THEGAYUK

Day: 14 July 2016

  • FILM REVIEW | Absolutely Fabulous The Movie

    FILM REVIEW | Absolutely Fabulous The Movie

    ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS : THE MOVIE – The good time girls of PR and fashion are back to expand the hit TV show in possibly the gaiest film ever made.

     

    Nutshell – 25-years after the show debuted we finally get the movie version we wanted. Picking up in real-time the WHOLE cast of major and minor characters are back all a bit older but just as funny this time round. Edina Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders the writer) has lost all her money and desperately needs new clients which leads to a tragic accident resulting in both Edina and walking drug cabinet Patsy Stone (Joanna Lumley having to go on the run to the South of France to do a bit of goldigging with an old flame played by Barry Humphries and ‘hilarity ensues’ in this cameo heavy laugh out loud pop culture juggernaut.

    Time – 91 mins; Certificate – 15.

    Tagline – ‘It’s A Huge Great Bloody Movie, Sweetie’.

    THE GAY UK FACTOR – So wonderfully camp Ab Fab makes Pride and Priscilla look like Rocky and Rambo by comparison. With early cameos from a Spice Girl, Lulu, Graham Norton, Rylan Clark, Dame Edna and Biggins it wraps itself in the gay flag with sequins on from the get go. Later it even goes to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern with a sing-a-long from a hundred drag queens led by La Voix and Jodie Harsh so this is gayer than Ricky Martin doing Louie Spence in the front row of an ABBA reunion show with Kylie holding the lube and we just love it.

    Cast – Basically everyone – All the main cast Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Julia Sawalha, Jane Horrocks, June Whitfield, Kathy Burke etc plus endless cameos (see above) plus Kate Moss, Rebel Wilson, John Hamm, Jerry Hall, Joan Collins, Dawn French, Gaultier, Hilton, Tempah, McCartney and a hundred others.

    Key Player – Joanna Lumley has been gifted by Saunders with all the best lines for years and she does not just deliver them with her usual style she now basically lives inside Patsy’s skin making one of the most recognisable gay icon characters in history and this is her ultimate high-heeled platform to entertain.

    Budget – $20 million but it will make back a fortune. When TV comedy hits on film like The Inbetweeners or Alan Partridge it runs and runs as opposed to flops like The Harry Hill or Bad Education movies so the cash will rightly flow. The difference here is that this one will score overseas too especially in North America.

    Best Bit – 0.20 mins; When you get a great scene where the PR guru’s are in full mode planning a lavish event lead by Kathy Burke on powerhouse form closely followed by the star-studded hugely funny red carpet which is so fast paced that you want it to last a whole lot longer.

    Worst Bit – 90.00 mins; Nothing wrong with the film at all and it keeps the tone and laugh quotient high throughout. The big disappointment is the soundtrack which could have been a gay classic and a CD to treasure for years but nothing that exciting or inventive here so give iTunes a miss unless you really want an average version of Kylie rehashing “Wheels On Fire” and some French ballads.

    Little Secret – Dawn French in an attempt to get the film kickstarted bet Jennifer Saunders £10,000 that she wouldn’t have a movie script for Ab Fab finished by the end of the year (2015). Dawn lost when the script was delivered but later found that after page 35 there was nothing typed other then Blah, blah, blah. June Whitfield btw turned 90 during filming – go girl!

    Movie Mistake – TBH we were laughing so much that we didn’t notice any real bloopers. There was some average stunt scenes where obviously vehicles have no drivers in them or are male stunt drivers but who really cares, just enjoy.

    Further Viewing – All the camp classics like Bruno, Priscilla, Mamma Mia, Spice Girls The Movie, Pride, Too Wong Fu, Bridesmaids or anything starring Bette Midler or Judy Garland.

    Any Good – Never has a movie been so more appropriately titled. Yes it is very good, very funny and will deliver exactly what you are expecting. Basically if you are reading The Gay UK you have either already seen this or will be planning to very soon and there is not a single reason we can think of to make you change your mind. So time to smuggle in the Bollie and the nibbly little bits into your local multiplex and have a right good laugh, sweetie, darling.

    Rating – 15/100 (15th out of the last 100 films reviewed with 1 being Gay UK filmatic heaven and 100 being a dud).

  • HOTEL REVIEW | Holiday Inn Express Portsmouth Gunwharf Quays

    HOTEL REVIEW | Holiday Inn Express Portsmouth Gunwharf Quays

    A friendly welcome and smile awaits you at Portsmouth’s Holiday Inn Express Gunwharf Quays.

    Hotel Exterior

    Right in the heart of the newly redeveloped Gunwharf Quays, just in the shadow of the famous Spinnaker Tower, Holiday Inn Express Gunwharf Quays couldn’t be more in the thick of the action if it tried.

    The 130 room hotel offers the perfect base for exploring the harbour city of Portsmouth in the south of England. Using this hotel as your base you’ll be able to discover the rich maritime history of Portsmouth with the abundance of museums and exhibitions in the local area, including the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, just seven minutes walk from the hotel.

    The rooms look down on to the bustling pedestrian area of Gunwharf Quays, which is filled with restaurants and cafes. The hotel also managed to secure some brilliant discounts at some of the chain restaurants, including a personal favourite of Giraffe, where we were able to get a huge 30 per cent off our meal.

    Your receptionist will be able to help you out with the restaurants taking part.

    The hotel is a standard Holiday Inn Express, offering breakfast and WIFI in the price – and free parking for the first 24 hours – each subsequent day costing £2.00 – a great reduction in the normal parking costs for the Gunwharf Quay.

     

    Bedroom

     

    The hotel offers great sized, comfortable rooms, with two pillow options, hard and soft. It is slightly let down by its dispenser soaps and shower gels in the bathroom instead of individual soaps and shower gels, but it’s a minor gripe, when looking at over all value.

    The hotel is a short walk from Portsmouth’s only gay bar, the Hampshire Boulevard.

    It’s also the perfect place to stay if you’re planning to attend Portsmouth’s Pride, which is a stroll along the seafront to Southsea common.

    Portsmouth Pride takes place in June.

    Find out more about hotel on its website.

     

  • Theatre Review | A Dream – Crucible Theatre, Sheffield

    ★★★ | A Dream, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield

    A warm midsummer evening, a busy hospital, a plethora of patients and staff and a mash up of Shakespeare’s best characters come together in A Dream, where the most infectious thing doing the rounds on the wards is love. Written by Chris Bush, Sheffield People’s Theatre combines a collective talent of over a hundred people to interlace some of Shakespeare’s best-known works.

    Photo Credit – Mark Douet

    The stories include a doctor who falls in love with a cleaner; the love between two gay men, and the impact of their love upon their parents and the relationships between parents and children. Married couples explain the secret of their relationships longevity, whilst youngsters fall in and out of love as they try to find their own way in life. Add into this mixture a number of Shakespeare staples – the girl who disguises herself as a boy, distinctions in social class, the case of mistaken identity, the issue of families separated through tragedy. All of these familiar elements are pulled together in this production.

    Bringing A Midsummer Night’s Dream into modern times, via quips, quotes and characters from As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing and Anthony and Cleopatra, A Dream makes for a whimsical and light-hearted evening which has a number of points of appeal. Chris Bush interweaves the lives, loves and stories of a number of characters, in an intertwining narrative which is light and bouncy. There are a handful of brief musical interludes and pieces of choreographed movement which are enough to keep the pace moving but not numerous enough to class it as a musical.

    But beneath the whimsy and the somewhat seemingly superficial storyline was something that had real heart. The show looks at different ways in which love can manifest itself and how love can transcend boundaries of age, gender, social standing and sexuality. There is a real heart to the show, nowhere more blatant than a very well-written tribute to those who work day in day out in hospitals; and who make a difference to people’s lives with every shift that they undertake.

    The show was presented well with an engaging clinical set and some good performances standing out amongst the masses. Some of the scenes seemed slightly superfluous, some slightly overlong and some seem to run out of momentum a little prematurely. But overall this is a well-written and crafted piece undertaken by a large cast of over one hundred enthusiastic performers.

    Similar in style to Dickensian, which recently graced BBC One; the show can certainly be enjoyed on face value, but there is also ample opportunity for spotting the Bard references for the more ardent Shakespeare fans. It is fitting that with the setting of the hospital and the over-arching theme of love, this show is a love letter to the NHS, to the theatre and to love itself.

  • David Cameron said one last good bye and Twitter was scathing

    The former Prime Minister of the UK, David Cameron took to Twitter to say one last good. The responses were scathing to say the least.

    Photo: Crown copyright Credit: Georgina Coupe
    Photo: Crown copyright
    Credit: Georgina Coupe

     

    David Cameron, who expressed his joy in being able to bring same-sex marriage to the UK during his time as PM, sent one last tweet as Prime Minister simply stating:

    It’s been a privilege to serve the country that I love.

    The responses weren’t so obliging.

    https://twitter.com/joelycett/status/753271779439837184

    https://twitter.com/PhatPoch/status/753255092313288704

    https://twitter.com/EthanDLawrence/status/753279718523277315

    https://twitter.com/CausticCorner/status/753255405782982656

    https://twitter.com/KellDeggers/status/753255146084237313

    https://twitter.com/GLove39/status/753255158319083520

    https://twitter.com/AdamMcKola/status/753258783560830978

    https://twitter.com/captain_az/status/753267826207711232

    https://twitter.com/CJBurgess11/status/753255399499923456

     

    What do you think too harsh?

  • BREAKING | UK gets first openly gay Cabinet member

    The UK’s new Prime Minister Theresa May, has appointed the UK’s first openly gay Cabinet member Justine Greening.

    Justine Greening, who came out during Pride In London has been announced by Theresa May as the new Education Secretary making her the first openly gay member of the cabinet. She replaces Nicky Morgan, who tweeted that she was “disappointed” to be leaving the job.

    Nicky Morgan was also the government’s Equalities minister, a position for which garnered a great deal of criticism after she voted against gay marriage in 2013.

    Yesterday Mrs May appointed the pro-LGBT Amber Rudd as the new Home Secretary.

    Ms. Greening has, according TheyWorkForYou.com, generally voted in favour of LGBT equality however was absent for a number of key votes, including a vote on the Equality Act (sexual discrimination) in 2007, which makes it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of sexuality during the provision of goods and services and she was absent on two pieces of legislation which impact the same-sex marriage bill.

  • Man found hanging from tree was gay man whose family “despised” gays

    Man found hanging from tree was gay man whose family “despised” gays

    A young black man who was found hanging from a tree in Atlanta, has been confirmed as Michael George Smith Jnr. known to his friends as London Jermaine.

    A young African-American man who committed suicide by hanging himself from a tree in a public park has been identified as Michael George Smith Jnr. known to his friends as London Jermaine. London Jermaine identified as a gay man, who described members of his family, on his social media account, as despising gay people.

    The discovery of Smith’s body became a trending topic on Twitter after many believed that his hanging was a modern-day lynching.

    The Fulton Country Medical Examiner’s office confirmed that his death was caused by suicide with no defensive wounds or signs of struggle apparent on the 22-year-old’s body.

    Moments before he took his life, the student wrote a heartbreaking message on Facebook telling his friends and family that he’d see them “in the next life”.

    He wrote,

    “I see y’all in the nextLife… Deadass. Father forgive me.”

    The Georgia Tech student had posted a message on the 17th June which accused his mother of teaching his siblings to “despise” gays.  He said,

    “My mother is teaching my siblings to dispise Gays.. I’m done with Life. I’m Hurt To The Core.”


    According to another post an unnamed sibling told him:

    “God doesn’t born gay people. You make yourself gay.”

    In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Hotlines in other countries can be found here

  • Prince Harry takes HIV test live on social media

    Prince Harry takes HIV test live on social media

    Prince Harry has made history by becoming the first member of the Royal family to take a HIV test on Facebook live.

    Credit: Masha Maltsava, Milk Studios / Via Flickr

    Prince Harry has become the first Royal to publicly take a HIV test live on Facebook, using the platform’s “live” service.

    The popular Prince visited London’s Guys and St. Thomas’ hospital to have the pin-prick HIV test, which reveals a person’s HIV status within minutes.

    The video has already clocked up 41,000 views.

    Leading HIV charity Terrence Higgins Trust praised the Prince’s openness and awareness campaign.

    Ian Green, Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, said,

    “Prince Harry’s decision to take an HIV test, live on social media, is a groundbreaking moment in the fight against HIV.

    “Not only does it show His Royal Highness’s genuine and personal commitment to tackling the HIV epidemic, it will amplify a message to millions all over the world: testing for HIV is easy, quick and nothing to be feared.

    “We have a real opportunity to end HIV transmissions in the UK, but it starts with each person knowing their HIV status. Too many people are either put off testing by the stigma that still surrounds HIV, or simply do not think HIV is an issue anymore. Today, Prince Harry has got people talking about HIV again and has normalised HIV testing to a global audience. In doing so, he could inspire a generation to take control of their sexual health.

    “Thanks to treatment, testing for HIV could stop you from getting seriously ill, enable you to live a normal lifespan and prevent you from passing the virus on to anyone else. That’s why it’s so invaluable to have Prince Harry’s support  as we aim to bust stigma and end the HIV epidemic.”