this case, but served only nine months in prison for the "unlawful disposal" of the hit man's body, whose death David claimed was in self-defense).

All Good Things is thoroughly engrossing but somewhat frustrating in the end, only because viewers are denied knowledge of the truth as much as the key figures involved in the real-life case have been. Effectively directed by Andrew Jarecki, who previously helmed the Academy Award-nominated documentary Capturing the Friedmans, it is nevertheless a worthwhile exploration of the darkness that can inhabit the human soul beneath the most attractive guises.

Reverend's Ratings:
Hemingway's Garden of Eden: C-
All Good Things: B

UPDATE: All Good Things is available on DVD and Blu-ray and Hemingway's Garden of Eden is available on DVD now from Amazon.com.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.

There is no shortage of penises in the delightful, gay-centric comedy I Love You Phillip Morris. While the movie doesn’t feature full-frontal male nudity, it does boast anatomically-correct fruit arrangements, cloud formations and pencil drawings. It also spotlights big-name actors Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor as real-life gay lovers.

The long-awaited film is finally opening in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York today (with an expanded release next week), nearly two years after it made its US premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival and after playing virtually every other country in the world. Depending on who you talk to, the American release was delayed due to overwrought marketing concerns over the movie’s gay-themed storyline, content and/or legal disputes between its various financiers.

One might incorrectly deduce from the movie’s title that it is a cinematic homage to the patron saint of cigarette smokers. Instead, it weaves the too-bizarre-to-be-believed but true tale of Steven Russell (played by Carrey), a formerly heterosexual, married, fundamentalist-Christian policeman who became an openly gay, reformation-proof con man in the wake of a near-death experience. During the first of what would be several prison terms, Russell fell in love with a fellow inmate by the name of Phillip Morris (McGregor).


Russell becomes intent on freeing himself and Morris so they can live happily ever after together. He studies law while in prison and, following his own release, passes himself off as an attorney. Once Russell gets Morris out, the pair enjoys an extravagant lifestyle funded by money Russell is siphoning from the company at which he is employed (incredibly) as Chief Financial Officer.

This sets off a continuous pattern for Russell of getting caught and re-sentenced to prison only to escape through an ingeniously engineered plan in an effort to reunite with Morris. Realizing how boundless Russell’s deceit can be, Morris avoids him… until, that is, Russell employs the ultimate tactic to win his beloved back.

The tone of I Love You Phillip Morris is unexpectedly sunny given the prison setting and its lead character’s general lack of morals. It is also frequently hilarious, none more so than when Morris gushes “That is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for me!” to Russell shortly after learning his paramour arranged the brutal beating of another inmate who was grating on Morris’s nerves. There is also a very funny scene involving a neighboring prisoner whom Russell secures to “serenade” him and Morris during a romantic evening together, cellblock rules be damned.


Carrey and McGregor give wonderful, no-holds-barred performances. Interestingly, Carrey is at his most sincere here playing a thoroughly insincere person. They also get great support from Leslie Mann (Knocked Up) as Russell’s compassionate wife and Rodrigo Santoro (who played the buff, nearly naked Xerxes in 300) as his pre-incarceration partner who, sadly, died of AIDS.

McGregor, no stranger to gay/bisexual roles, has said of his work on I Love You Phillip Morris: “I like it because it’s a gay film, which is to say it’s a film about two men in love, and I think that’s an important element of it. I also got to French kiss Jim Carrey a lot, and I quite like that too.” McGregor has been quite outspoken — admirably so — in defense of the movie’s more graphic sexual content, most of which has been edited out of the final cut.

I Love You Phillip Morris marks the successful directorial debut of screenwriters Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who previously wrote Bad Santa and the 2005 remake of The Bad News Bears. While their latest, which is based on a book about Russell by Texas journalist Steven McVicker, includes the cynical, sometimes shocking bluntness that characterizes their earlier films, it is a pleasant surprise to discover how good-natured and genuinely romantic this movie is. That both Ficarra and Requa are heterosexual men makes their fearlessness at delving into a star-crossed gay relationship all the more impressive, although Requa did joke in a Los Angeles Times interview that “(Ficarra and I) spend so much time together that in many ways we have a very successful same-sex relationship.”


Some mainstream moviegoers will likely find the film’s plot, sex scenes and unapologetically gay sensibility off-putting. However, French audiences and Culture Minister Frédéric Mitterrand were so impressed by Carrey’s and McGregor’s chemistry in I Love You Phillip Morris that the actors were named knights in France’s prestigious National Order of Arts and Letters in February of this year.

Click here to check out the film’s NSFW red band trailer.

UPDATE: I Love You Phillip Morris is now available on DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon.com.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.

It only took 50 films, but Disney finally got around to their version of the classic Grimms’ fairy tale Rapunzel with their latest animated feature Tangled (now in theaters).

You remember Rapunzel; she’s the princess with the really, really long hair who is trapped in a castle and is rescued by “letting down her hair” for a passing prince charming. As you may recall, there’s not a lot of story between the “once upon a time” and the “happily ever after” in this one, so Disney has taken several necessary liberties, such as beefing up the role of the male lead (which I’m sure has absolutely nothing to do with the studio wanting the film to appeal to boys as well as girls… ).



Flynn Ryder, Master of the Smolder
In this telling, Rapunzel (voiced, rather blandly, by Mandy Moore) was kidnapped as a baby from her royal parents by the passive aggressively vain Mother Gothel (Tony Award winner Donna Murphy, chewing all the digital scenery in sight), the only person who knows that the blonde babe holds the secret to eternal youth in her golden locks. In order to keep Rapunzel’s powers to herself, she has locked up the poor waif in a remote tower, refusing to allow her to leave… or to cut her hair.

Like many a Disney princess (and Stockholm syndrome victim) before her, Rapunzel yearns to visit the outside world, and the opportunity to do so arises with the unexpected arrival of one Flynn Ryder (Zachary Levi, a.k.a. Chuck from Chuck), a hunky thief who fancies himself the greatest in the land. A deal is struck between them and before you can say “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair”, the unlikely duo is off on their clandestine adventure, with Mother Gothel in hot pursuit...

Click here to continue reading my Toon Talk review of Tangled at LaughingPlace.com.

UPDATE: Tangled is now available on DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon.com.

It’s hard to believe Oscar-winning actress/singer Cher hasn’t had a major role in a motion picture since Tea with Mussolini 11 years ago. Apart from an amusing cameo as herself in the 2003 comedy Stuck on You (in which then-teenager Frankie Muniz played her lover), the movies have been depressingly Cher-less.

That will all change this Wednesday, when the seemingly ageless superstar returns in the musical-drama Burlesque. Cher appears opposite contemporary diva Christina Aguilera as Tess, the proprietor of a Los Angeles nightclub dedicated to the traditional theatrical art form of the film’s title. A big-name cast including Eric Dane, Alan Cumming, Peter Gallagher, Kristen Bell and Stanley Tucci lends support.

Gay men I’ve spoken with who have seen the film’s trailer are very excited about Burlesque, but they also voiced suspicions that it could end up being more like the laughably bad Showgirls (1995) than 2002’s Best Picture, Chicago, which the movie seems to be emulating. Cher’s surgically-preserved physical appearance doesn’t seem to be helping matters.


I was able to hear a few songs from the movie soundtrack in advance and, whereas Aguilera’s exuberant R&B vocals caused my cats to flee the room, Cher sounds as good as ever. Interestingly, Burlesque is Cher’s first true movie musical in over 40 years of film appearances. I’m not counting 1967’s Good Times, a bizarre docu-comedy with songs in which Cher and her then-husband Sonny Bono play themselves. The spotlight is clearly on Bono but Cher’s playful personality shines through and won audiences over. (Good Times and five other notable films starring Cher, including Moonstruck and the underrated Mermaids, were just released on DVD in a fabulous boxed set entitled Cher: The Film Collection.)

Cher primarily worked on her music and on television during the 1970’s. In the early 80’s, however, a trio of well-received dramatic turns in Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, Silkwood (in which she played a lesbian fighting nuclear plant safety hazards alongside Meryl Streep) and Mask made her a movie star. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1988 for her charming performance in Moonstruck.

Teaming Cher and Aguilera in Burlesque seems like a great idea on paper, and they complement each other well visually in the footage I’ve seen. The movie is written and directed by Steven Antin, whose past credits include Chasing Papi, Inside Monkey Zetterland and producing TV’s The Pussycat Dolls Present. Cher sings two songs on the soundtrack: the production number “Welcome to Burlesque” and the more reflective ballad “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me.”

Will Burlesque mark a high point or a low one on Cher’s cinematic resume? Find out at a theatre near you this week.

UPDATE: Burlesque is now available on DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon.com.

Preview by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.

“What is it you can’t face?”
— Mother Superior in The Sound of Music ... and The Divine Sister
Was there ever a line more hilariously misheard? I think not, and so, every night, did audiences lucky enough to see the latest Charles Busch masterpiece, The Divine Sister, which ended its sold-out run last February at the Theater for the New City and re-opens tonight at the Soho Playhouse. The line originated in The Sound of Music, but is used to much better effect in The Divine Sister. Holy crap, it’s hilarious, as a wacky Mother Superior (and former girl reporter) works her wiles on the people of Pittsburgh to get a new convent school built. Mother is of course played by Busch himself, and it’s a fabulous multifaceted role (with a hilariously dubbed musical number) that shows off Busch’s command of all cinematic religious heroines from The Singing Nun to The Trouble with Angels to Agnes of God to The Da Vinci Code.

The dream cast includes the sublime Julie Halston as Sister Acacius the wisecracking right hand nun and Alison Fraser as Sister Walburga, a Teutonic terror from “Der Mother Haus” in Berlin. And what about that nuisance of a Postulate, Agnes (Amy Rutberg), who keeps hearing the Lord’s voice(s) in her head? Is she suffering from Stigmata or ... something stickier? Jennifer Van Dyck, so lovely and funny in Busch's The Third Story, plays Pittsburgh’s richest woman and – gasp! – Atheist! , as well as (in an inspired performance) a young male student who is questioning his sexuality, much to Mother Superior’s dismay.


Agnes’ hysterics have brought media attention, not to mention a man from Mother’s pre-nun past. Will Mother Superior fall back into the arms of her former lover? Will Sister Acacius face what she can’t? Will the evil albino monk and his incognito confidante succeed in their nefarious plot to unseat Jesus as the true Messiah (who knew he had a sibling?)?

Busch channels Rosalind Russell, while Halston makes her Brooklyn sister a tough-talking treat. Watching Busch and Halston spar and joke together is like watching a classic comedy team in their prime, albeit in wimples. Rutberg is sweetly kooky as the addled Agnes and Fraser is a hoot as the fearsome frau.


The Divine Sister is Busch’s robust and raucous return to the downtown shows that made him famous, like Vampire Lesbians of Sodom and Psycho Beach Party. The production design is ingeniously low tech, almost as if it were created by and for a Catholic grade school. The pillars and walls of St. Veronica’s are covered in bricks that bear the unmistakable look of kitchen sponges, while the grand chandelier that lowers to indicate the dowager’s mansion is made of gold-painted paper plates, plastic knives, forks and spoons. There’s plenty of Busch’s trademark one-liners and intelligent parody, and just enough gleeful vulgarity to salute its East Village roots.

These days, with the rabidly anti-gay agenda being pushed by the Catholic Church and the current Pope, it is refreshing to enjoy a show that celebrates a more innocent time in Catholicism where all you need for happiness is a saucy sister with a guitar.

Review by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.