THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

As usual, Pride month is gay central—if you're looking at the cable line-up, that is. June brings us the return of HBO's sexy vampire series True Blood, with its hot male cast members and a slew of gay characters; Kathy Griffin's queer-friendly My Life on the D List ( featuring Bette Midler in the opening episode ) ; the revamped Project Runway; and a batch of gay-themed movies and specials on Here!, LOGO and other cable channels celebrating Our People. But gay pride at the Cineplex this summer? Not so much—though there are some major exceptions and some gay friendly pictures enroute.

A few of the summer's highlights:

June

The Proposal, a romantic comedy with Sandra Bullock hooking up with the previously mentioned hottie Ryan Reynolds and support from out actor Denis O'Hare, arrives June 10 while Cheri—a turn-of-the-century "cougar" romance drama in the Merchant-Ivory mold arriving here June 26—stars ethereal beauty Michelle Pfeiffer romanced by hunky Rupert Friend, looks luscious and includes Kathy Bates in the cast. Cutie-pie bad boy-in-training Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox return the same weekend for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen along with sexy Josh Duhamel and all those gay robots ( okay, maybe that's just my read … ) .

July

Public Enemies, the big-budget 1930s epic filmed in and around Chicago and starring Johnny Depp as outlaw John Dillinger kicks off the month with Billy Crudup as closeted, cross-dressing J. Edgar Hoover and Chandler Williams as his "housemate" Clyde Tolson in the supporting cast. No word yet on how Hoover's sexuality or his relationship with Tolson will be portrayed in the film ( if at all ) . Then, Borat creator Sacha Baron Cohen returns July 10 with another controversial "gotcha" comedy featuring his über gay fashionista character, Bruno. Already one of the most talked-about movies of the summer ( check out that sizzling trailer ) the finished film will hopefully help spark national discussion about homophobia. July 15 finally brings us the next to last installment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. But whether Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore's gay sexuality will be part of the plot remains under lock and key.

August

Doubt co-stars Meryl Streep and Amy Adams re-team in Nora Ephron's chick flick comedy Julie & Julia Aug. 7. Will Streep, who plays Julia Child in the film and has become an unlikely summer box-office champ ( thanks to Mamma Mia! and The Devil Wears Prada ) score again? That same day, hottie Channing Tatum stars in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, a good bet for those with a military fetish. On Aug. 14, gay writer-director Todd Graff, who wrote the delightful ( though unfairly overlooked ) Used People and sharply observed Camp returns with Bandslam, a sort of rock-and-roll High School Musical featuring Lisa Kudrow and a David Bowie cameo. Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee's highly anticipated Taking Woodstock with comedian Demetri Martin as Elliot Tiber—the gay man who made it possible for organizers to use his family's farm as the location for the historic Woodstock music festival, and came out in the process—arrives in Chicago Aug. 21.

Locally, the Music Box brings back by popular demand its Classic Matinee series with a monthlong tribute to the swashbuckling films of Errol Flynn in June and another devoted to Musicals and Comedies of the Depression Era including the sublime Easy Living, It Happened One Night, 42nd Street, and others from July 4-Aug. 9. The Chicago Outdoor Film Festival which takes place in Grant Park will be gay central this year with its delightful line-up of classics. It kicks off July 14 with 1950's Hollywood noir Sunset Boulevard and includes 1958's Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Paul Newman as closeted football player Brick moaning to wife Liz Taylor over his dead "best friend" Skipper; hilarious Judy Holliday in 1950's Born Yesterday; Anthony Perkins as sexually confused hotel keeper Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 masterpiece Psycho; and concludes with the much-loved 1983 cross-dressing comedy Tootsie. Duck Soup and Young Mr. Lincoln are also part of the lineup. And you read it here first: The lovely success of the Queer Cinema 101 film series at the Center on Halsted, put together by local gay film critics ( including yours truly ) is spawning a sequel, Queer Cinema 102, that ends the summer with a series featuring overlooked camp films ( and, boy, there are a lot of them ) . Stayed tuned for further details.

Keep your eyes peeled for Humpday, a "bromantic comedy" in which indie comedic favorite Mark Duplass ( The Puffy Chair ) and Josh Leonard play two straight, competitive best friends who dare each other into making a gay porn for an amateur porn festival and The Making of the Boys, a historical documentary about the play and film The Boys in the Band, America's first "openly gay" themed play and movie. Neither has announced Chicago theatrical dates.

Finally, what of the much anticipated Jim Carrey-Ewan MacGregor mostly true mega-gay prison romance comedy I Love You Phillip Morris? Shockingly passed over by distributors at this year's Sundance, the movie has recently been acquired by Consolidated Pictures who have announced a February 2010 release date—which provides something to look forward to next winter.

Check out my archived reviews at www.windycitytimes.com or www.knightatthemovies.com . Readers can leave feedback at the latter Web site.