October 8

Standing in line at the theater these past nights, Latter Days is the most talked-about film of the series thus far. I have a sense it will win the Audience Award for Best Feature.

Of course Kodak, being hometown and in the film business, is a major corporate sponsor. They donated the prizes which are $750 of film stock for Best Feature and $500 of film stock each for Best Short and Best Documentary. According to ImageOut, the filmmakers appreciate the film stock more than cash prizes, so it’s nice we can do that.

Lock Up Your Sons and Daughters, shorts program of seven films

This collection was disappointing. It was almost entirely different than the shorts program of the same name and curator that appeared at the Insideout Film Festival in Toronto earlier this year, or the version playing tomorrow night at the Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. I think we got gypped.

Worse, the curator and the promoters have different ideas of what the program was about. The promoters saw it as a “hysterical trip down memory lane.” When introducing the program, the curator said noting at all about the films being funny. He focused on them as time capsules of the anti-gay movement. And he used the word, “fascinating” in nearly every sentence. Fascinating.

That’s not to say there weren’t moments. Red Light Green Light, Meeting Strangers was fun just for the sheer dorkiness. It was dorky when made and remains so. But dorky movies are a dime a dozen.

Cindy Goes to a Party was fun for the first few times the fairy godmother waved her wand and helpful party etiquette hints from the 50s popped up onscreen. It wore out quickly.

Perversion for Profit was an anti-pornography film from the 60s, not an anti-queer film. The narrator’s stiffness, pseudo Edward R. Murrow delivery and flip charts were fun for about the first third of this 12 minute film.

The standout was a Laurel and Hardy film, Their First Mistake. It starts with Ollie’s wife berating him for liking Stan more than her, moves through her walking out and having divorce papers delivered, and Stan being sued for “the alienation of Mr. Hardy’s affections”, then ends with Stan and Ollie in bed with an adopted baby with a baby bottle playing the role of phallus.

It wasn’t any more or less funny than any other Laurel and Hardy film, but it was interesting that it played, and played well, on two levels and that divorce and the implied homosexuality made it into a 1932 film.

Gone But Not Forgotten Directed by Michael D. Akers, USA, 2003, Video, 94min.

This was billed as having “Skilled camera work, solid writing and strong performances—especially with regard to the chemistry between the leads.” Perhaps I saw a different film. The lines were predictable, their delivery stilted and the camera work was junior college at best.

The film isn’t bad, per se, but I found myself waiting for when it would get good. It hadn’t by the time the closing credits rolled.

Totally Sexy Loser Directed by Jason Schafer, USA, 2003, Video, 75 min.

I have mixed feelings on this sellout. The program purports that Jeremy, the totally sexy loser is a “self-absorbed love addict” but that Chip, “his current emotional basket case … an adorable, yet needy and somewhat delusional flight attendant” is the one not right in the head.

My take is that Chip is really quite healthy, if too willing to forgive, and that Jeremy is the one who’s fucked-up and more of a semi-hunky user than a totally sexy loser. The actor playing Jeremy (credit unknown) is very good in the role, making him into an easy-to-hate real asshole user. Other roles are equally well-played.

Where I have strong disagreement is with these sentences from the program:

Schafer filmed Totally Sexy Loser in a loose interpretation of the principles of Dogme: using handheld cameras only, natural lighting and settings, found props, etc. This style lends a sense of realism not present in most films, giving the movie an almost reality show feel.

No, it doesn’t. It looks like someone’s prepubescent brother or sister was bored and playing with someone’s video cam. The whole effect is cheap and amateurish. It was intrusive, made the film difficult to watch and it never suspended my disbelief. However, this reviewer disagrees, and I have to admit that I roared over the two lines he quotes.

One of the shorts shown before the feature, The Anatomy of Absolution by local bartender Paul Rapalee (of the Bachelor Forum), did the same sort of thing with the camera work, but pulled it off beautifully.

Here too though, the program and the filmmaker differ on what the film is about. The program says it “meditates on voyeurism and hustling” while Paul says… Well, it’s hard to say what Paul says because he couldn’t tell us what he thought the film was about. Instead read from notes obviously prepared by someone else—one of those pretentious artsy types showing off their vocabulary rather than communicating anything meaningful. It was painful to watch.

Filmed entirely on my old stomping grounds, it was fun to pick out local landmarks—adult bookstores, street corners where hustlers hang out and cruising parking lots. I did have an adverse reaction to the closing where the protagonist settles for shooting up.

I’m looking forward to tonight’s shorts program, Gay For All Ages, but the more I see the trailer for tomorrow night’s feature, Sex Politics & Cocktails, the less I want to see it. The trailer looks nothing at all like the film described in the program.

October 12

Remember, you heard it here first. Latter Days won the 2003 ImageOut Audience Award for Best Feature. Director C. Jay Cox gets $750 of Kodak cinema film stock.

I’ve fallen a bit behind on reviews in part because I loved all nine of Wednesday night’s shorts. It’s taking me a while to write about each one. Here’s a bit about the features I’ve seen since, pending further review:

• Thursday night’s Sex, Politics & Cocktails was a delightful film. The trailer blows. This film deserves a much better one. Fuck the trailer, see the film.
   
• Friday night’s 9 Dead Gay Guys was a riot. Tongue planted firmly in cheek, this murder mystery set in London was uproariously funny and stood up to its billing as being “absolutely waaaaay over the top, totally insulting, wonderfully irreverent, tasteless yet terrifically funny flick”.
   
• Well, I don’t have to write my memoirs and hope they’re made into a film. Rudolphe Marconi already did it with Love Forbidden (Defense d’aimer). “Passion and obsession collide in this film, which grippingly charts the dangerous territory of unrequited love as it takes over every atom of body, mind and soul.” Then again, maybe Marconi reads Scenic Route.
   
• Tonight, Die Mommy Die! was the perfect cap for the festival and the perfect lead-in to the black-tie gala afterwards at the George Eastman House. Played entirely “straight”, the comedy comes from the faithful reproduction of 50s melodramas. Over-acted, over-costumed, over-colored and full of deadpan lines like, “You slipped into my life as easily as vermouth into a glass of gin”, it was as much fun seeing who in the audience got it and who didn’t.
  
  Twink alert: Stark Sands is simply dishy as Lance, the cock-chasing son. I would not kick him out of bed for eating crackers.

If asked which of the films I liked best in Wednesday night’s shorts program, Gay For All Ages, I would have such trouble making the decision, chances are my brain would fry and drip out my ears.

At last I’m in complete agreement with the program, which says “Together these shorts represent some of the strongest gay male work of the past year.” Although they all rank a 10, (okay, maybe a couple of eights), the films cannot be compared to one another because they each stand out on their own merits.

Looking for Mr. Right Directed by David M. Young, USA, 2002, Video, 4 min.

These four minutes of a guy out at the bar in search of his next husband captures the essence of the cruisy dance club. Seen through the eyes of the protagonist we hear his thoughts as he alternately selects and rejects everyone in the bar, until “the one” appears across the room. Young reaches inside all of our heads and pulls out everything we know is in there but won’t admit to.

“The bartender must like me. This drink’s stronger than the last one.” Selecting another, “Ooo. Nice chest, nice arms, shit. No ass.” And again, “Ugh! What was he thinking with that shirt… NO! I’m not looking at you…” You know how it goes. I do it and so do you.

The surprise ending when encountering “the one” brought gales of laughter as we instantly recognized our own narcissism. Truly a fine film and a great slap upside the head.

Paradisco Directed by Stéphane Ly-Cuong, France, 2002, 35mm, 17 min. In French with English subtitles.

Over morning coffee, fortysomething Francois takes last night’s trick, twentysomething Nicolas, on an MGM musical-style trip back to the New Year’s Eve 1979-80 party in the same apartment. Wonderfully evocative and touchingly poignant.

Nicolas is transfixed by the joy of the time and the bright future it held. He asks Francois, “Who is he? If he’s aged well, I’d be interested in him.” Francois replies, “He’s dead.” He then runs through all those who have died.

It’s a terrific juxtaposition against the laughing, singing and dancing party guests, drinking up the joy of young lives. They didn’t know yet. I caused me to reflect, what if we had known?

Still, the film isn’t gloomy in the least and ends on a nicely upbeat note.

b: a movie Directed by Albert Snell, USA, 2003, Video, 9 min

Interestingly, the only art flick on the bunch is done by a local film student at RIT. Albert is also the man responsible for the fantastic ImageOut trailers shown this year and last, which deserve rave reviews themselves. This is a name to watch.

The film came with its own cheerleading section since the director’s parents and grandmother were in attendance, the entire cast too. Fortunately the film is short on dialog, so nothing was missed with all the cheering.

A young guy becomes entranced with Andy Warhol and his 60s scene and molds his life around it. More is unsaid than said, more unseen than seen. The film is subtle but you don’t have to work very hard to fill in all the blanks. Well cast, lighted, directed and filmed, this one proves “video” isn’t a synonym for “cheap”.

Masturbation: Putting the Fun Back In Self-Loving Directed by J. T. Tepnapa, USA, 2002, Video, 8 min.

This hilarious send-up of those 50s health educational films had tears streaming down my cheeks from start to finish. Dr. Sigmund Walters answers little Billy’s question, “Gee Dr. Walters, doesn’t masturbation become boring after a while?” In graphic detail. With flip-charts and a cheesy title slide before each of the several methods he recommends.

The first flip chart showed a pie chart with two sections. One percent of boys masturbate. Ninety-nine percent lie about it.

And the helpful doctor certainly is creative. He suggests everything from standing on your head (“Don’t forget to keep your mouth closed!”) to things involving vegetables and how to use a sock to keep from getting stuck between the mattress and box spring. (The scene of a kid on his knees humping the side of the bed is priceless.)

Or how about fashioning a vagina from some PVC pipe, a kitchen sponge, some thread, a condom and hand lotion. (Of course, when I heard it IRL, it was an Ajax can. Watch out for the grit!)

Billy asks, “But does it have to be a vagina?”

The doc chuckles and replies, “Why no Billy! You can make it any orifice you want.”

Billy: “All right! I can’t wait to share all this with my friends at the YMCA. Gee thanks doc!”

Closing line, the doc: “Next time, the anus. It isn’t just an exit.”

I Am a Boyband Benny Nemerofsky Ramsay, Canada, 2002, Video, 6 min. In English with English subtitles (for real!)

At its best, art is social commentary, personal expression and entertainment on some level. A little mastery of technique doesn’t hurt either. I Am a Boyband hits all those marks, and then some. Lest you doubt that a video satire of the boyband craze is not art, simply Google on the title.

That said, this send-up of boybands is simply a delight. Everything you love and hate about boybands—Backstreet Boys, N-Sync, Westlife, et. al.—is brilliantly spoofed in this short, which I could see again and again.

Against a plain black background, Benny sings Come Again, Sweet Love Doth Now Invite, a 16th century English madrigal composed by John Dowland (1563-1626). The old English lyrics and Elizabethan melody recast as modern technopop is hysterical. And it’s subtitled… in English.

And it doesn’t stop there.

In the classic each-member-sings-lead-on-a-verse boyband style, Benny becomes each of the four members his boyband, and each additional member adds to the background vocal harmonies. The entire theater erupted in gales of laughter at his portrayal of the stereotypical boyband boy types. Add the classic boyband choreography contrasted with ancient melody and lyrics, and it sometimes became difficult to hear the film over the laughter.

This has been the most difficult review to write, simply because it works so well on so many different levels that its hard to describe and do justice to the work. Google on it and go see it. You can thank me later.

More to come…