GAY IE ENTERTAINMENT
Movies to see on DVD

Here’s a roundup of some recent DVD releases of movies that had only limited release in theaters:

“If The World Were Mine”
Here’s a different kind of high school musical. An all-boys prep school gets ready to stage a musical version of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and outcast gay Timothy lands the role of Puck. But while the show is still in rehearsal Timothy discovers a magic potion and turns just about everyone in town gay, including the high school jock he’s interested in. It’s a fun fantasy that has everyone seeing things from Timothy’s perspective for a change.

“Chris & Don. A Love Story”
A documentary about a long term gay love story may not sound so interesting, but this film is surprisingly compelling. Don Bachardy narrates the tale of his relationship with Christopher Isherwood, author of “The Berlin Stories,” which inspired the musical “Cabaret.” The men met at Will Rogers beach in 1953 when Don was a teenager and Chris was 30 years older. They stayed together for decades until Isherwood died in 1986. The age difference was one of the challenges to maintaining their relationship depicted here in home movies, interviews and readings. The extras include Bachardy giving a tour of his art-covered home in Santa Monica and his rant on gay marriage.

“The Mulligans”
The production values are first rate, but the script is silly soap opera. The film’s title comes from the golf term mean “do over.” Tyler brings his friend chase to the family lake place for the summer. Soon Chase comes out to his friend, and then there’s a family crisis when Tyler’s father Nathan, an avid golfer, wants a “do over” of his life and acts on his attraction to Chase. In an interesting bit of casting, Nathan’s wife is played by Thea Gill, who starred as one of the lesbians in “Queer As Folk."

GAY IE ENTERTAINMENT
British movie critics like "Bruno"

Sacha Baron Cohen's movie "Bruno" doesn't open in the United States until July 10, but the reviews are starting to come in from Britain, where it premiered this week.

From The Sun:
The film follows the camp presenter’s bid for fame in LA after he is sacked from his beloved fashion show on Austrian TV for bringing a Milan catwalk show to a standstill with his all-in-one Velcro outfit. The scene is utterly brilliant and wipes the smiles from the faces of the snooty fashion world.

MORE: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/film/2482727/World-exclusive-review-of-Bruno-movie-starring-Sacha-Baron-Cohen.html

From The Guardian:
Beneath the idiocy, Baron Cohen is also a politically astute agent who's devised an ingenious way to confront and expose serious social issues - and indulge his own exhibitionism. ... Much of it is unavoidably hilarious, but is he lampooning homophobia or perpetuating it?

MORE: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/jun/17/bruno-review-sacha-baron-cohen

GAY IE: MOVIES
Summer film preview -- 7 movies to watch for

The summer movie season is here, and film fans will be lining up for “Wolverine,” “Star Trek,” “Harry Potter” and the latest Pixar animation. But what about movies for the rest of us?

Here’s what we can look forward to:

--“Newcastle” (now playing in limited release). There’s lots of eye candy and at least one gay relationship in this coming of age story set on the surf.

--“Little Ashes” (opening May 8 in limited release). Robert Pattinson (“Twilight”) stars as artist Salvador Dali in this film that explores Dali’s relationship with Spanish writer Federico Garcia Lorca (Javier Beltran). Directed by Paul Morrison.

--“Outrage” (opening May 8 in limited release). Closeted politicians are exposed in this documentary directed by Kirby Dick.

--“The Art of Being Straight” (opens June 5). A group of friends in Los Angeles deal with issues of sexual attraction.

--“Bruno” (opens July 10). Sacha Baron Cohen brings his gay Austrian fashion reporter alter ego Bruno to the big screen in the most anticipated gay-themed movie of the summer. After Cohen’s politically incorrect “Borat” three years ago, it’s difficult to know if this will be good or bad…or perhaps so bad it’s good. Unlike most of the other movies on this list, look for “Bruno” at a theater near you, at least if the film can be edited from its initial NC-17 rating to an R.

--“Humpday” (opening July 10). Mark Duplass and Joshua Leonard play former college roommates who say they’re not gay, but they’re stressed out after making a drunken dare to perform in an erotic film. Written and directed by Lynn Shelton.

--“Taking Woodstock” (opening Aug. 14). Directed by Ang Lee (“Brokeback Mountain”), this movie is based on the memoir of Elliot Tiber, who organized the famous music festival. Tiber’s book is described as sexually graphic, but the movie downplays Tiber’s homosexuality. Demetri Martin stars as Tiber. Costarring Imelda Staunton, Livev Shreiber and Emile Hirsch.

And here's something to look forward to: the Jim Carrey-Ewan McGregror prison romance, "I Love You Phillip Morris," has a distributor and is scheduled to open Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, 2010.

GAY IE ENTERTAINMENT:
"Milk" on DVD

“Milk,” the Harvey Milk biopic featuring Sean Penn’s Academy Award winning performance as the gay rights leader, is worth a second look now that it’s out on video, or a first look if you didn’t find the movie in theaters late last year.

Penn disappears into the role of the San Francisco supervisor, who was assassinated in 1978 by fellow supervisor Dan White, played by Josh Brolin, also nominated for an Oscar. I’m among those who, as Penn says himself, sometimes finds the actor difficult to appreciate, but I was won over by his performance here. He deserved the awards season honors.

The movie’s screenwriter, Dustin Lance Black, won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. The film was also nominated for eight awards, including Best Picture and and Best Director, Gus Van Sant.

The movie is particularly relevant as it follow’s Milk’s efforts against a statewide proposition that would allow firing gay teachers.

Extras with the DVD include interviews with members of the ensemble cast, Emile Hirch, Diego Luna and James Franco. But an interview with Penn is missing on the extra reel. Other extras include three deleted scenes, interviews with people who worked with Milk and a feature on how street marches were recreated for the film

One of the notable devices in the movie is how historical footage was used. As a companion to “Milk,” see the documentary “The Times of Harvey Milk.” Putting the films side-by-side, viewers will notice that the attention to detail in “Milk” is obvious, right down to what Penn/Milk wore to the Pride parade.

BOX OFFICE: “Milk” made less than $32 million domestically in its 19 week theatrical run – its widest release was in about 880 theaters. It ranks No. 12 on Box Office Mojo’s list of the top 100 gay films released since 1980. (Check the complete list at http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=gay.htm)

RUNNING TIME: 2 hours, 9 minutes.

GAY IE MOVIES:
“I Love You Man”

A movie about a man searching for a new best friend to act as best man at his wedding sounds like it could turn gay pretty fast, but Paul Rudd and Jason Segel play things pretty straight in this bromance comedy. The gay element comes courtesy Andy Samberg (Saturday Night Life) who plays Rudd’s gay brother Robby. He sets up Rudd on “man dates” and gives him advice on the pursuit (no dinners – after one guy got the wrong idea). But there’s more to Robbie who gets along with, no, is adored by his father and attracts married men at the gym where he’s a personal trainer. I want to see a whole movie about this guy. By the way, an interview with Samberg made the cover of the March Out magazine. Find the article here: http://www.out.com/detail.asp?page=1&id=24726



RUDD’S EARLIER WORK: Speaking of Paul Rudd, the publicity for “I Love You Man” rarely mentioned the actor’s role in the movie “The Object of My Affection.” Rudd played a conflicted gay man torn between wanting to help his pregnant gal pal (played by Jennifer Aniston) and his desire to live his real life. The 1998 movie was based on a book by Stephen McCauley. It’s worth a look…or a read, as are McCauley’s other novels, “Easy Way Out,” “True Enough,” “The Man of the House” and “Alternatives to Sex.”