Toon Talk: The Dance at the Gym

A time-honored rite of passage for every high schooler, the annual event known as “prom night” has also frequently figured prominently in the cinematic genre known as the “high school movie.” From the celebratory (High School Musical 3: Senior Year) to the disastrous (Carrie), proms make ideal backdrops for such typical high school movie tropes as first loves, youthful heartbreak and plenty of teenaged angst. All that and more is on display in the new Disney high school nonmusical titled Prom, now available on Disney Blu-ray and DVD.

Despite initial appearances, Prom is a touch more realistic (and a whole lot less obnoxious) than your average Disney Channel movie. That is, if you can overlook the fact that, a la Grease, half the cast looks well past their high school years. And, hewing closely to its Disney pedigree, such real world teen hijinks as smoking, drinking, cursing and “getting to third base” are nowhere in sight. Which, let’s face it, is hardly true to life but hardly unexpected in a wholesome family friendly enterprise such as what we have here. Furthermore, one is not likely to expect Prom to remake the high school movie wheel, and it is more then safe to say that it doesn’t...

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

Reverend's Reviews: Fall Into New Releases

Summer is over and young people are back to school. A flurry of new GLBT-interest movies on home video this month, though, offers tantalizing viewing options for the fall. First out of the gate on September 1st is Finding Mr. Wright, from Nandar Entertainment. It stars the always amusing Rebekah Kochan (best known for the Eating Out series) as well as one of our favorite out actors, Matthew Montgomery, in a contemporary screwball comedy involving Hollywood politics and gay romance. Montgomery reveals an endearing, previously unseen funny side, and comedian Jason Stuart is thrown in for good measure.

On September 13th, the 2010 festival hit Leading Ladies will make its DVD debut courtesy of Wolfe Video. While it primarily puts a lesbian spin on the 1992 Australian film Strictly Ballroom, the plot also features an overtly gay character played by cute Benji Schwimmer, season 2 winner of TV's So You Think You Can Dance. Schwimmer isn't the only connection between that series and this movie; the show's choreographer, Melanie LaPatin, staged the dances in Leading Ladies and stars as the overbearing mother of two sisters groomed for ballroom competition stardom. When one of her daughters becomes pregnant and the other falls in love with another female dancer, Mom is less than pleased.

Leading Ladies suffers initially from some forced performances and dialogue but both improve as the film moves along. There are some great dance numbers, notably one between Schwimmer and a hunky suitor and another set amongst the aisles of a grocery store, and fine photography by Peter Biagi throughout. The moral of the story -- "Let love lead" -- becomes clear early on and serves as important guidance through the difficult choices the main characters have to make.

A more unusual, less polished but very effective glimpse into love and its challenges is provided by Open. The first American film ever to win the Berlin Film Festival's prestigious "Teddy" Jury Prize, it is set for a September 20th release on DVD and streaming video by Ariztical Entertainment. A striking feature film debut (despite some amateurish performances) by writer-director Jake Yuzna, Open focuses on the travails of two atypical couples. One pair is comprised of hermaphroditic individuals given to frequent cosmetic surgery in their effort to be as similar in appearance as possible. As one observer notes of them, "They truly feel they are one entity, and they want their bodies to reflect that." When one has to travel, an androgynous acquaintance threatens to come between them.

The other couple features a young man who falls in love with a female-to-male transgender person. As they work to define their relationship and sexual interactions, the trans partner's troubled past provides challenges. When the trans character unexpectedly becomes pregnant, a whole new set of questions emerges. Open is a unique and engrossing exploration of the ever-increasing diversity in human relationships.

Finally, IFC Midnight is unveiling the provocative Autoerotic in September via Video on Demand (VOD). While there isn't much GLBT content in this anthology of four stories that expose some of the more secretive aspects of sexuality, the best segment is about a very pregnant married woman who accepts another woman's offer to help her achieve orgasm, something her loving husband hasn't been able to provide in the latter months of her pregnancy. It is simultaneously funny and erotic, mainly because it is told with considerable honesty. Both lesbian and straight women should thoroughly enjoy it.

Reverend's Ratings:
Finding Mr. Wright: B-
Leading Ladies: B
Open: B+
Autoerotic: C+

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

Reel Thoughts: The Vamp Next Door

Now, come on! If Colin Farrell moved next door to you, in a dull, foreclosure-riddled Vegas subdivision, would you really wait more than five seconds before you were at his door asking for a little sugar? The new Fright Night is a meaner, leaner version of the 1985 classic, which changes up enough of the story to make it worth remaking. The original featured some bizarre casting including Stephen Geoffreys, a Tony-nominated actor who went into gay porn, and Amanda Bearse, playing Charlie’s virginal girlfriend a few years before she came out of the closet. William Ragsdale exhibited an acting range that rivals Zack Galligan in its lack of quality. Still, Chris Sarandon was a dark and sexy vampire nemesis and Roddy McDowell was a hoot as the faded TV ghost host Peter Vincent.

Fright Night 2011 takes advantage of the modern economic downturn to explain how a vampire could be preying on people without anyone noticing their absence. Families are fleeing their tract homes in Charlie Brewster’s (Anton Yelchin) North Vegas neighborhood by the truckload, so what who’s to know if they were foreclosed on... or fed upon? Toni Collette (who must have had Yelchin when she was 16) plays Charlie’s mother, a lonely real estate agent who is ticked at new neighbor Jerry (Colin Farrell) who works nights in casino construction and has a butt-ugly dumpster in his front yard.

Narrative whiplash sets in as Charlie is informed that Jerry is a vampire by his nerdy former best friend Ed (McLovin’ himself, Christopher Mintz-Plasse) almost immediately. Ed had been tracing Jerry’s movements and managed to not-capture him on camera, and he begs his old friend to help him take the bloodsucker down. Once Charlie realizes that Ed was right, his buddy is missing, so Charlie seeks out Vegas Goth magician Peter Vincent (David Tennant, channeling Russell Brandt and Chris Angel), a dissolute so-called vampire expert. The drunken lothario is not very supportive, to say the least.

Fright Night ramps up the action above the original with Jerry baring his fangs early and launching an all-out assault on Charlie, his mom and his hot girlfriend, Amy (played by the unfortunately-named Imogen Poots). While the original’s acting was sitcom-my, Farrell’s hot, dangerous performance makes the new version sexier and funnier. Wait until you see how Jerry gets around the old, “Vampires can’t come in if you don’t invite them” rule.

Even the ubiquitous 3-D is used well in Fright Night. While Yelchin is a little long in the tooth to be a high schooler, he’s way better than Ragsdale, who inexplicably had a career after the 1985 opus. While Geoffreys was creepy and cringe-worthy (“You’re so cool, Brewster!”), Mintz-Plasse actually gets some sympathy as the spurned friend. Poots does well in the thankless girlfriend role, and Collette is fun to watch and really knows how to wield a realty sign!

If you’re looking for a fun night with a few frights, Fright Night should be just right.

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

Reverend's Reviews: Iranian Girls Gone Wild

The Islamic fundamentalist president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, definitely wouldn't approve of the award-winning, pro-LGBT drama Circumstance (opening today in Los Angeles and New York). Maryam Keshavarz's sensual look at two girls from opposite sides of the tracks who fall in love shines a more revealing light than ever before on Iranian culture and politics. Not surprisingly, GLBT people bear the brunt of the current regime's repressive tactics, and can even be put to death.

In Circumstance, Atafeh (Nikohl Boosheri), who comes from a wealthy family, meets lower class, orphaned Shireen (Sarah Kazmy) at an underground dance party in Tehran (the film was shot in Lebanon). Despite the constant threats of surveillance and raids by Iran's Morality Police, the girls and their teen/young adult friends can't resist the time-honored temptations to dance, drink, try drugs and have sex. The biggest surprise to Shireen and Atafeh is their unexpected, mutual attraction to each other.

Naturally, they know to keep their relationship a secret. It becomes more difficult to do so once Atafeh's brother (Reza Sixo Safai) returns home from prison. Having embraced extremist religious and political views while incarcerated, he increasingly forces his conservative expectations on his family and threatens to uncover the forbidden love between Shireen and his sister.

Circumstance has swept the major awards at many of this year's film festivals, including Sundance, New Directors/New Films (a.k.a. Newfest) and Outfest, and Boosheri was honored with Outfest's Best Actress award for her film debut as the conflicted Atafeh. While I didn't find much new in the film's girl-girl romantic dynamics, it's setting and social-political commentary are certainly above the norm. Writer-director Keshavarz, who is Iranian herself, structures and frames her story beautifully, with scenes gradually moving from open and airy settings to tighter, more oppressive settings and camera shots. The performances from the mix of experienced and neophyte actors are uniformly excellent.

In an online chat with critics, Keshavarz related the many risks that she, her cast and crew members took in making the film. "I had serious discussions with the actors that we likely couldn't go back to Iran after making the film," she wrote. "Even shooting in a liberal country, like Lebanon, was still difficult; it is still illegal to be gay there." Keshavarz has been thrilled, however, with the "amazing," positive response Circumstance has received from GLBT audiences in the US as well as from younger Middle Eastern immigrants who have seen it.

While homosexuality remains a criminal offense in many Middle Eastern countries and other parts of the world, there is hope to be found in Circumstance. As history has shown — and can currently be seen in Libya and other former dictatorships — the more repressive/oppressive the environment, the more emboldened the oppressed become. This is true of both political and religious structures. Shireen and Atafeh are our latest cinematic heroines in the GLBT community's growing call for acceptance and justice.

Reverend's Rating: B+

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

Reverend's Report: D23 2011

Upon my arrival at the Anaheim Convention Center on the first morning of the D23 Expo, I could tell it was going to have a much larger turnout than the first such event in 2009. I ended up having to park on the top floor of the parking structure, and negotiated large crowds of Disney fanatics once inside the center. The second day of the expo sold out the afternoon before, a significant testament to the increased attention being paid to it.

My first stop was the traditional Disney Legends ceremony. A dozen people who have helped build the Disney empire since its founding in 1923 were honored, including five women who have voiced princesses in the more contemporary Disney animated features The Little Mermaid (Jodi Benson), Beauty and the Beast (Paige O'Hara), Aladdin (Lea Salonga, Princess Jasmine's singing voice, and Linda Larkin, Jasmine's speaking voice), Mulan (Salonga again) and The Princess and the Frog (Anika Noni Rose). Host Tom Bergeron, who was nicely casual and provided very funny commentary throughout, noted that Noni Rose is the youngest honoree to be named a Disney Legend.

All five actresses performed to montages of scenes from their respective films, with Benson bringing down the nearly full, 4,000 seat arena both through her audience-participation version of "Part of Your World" and her utterly heartfelt, unapologetic faith sharing. "Praise God from whom all blessings flow," she said upon reaching the podium, quoting a traditional Christian hymn. "This is my ministry," Benson remarked of her continuing voice performance as Ariel in video games, television and the new ride inspired by The Little Mermaid at Disney's California Adventure park.

The ceremony climaxed with the induction of late Muppets creator, Jim Henson. While Henson didn't work for Disney while he was alive, his company was bought by Disney after his death and the Muppets have been a welcome, appropriate addition to the studio's holdings. Henson's children, Lisa and Brian, were on hand and reminisced about their father, moving audience members to both tears and laughter. But it was a masterstroke on the part of the event planners to bring Kermit the Frog and Rowlf the Dog out at the end to sing "The Rainbow Connection." Attendees were utterly mesmerized.

Kermit was on hand again Saturday morning at the Walt Disney Studios' presentation of upcoming movies. The amphibian was joined by Miss Piggy (who arrived in a motorcycle sidecar) as well as actor Jason Segel, their co-star in November's big-screen reunion, The Muppets. New studio head Rich Ross and animation executive John Lasseter were fairly giddy as they hyped next spring's John Carter; next summer's Brave; the direct-to-DVD Planes, an airborne knockoff of Cars; The Odd Life of Timothy Green, which does indeed look odd; and their more recently-acquired Marvel epic, The Avengers.

John Carter in particular, based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' "John Carter of Mars" series, looks really cool. The crowd went predictably wild when cast members from the last came out, including Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johanssen and Jeremy Renner. Other big stars on hand to plug their respective Disney projects were Billy Crystal (the Monsters, Inc. prequel Monsters University), Willem Dafoe (John Carter), Jennifer Garner (Odd Life...) and Jon Cryer (Planes).

A special showroom exhibit entitled "Carousel of Projects" and a Friday afternoon presentation revealed a plethora of developments regarding Disney theme parks around the world. In the Carousel of Projects, visitors could check out a detailed model of the massive Fantasyland expansion currently underway in the Magic Kingdom park at Walt Disney World in Florida. When completed in the fall of 2012, it will nearly double Fantasyland's current size and will feature a "Seven Dwarfs Mine Train" roller coaster (which looks like a milder, kid-friendly version of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad but with individually swinging cars) as well as an east coast version of The Little Mermaid ride, among other new attractions. I can't wait to visit and check it out once finished.

Details were also shared at the Theme Parks presentation about Disney's new park in Shanghai, China; the company's beautiful new Hawaiian resort, Aulani, which opens next week; the "Cars Land" addition and overall makeover of California Adventure; and magnificent new ships under construction for Disney Cruise Line. A pending expansion of California's Fantasyland was also announced, which will take over the current Carnation Gardens concert area at the end of Disneyland's Main Street USA. The expo also hosted a 45th-anniversary celebration of "It's a Small World" with special souvenirs and a panel of artists, including songwriter Richard Sherman, who helped create the mostly beloved but sometimes hated attraction.

The presentations and pavilions throughout this year's D23 Expo were very satisfying all in all, despite the larger crowds and long lines for everything, including food and restrooms. The only truly disappointing aspect of this year's D23 Expo was the "Treasures of the Walt Disney Archives" exhibition. Most of the noteworthy artifacts featured were repeats from the first expo's display, and the new additions from less well-regarded Disney films such as Hocus Pocus, Father of the Bride and The Rocketeer were decidedly underwhelming. One newly-included treasure well worth checking out was Walt Disney's personal limousine, but it was on display in the main showroom.

It will be interesting to see what Disney does next with the D23 Expo, now that it is well on its way to becoming a Comic Con-esque success. Will they offer it annually? Will it be moved beyond Anaheim as it increasingly outgrows the convention center there? All it will take is a little time... and some continued pixie dust.

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