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

@ Facets Multi-Media, 1517 W Fullerton, (800) 532-2387: Chicago International Children's Film Festival – Oct. 23 – Nov. 2

@ Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State, (312) 846-2600: Theater series featuring the 1973 adaptations of plays into movies: The Maids – Oct. 24, 27, 28; The Man In The Glass Booth – Oct. 24, 27; The Iceman Cometh – Oct. 25, 29, Nov. 5; In Celebration – Oct. 26, 28, 30; Nina Simone, Love Sorceress – Oct. 31, Nov. 3

@ Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State, (312) 747-4050: Regret To Inform – Oct. 25

In theaters:

Pieces Of April (Indigent/IFC): Peter Hedges, who wrote the screenplays for What's Eating Gilbert Grape and About A Boy, wrote and directed Pieces Of April, an amusing and moving digital video feature that takes place on Thanksgiving. April (Katie Holmes) is the eldest daughter of Joy (the remarkable Patricia Clarkson of Far From Heaven and High Art) and Jim (Oliver Platt). She has been a constant source of disappointment to her parents, but she wants to make it up to them by inviting them, her brother, sister and grandmother to her Lower East Side apartment for Thanksgiving dinner. The holiday is made even more poignant when it becomes clear that Joy, who has breast cancer, may not be around for another Thanksgiving dinner. After April's boyfriend Bobby (Derek Luke) leaves to buy a suit at the 'retail store' where his friend Latrell (Sisqo) works (to Bobby's chagrin, it turns out to be a Salvation Army Thrift Store), she discovers that her oven doesn't work. April then tries to find a neighbor's oven that she can borrow. On her quest she meets Evette (Tony-award winning actress Lillias White) and Eugene (Isiah Whitlock, Jr), who are able to offer her their oven and cooking expertise for a couple of hours. Later, she meets shirt, tie, vest and watch-fob wearing asexual Wayne (Sean Hayes), who has a pug and a self-cleaning convection oven. This discovery is short-lived, when she insults Wayne and is left with a partially cooked turkey. She overcomes a language barrier and is able to finish cooking in her Chinese neighbors' oven. Meanwhile, her family is living through their own comedies and dramas on the drive into the city. The pieces of Pieces Of April come together beautifully by the end of the film, all of which is due to Hedges's sensitive script and the terrific cast. (B+)

Veronica Guerin (Touchstone) – Based on a true story, out gay director Joel Schumacher directs acclaimed actress Cate Blanchett in her latest award-worthy performance as the late Irish journalist Veronica Guerin. Guerin, a writer for the Sunday Independent with a bad driving record, began writing about the serious drug problem in Ireland in 1994. Disgusted by the sight of streets littered with used syringes and underage kids doing business for the pushers, Guerin put herself and her family in jeopardy with her research into drug-related murders, which led her to coming face to face with the ruthless and frightening drug lord John Gilligan (Gerard McSorley) and his gang of thugs. Political and powerful, Guerin falls short of being perfect, but Blanchett is as riveting as ever. (B)

On DVD:

Coming Out Party (Creative Light Entertainment): Released to coincide with National Coming Out Day 2003, Coming Out Party is less a party than it is a casual gathering. Seven comedians take turns sharing the sometimes humorous, sometimes touching stories of their coming-out experiences in front of a live audience, filmed at Gotham Hall in Santa Monica, Calif. Rene Hicks takes the stage in roller skates, which she describes as the perfect analogy for coming out. As the African-American daughter of a Pentecostal minister, Hicks talks about her theory about gays in biblical times, about coming out in the late '70s, and how her love of the roller derby (which she says is 'almost completely gay') helped her to come out. She also talks about her nosy neighbors and how she considered converting to Judaism, so that she could contact the KKK to let them know that she had completed their trifecta of intolerance. John Riggi, who works in the TV industry, surrounded by straight men, finds humor in his employment situation, via various stories about Prada shirts and shaved pubic hair. Riggi's story of coming out to mother, who was born in Italy, ends up being more touching than funny. Bob Smith's 'carefully worded' coming out announcement at Thanksgiving ('would you please pass the gravy to a homosexual?') is still as funny as the first time I heard it. Smith also makes humorous observations about Pride parades, rainbow paraphernalia, gay wedding announcements in The New York Times, Provincetown, PFLAG moms and gay and lesbian math problems. Dan Renzi, best known from his season as the openly gay cast member on MTV's The Real World, comes out dancing, literally, in tap shoes. While his parents wore 'blinders' in regards to his sexuality, Renzi admits to being fascinated by watching his next door neighbor, in Kansas, mow the lawn. Renzi ends his segment with a story about his high school prom and a guy named Bob. Jackie Beat, in man drag, regales the audience with stories about his parents' gay best friends and how he waited for hours in front of the TV as a child for a glimpse of a shirtless Erik Estrada, Tony Danza or one of the Dukes Of Hazard. Beat also speaks of his denial of his sexuality, declaring that he was 'new wave, not gay.' Sabrina Matthews came out to her mother after having her heart broken. Terry Sweeney, of Saturday Night Live fame, rails against growing up gay in the '60s, then revels in being gay in NYC during the '70s.

Friends And Family (Wolfe Video/Regent Entertainment): Friends And Family, which marks the directorial debut of Kristen Coury, is an unexpectedly funny and mildly inoffensive Mafia comedy about a handsome pair of gay hit men. Gay male lovers Stephen (model-handsome Greg Lauren, nephew of Ralph Lauren) and Danny (Christopher Gartin) are employed by NYC mob boss Victor Patrizzi (Tony LoBianco), but their parents believe they own and operate a catering business. When both sets of parents (including Kissing Jessica Stein's Tovah Feldshuh as Danny's Midwestern-militia-mama Alma) decide to visit their sons in New York at the same time, Don Patrizzi comes to the aid of the unambiguously gay duo to create a hilarious illusion. A sub-plot, involving the Don's daughter and her fiancé (Circuit's Brian Lane Green) also provides a family-style portion of laughter. Friends And Family made me laugh out loud on more than one occasion, which is a comedic offer that's hard to refuse. The DVD includes the original trailer, outtakes and commentary. In stores Oct. 21. (B)

On TV:

here! Pay-Per-View (now available): Sordid Lives; Food Of Love; Circuit; The Brotherhood (airdate: Oct. 31); Voodoo Academy; When Boys Fly (coming soon); The Business of Fancy Dancing (coming soon). Sundance Channel (check local listings for times) – E Minha Cara / That's My Face - Oct. 25, 30; Fire - Oct. 25, 30; My Beautiful Laundrette – Oct. 22, 28; Get Real – Oct. 22, 28; Aimee & Jaguar – Oct. 24, 30.

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