Before spring—and the lovely weather it promises finally takes hold—here's a quintet of recent queer tinged DVD releases to enjoy before heading out of doors.
—The Times of Harvey Milk: Director Rob Epstein's 1984 moving portrait of slain gay national hero Harvey Milk, narrated by Harvey Fierstein and set to a memorable score by composer Mark Isham, won the Oscar for Best Documentary and is a seminal movie experience. It's not only a revealing look at the man but also one of a particular era in gay and lesbian history. The film has been painstakingly restored and this newly released two-disc edition from the Criterion Collection (available on either DVD or Blu-ray) is packed with all the goodies that Criterion has long been hailed for. The bonuses include everything from a richly illustrated booklet with essays from film historian B. Ruby Rich and others to a half dozen of Epstein's outtake research interviews, audio and video clips of Milk himself, a reexamination by the various participants of both the documentary and Gus Van Sant's 2008 feature Milk (which includes James Franco), a closer look at the trial of Milk's murderer Dan White, and other archival and new segments created exclusively for this release. It's a must-have release.
—I Love You Phillip Morris: Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor star in this true-life 2010 black comedy about a gay man (Carrey, in his best role in years) who just about goes through hell to be with the love of his life, the title character (essayed with daffy sweetness by McGregor). This is a lovely, romantic, sexy film that lived up to expectations after being dumped into development hell for its supposedly "shocking" gay content. The disc includes a nice selection of bonus features that include a making-of segment (revolving around a kissing scene between Carrey and McGregor) and some interesting and fun deleted scenes (about 17 minutes worth).
—Behind the Burley Q: The entertaining and little-known story of the history of burlesque—a form of entertainment focused on the art of striptease, physical comedy and other forms of "low class" stage entertainment—is brought to life in this energetic little recap of the era by filmmaker Leslie Zemeckis. A bevy of former ladies of burlesque, including Tempest Storm, is featured along with surprise interviewee Alan Alda, who was dragged to shows as a kid by father, Robert, a comedian who rose to fame via burlesque. Tons of archival footage of the strippers at work (take note, ladies!) and endearing, funny reminisces keep things rolling along. Three short featurettes are included on the disc as well.
—Used People: Before directing Camp and Bandslam, out writer/director Todd Graff wrote this 1992 autobiographical comedy about his family. This endearing film, set in 1969, stars Shirley MacLaine as a Jewish widow pursued by Marcello Mastroianni as an Italian lothario who won't take no for an answer. However, MacLaine's got her own set of distractions—two really mixed-up daughters (Kathy Bates and Marcia Gay Harden); a cranky, complaining mother (Jessica Tandy); and a grandson who thinks he's a superhero (the character based on Graff). This lively comedy—funny, romantic and truly touching directed by Beeban Kidron—was criminally overlooked upon release and contains one stupendous performance after another, set to a gorgeous film score by Rachel Portman. It's available from Warner Home Archive as part of its DVD on Demand program.
—Tracy & Hepburn: The Definitive Collection: Classic fans will no doubt be thrilled with this boxed set that, at last, includes all nine screen teamings of the plain-spoken Spencer Tracy and the fluttery, deeply emotional Katharine Hepburn. The pair, one of Hollywood's most iconic screen duos (whose off screen relationship was equally legendary), dazzles in this 10-disc set. It's all here from the sublime (1942's Woman of the Year, their first pairing, and 1949's Adam's Rib) to the pretty good (1952's Pat and Mike, 1957's Desk Set and 1967's Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?) to the not-so-hot (1945's Without Love and Capra's 1948 misfire, State of the Union). The set also includes the home-video debut of 1942's noir-ish thriller Keeper of the Flame and Elia Kazan's sprawling 1947 western saga Sea of Grass. There's also a nice feature-length Tracy portrait narrated by Hepburn. This set is from Warner Home Video (and is just in time for Mother's Day).
Film notes:
—The impact of An American Family, television's first reality series, cannot be overstated, given the current climate of the cultural zeitgeist. The 1973 12-part series originally broadcast on PBS followed Pat and Bill Loud and their teenaged brood, revealing for the first time cracks in the American Dream. (It was a national sensation when Pat asked Bill on camera for a divorce.) Of equal importance—certainly for the gay community—was the moment when eldest son Lance came out to his supportive family.
The series has never been repeated and isn't available on home video, although an episode featuring Lance and an update film were aired two years after his untimely death from AIDS in 2001. Now, HBO has taken the story of the Louds and turned it into a drama with the apt title Cinema Verite. Tim Robbins plays Bill, Diane Lane is Pat, James Gandolfini plays the series producer and Thomas Dekker, who recently starred in out writer-director Gregg Araki's Kaboom, plays Lance. The film, which wasn't available for review at press time, debuts on HBO Sunday, April 23, and promises a fascinating and enthralling trip down memory lane. See http://www.hbo.com/movies/cinema-verite.
—Tom Shadyac, director and producer of a batch of mainstream comedies (Ace Ventura, Nutty Professor, Bruce Almighty, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, etc.) was living the Hollywood dream writ large but after a biking accident left him with severe injuries he began to seriously reexamine his life. Film crew in tow, Shadyac sought out a batch of great minds to help him answer the questions "What's wrong with the world?" and "What can we do about it?" The result is I Am, a documentary that follows Shadyac on his quest. Although his self-deprecating demeanor and intentions are certainly winning, the often insightful responses from his subjects (everyone from Noam Chomsky to Archbishop Desmond Tutu) are eventually undercut and diluted as Shadyac's middlebrow filmmaking techniques (a series of montages of "inspirational" visuals set to "feel good" songs with the volume cranked up) take center stage. The film opens exclusively Friday, April 22, at the Landmark Century Centre Cinema. See www.iamthedoc.com .
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