Summer movie roundup
Here at the official beginning of summer, the season for movies has already been with us for a month—film studios having decided to push back the date earlier each year. Already we've seen the bloated Iron Man 2, Russell Crowe in the gut-busting Robin Hood, the return of the Fashion Four in Sex and the City 2 ( with an interview with Willie Garson in this issue ) , and a buffed-up Jake Gyllenhaal in the sorta entertaining Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. This summer the usual line-up of blockbusters and megasequels are on tap along with some one-night-only screenings, both which will give Chicago area LGBT filmgoers plenty to look forward to—sometimes in theatres, sometimes via DVD.
June
Splice—Twelve years in the making, here comes Dren, the human/animal hybrid creation of mad scientists Elsa and Clive ( Sarah Polley and Adrien Brody ) . The film, inspired by gay director James Whale's Frankenstein films, is a terrific sci-fi horror thriller that subtly ( and not so subtly ) includes a lot of gender issues at its core. June 4
Murder By Death—The Music Box gives us a rare midnight movie screening of Neil Simon's 1976 murder mystery parody that features the infamous cameo by Truman Capote this Friday and Saturday, June 4-5.
The Word Is Out/The Cinema Pride Collection—The long-anticipated DVD of The Word Is Out, the groundbreaking 1978 documentary that beautifully explores the stories of everyday gays and lesbians, finally arrives June 8. The film has been restored and the disc includes a lot of wonderful extras. That same day the Cinema Pride Collection from Fox/MGM—containing 10 LGBT-themed movies, an overview of 40 years of queer cinema—also arrives. The set spans 1961's The Children Hour to 2005's Imagine Me & You and also includes La Cage Aux Folles, My Beautiful Laundrette, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, The Birdcage, Bent, The Object of My Affection, Boys Don't Cry and Kissing Jessica Stein.
The A-Team/Fast Five—Man up this week at the theatres with the big screen version of the '80s TV staple starring Liam Neeson, the hunkalicious and very gay-friendly Bradley Cooper and District Nine sensation Sharlto Copley, or opt for more of the gay subtext between Vin Diesel and Paul Walker in their return to the The Fast & the Furious franchise. In theaters June 11
8: The Mormon Proposition—This documentary exploring the behind-the-scenes campaign to trounce gay marriage in California gets its Chicago debut at the Gene Siskel Film Center with filmmaker Reed Cowan and Queer Film Society Vice President Hank Sartin in person. June 18
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work—The queer audience favorite, legendary comedian and plastic-surgery poster girl is profiled in this surprisingly moving documentary portrait of a year in the life of the "Can we talk?" gal. June 18
I Am Love—Tilda Swinton, long a fave of Our People, returns in my favorite movie of the year to date—a sumptuously filmed melodrama centering on a wealthy Italian family on the brink of enormous emotional change precipitated by Swinton's college-age daughter's coming-out and her own subsequent affair with a friend of her grown son. Beautifully acted and shamelessly sensual, this is grand old-school cinema in the tradition of Visconti and Douglas Sirk writ large. June 25
Grease Sing Along—Details have not been finalized but what could be better than an interactive, special sing-along edition of the popular 1978 John Travolta-Olivia Newton-John friendly musical ( from out director Randal Kleiser and late gay producer extraordinare Allan Carr ) ? A June 30 screening will involve the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus and the movie plays a week long engagement at River East beginning July 8.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse—Hordes of squealing teenage girls ( and gay boys ) are sure to thrill to the return of Robert Pattinson, Kristin Stewart and Taylor Lautner ( and his six-pack abs ) , along with all the other teenage vamps in the next-to-last edition of the wildly popular film series. June 30
July
The Girl Who Played with Fire—The second film adaptation from the late Swedish mystery writer Daniel Alfredson once again finds Lisbeth Salander, the bisexual goth girl with the dragon tattoo, back in league with investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist. Every English- speaking actress in the free world is vying for the role of Lisbeth for the Hollywood remakes but Swedish actress Noomi Rapace has set the bar mighty high. July 2 at the Music Box
Love Ranch—A Chicago theater date hasn't been set for this based on a true story of the infamous Nevada brothel but look for it in early July. Queer audience fave Helen Mirren stars as the madam along with Joe Pesci as her husband. Mirren's husband, Taylor Hackford, directed the film.
The Kids Are All Right—Lesbian writer-director Lisa Cholodenko ( Laurel Canyon, High Art ) returns with this family drama about Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as lesbian parents of two teenagers who track down their biological father ( Mark Ruffalo ) , with ensuing dramatic havoc. The film was the big hit at Sundance and is getting lots of early award buzz. July 9
Salt—Another lesbian fave, Angelina Jolie ( thanks in part to that breakthrough role in Gia ) returns to the action genre. July 23
August
I Love You Phillip Morris—Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor star as gay lovers in this based on a true story black comedy. This 2009 film languished without U.S. distribution for over a year after a great reception at Sundance and has since seen its release date pushed back four times. Now the movie is slated for a late July opening in New York and Los Angeles so look for it here in early August—but don't hold your breath.
Stonewall Uprising—This documentary look at the events surrounding the start of gay liberation in 1969 in New York City promises to be a worthy addition to other gay historical films. Opens Au. 6 at the Music Box
Eat, Pray, Love—Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, James Franco and Viola Davis are in the cast of this tale of a woman finding meaning in her life as she travels the world. It's based on the best-selling book, and is adapted and directed by Ryan Murphy, the openly queer talent behind TV series such as the red-hot Glee and Nip/Tuck and director of the maligned Running with Scissors ( although I contend it's worth another look ) . Aug. 13
All About Evil—San Francisco midnight movie maven/drag queen Peaches Christ ( Joshua Grannell ) wrote and directed her own entry into the camp arena—the story, naturally, of a midnight movie maven ( Natasha Lyonne ) whose films feature her own gruesome killings. Mink Stole and Cassandra Peterson ( aka Elvira, Mistress of the Dark ) are also in the cast. Christ will appear in person for the Aug. 14 midnight screening ( complete with pre-show ) at the Music Box.
Check out my archived reviews at www.windycitytimes.com or www.knightatthemovies.com . Readers can leave feedback at the latter Web site.
