THEGAYUK

Tag: LGBT Movie Review

Read the latest LGBT+ film reviews from THEGAYUK.

  • FILM REVIEW | Pam Ann Live From New York City

    ★★★★ | Pam Ann Live From New York City

    When I moved to London as a pink faced, wide eyed young lad from the midlands, live cabaret was quite an alien concept to me. In those heady days I’d bounce from bars, where bar boys would be doing camp Steps routines, to club nights where the likes of Mariah and Madonna would play, all whilst supping on a bottle of hooch.

    Way back then, Pam Ann was one of the first cabaret acts that I ever saw and even though I’d never even set foot in an airport, let alone on an aeroplane, at that point in my life, I still howled at every bit of her sharp observational humour and the garish persona she had invented.

    Thirteen years on and whilst so many things have come and gone, Caroline Reid, the woman behind the potty-mouthed trolley dolly, is not only still commanding packed out venues in London, she has seemingly charted a meteoric rise to fame worldwide. With a world tour in 2011, sell-out performances at the esteemed London Palladium and the Hammersmith Apollo, Pam has set her sights firmly on breaking America and she’s doing a damn good job of it. In her latest DVD, Pam Ann Live from New York, Pam plays to her ‘gays’ at ‘Joes Pub’: a celebrated showcase venue that has seen the likes of Kiki and Herb, Amy Winehouse and Alicia Keys grace it’s stage.

    Pam’s knowledge of her subject really is astounding. If you’re going to do stand up focussing on such a niche topic then you have to be on the ball and the devil really is in the detail. Pam gives a master class in it. Rolling off gags about every possible airline you know, and some you have never even heard of; mocking certain mannerisms and nuances that she has picked up and exaggerated for comic effect, whilst also working the audience into as much of the show as she can. The content is fresh and appealing and is mixed well with tried and tested older material; with references to recent aviation developments such as British Airways’ recent initiative, ‘what would Kate do’ and Ryanair threatening to introduce porn to their flights (shudders).

    If you’ve never seen Pam before then you’d best buckle up because she doesn’t mince her words and it’s certainly not a DVD for you if you’re at all twee about swearing and sexual suggestiveness. She does love to go on about her appreciation of big black cock A LOT.

    A highly entertaining show that will really put a smile on even the glummest of faces. Pam’s unique brand of stand up is as risible now as it ever was.

    Available to buy / view on: Amazon

  • FILM REVIEW | Elliot Loves

    Elliot is an idealistic 21 year old gay man living in New York. (more…)

  • FILM REVIEW | Hit So Hard, The Life and Near Death Story of Patty Schemel

    P. David Ebersole’s documentary Hit So Hard tells the story of former Hole drummer Patty Schemel’s rise from working class kid in Marysville, Washington to drummer for one of the biggest grunge bands of the nineties.

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  • FILM REVIEW | Beauty

    Francois is a middle aged white Afrikaner family man who is unable to reconcile his inner desires with the values of his contemporaries.

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  • FILM REVIEW: Undertow

    A movie set within the everyday of a small Peruvian village by the sea, Undertow will draw on the pain of its viewer.

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  • FILM REVIEW: Shelter

    Thwarted by his family circumstance and finding it hard to find his place in a small industrial Californian town, heartthrob Zach (Trevor Wright) is a trapped, talented artist.

    Stymied by his situation; a selfish and homophobic sister, a loveless relationship with his girlfriend and a father who is next to useless. With Art College and a new life calling him, Zach finds himself suffocated by his life with a hopeless acceptance. However things begin to change when Shaun (Brad Rowe), Zach’s best friend’s brother returns to town. Life begins to click into place when a drunken night together shows Zach a new reality. One that offers a life unlimited.

     

    As the relationship develops between the two would-be lovers, the reality of his new secret life mounts pressure on his daily existence. Zach is torn between the release of who he wants to be and the pressures of his real life. Zach has become a surrogate father to his sister’s five-year-old son, the adorable Cody (Jackson Wurth) in-between his shifts flipping burgers. His small town, wrong side of the tracks existence and expectations battle directly with the possibilities that lay ahead with Shaun, Art College and escaping from his humbler beginnings.

     

    What makes Shelter a wholly charming film to watch is its warmth and honesty. Its tentative steps and its revealing of Zach’s new potential is stunning. You know where you are with Shelter and you know where you’re going and clichés aside, it’s a magnificent film for many reasons. It’s a hazy, sweet, Gaussian, Californian coming out story. Filmed with a sensitivity that’s not often found in queer cinema. The sex scenes aren’t graphic, but leave enough to the imagination. It’s everything you wish your vanilla first time with a man might be. Its lack of reference to the gay scene or to gay culture makes it a film that can be enjoyed by most audiences, who appreciate a good romance. Filled with instamatic – esque shots of the Californian shoreline, crashing waves mix well with a thoughtful and provocative soundtrack.

     

    The camera does linger on Trevor Wright and he deserves the attention. Acting with an introspective knowing, Wright leads the story through and along with Brad Rowe gives great screen. Their chemistry is undeniable, their potential promising. It is an entirely shameful that Wright hasn’t garnered more film success because he is a riveting actor to behold.

     

    Shelter never fails to deliver what you’d expect from a coming out story, perhaps a little less complicated than real life situations, but definitely a film I’d revisit.

     

    Perfect if you like: Rainbows, Hollister and Hollywood endings.

    Dreadful if you like: Slings, fisting and earthy dramas.

     

     

  • FILM REVIEW: Four More Years

    David is a Swedish politician with a stellar career ahead of him.

    He’s also a bit of a silver fox and cuts a fine figure in a business suit. After an unexpected political defeat leaves him feeling adrift, he bumps into fellow politician Martin and the two quickly fall in love. This isn’t the usual romantic comedy though. David is from a strict Baptist family, straight and married. Martin is openly gay and a senior politician for the opposing party. It’s a relationship fraught with issues.

    The film is a gentle comedy which follows the men through a series of turbulent events and the usual misunderstandings and mix-ups. The humour is subtle, rather than raucous, and the film is beautifully compiled with artful shots and stylish views. What raises the film above the romantic comedy genre is the quirky way it deals with him being gay.

    Interestingly, the film doesn’t portray David’s sexuality as a major problem; more of a shock to him. The scene where his wife reflects on him being gay is hilarious and unexpected. Instead the film concentrates more on what it means to fall in love with someone who you aren’t supposed to fall in love with.

    Overall the film was actually quite touching and the three main characters were likeable and engaging. This is definitely a film which leaves you feeling a bit better about the world. Recommended for a rainy autumnal afternoon.

  • FILM REVIEW | Bad Boy Street

    Finding passed out hunk Brad (Kevin Miranda) on the streets of Paris, Claude (Yann de Monterno) takes him home and a passionate romance ensues, however Brad it seems isn’t exactly who he says he is.

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  • FILM REVIEW | Romeos

    This is a story with a difference, about two star crossed lovers.

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  • FILM REVIEW | North Sea Texas

    Pim is a young boy from a small Belgian coastal town who lives a dreary existence with his mother, Yvette, who is a boozy accordion player.

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  • FILM REVIEW | The Mission

    ★★★★ | The Mission

    The Mission contains enough heart, energy and soul for any audience to forgive the rough around the edges finish. It outweighs many of its more polished, bigger competitors in its intentions and message.

    Set in the Mission district of San Francisco, Che Rivera (Benjamin Bratt) is an admired, macho, tattooed and well respected man. Bus driver, single father, recovering alcoholic, ex con and spends his spare time fine-tuning his beloved customised ‘low rider’ (that’s a vintage automobile for the uninitiated). Living with him is his treasured only son Jesse (Jeremy Ray Valdez) who has a secret not yet told to his father. You start to understand why as the story progresses. Upstairs, Lena has just moved in. A strong, fiercely independent and earthy woman, who works at the shelter for abused women. Lena begins to fall for Che, until a side of him is revealed that she fears she’s seen the results of all too often at the shelter. Upon the discovery of his son’s sexuality Che violently disowns his son in a gritty on-street spat, a difficult, heartbreaking scene to watch in gay cinema; it tears the two apart. The neighbourhood, an audience to the event, learn about Jesse’s sexuality, which sends homophobic ripples through the Latino community. The writer’s intentions may have been to focus on the relationship between father and son, but overwhelmingly the focus falls on the Latino community, and how it might play a role in the way fathers treat their gay sons.

    The story is told with truth and empathy for Che, Jesse and Lena; the casting is brilliant and crucially credible. Valdez, plays his Latino homosexuality with dignity, sensitivity and courage. His worry, isolation and the confinement of his sexuality is played exceptionally (I fell in love with his doey eyed, submissiveness.) Yet, strangely, we don’t hate his father – although we should. Instead we desperately want his father to understand and to accept. It could be clichéd, but it isn’t, we’re being allowed to participate in this bittersweet, intimate, father/son journey.

    Che’s tolerance gets an invigorated jolt, when his son is attacked on the streets of Mission, but there are pot holes along the way. He refuses to accept Jesse’s boyfriend, who for all intents and purposes comes from a different planet; monied, middle class, educated and white. The stark opposition makes the relationship, at best, two-dimensional, a more powerful script may have demanded another Latino boy for real punch and grit.

    Che, with the loving of a good woman (Lena), starts to welcome Jesse back into his life, but feels a little incongruous, in the respect that by satisfying Che’s love-life he is able to accept his son’s.

    The language is sometimes simplistic and the resolution premature for it to really feel believable. I like my loose ends tied up – The Mission’s resolve feels clunky. However the theme and issues buried in this film are vitally important – the teenage ‘coming out story’ from – and for an entirely new generation. I applaud the movie makers for The Mission’s integrity, worth and ambition.

    Available to buy / view on: Amazon