Limited runs and special events:
@ Butler Field/Grant Park, Lake Shore Drive and Monroe: Chicago Outdoor Film Festival -; Only Angels Have Wings - Aug.12; Pillow Talk - Aug. 19; Rear Window - Aug. 26
@ Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State, (312) 846-2600: Black Harvest International Film and Video Festival features include:
Double feature: Of Men And Gods (Des Hommes Et Des Dieux)—Directed by Anne Lescot and Laurence Magloire, this Beta SP short looks at the 'daily lives of openly gay Haitian men, and their relationship to a vodou belief that gay men have been singled out by a goddess as 'children of the gods' although homosexuality is still taboo in their society.'
A Red Ribbon Around My House, also a Beta SP short feature, is described as 'a rousing and joyful portrait of a flamboyant South African AIDS activist' called Pinky, 'a middle-aged, middle-class wife and mother,' who 'publicizes her HIV-positive status and embarks on a personal educational campaign despite the acute shame of her family.' - Aug. 8 & 11
Sisters In Cinema - African-American lesbian filmmaker Yvonne Welbon's documentary about her search for 'sisters in cinema' (other Black women directors), in which she unearths 'neglected colleagues, from forgotten figures like race-movie pioneer Tressie Souders to more recent talents such as Cauleen Smith, Bridgett M. Davis, Alison Swan, and Vanessa Middleton.' Aug. 8 & 12
If I Wuz Yo Gyrl - Chicago filmmaker Coquie Hughes directed this Mini-DV video that explores the controversial and somewhat taboo subject of domestic violence within 'the world of women who partner with women.' Starring Gisla Stringer, Erica Bond, Markietha Singleton and Dayna Guest, If I Wuz Yo Gyrl focuses on 'two interrelated couples: an emotionally cold attorney and her much younger 'girl toy,' and an aggressive butch lesbian and her longtime victim.' - Aug. 10 & 12
The Irreplaceable Katharine Hepburn features films by the late actress such as Adam's Rib - Aug. 10 & 14, Long Day's Journey Into Night - Aug. 16 & 19, Summertime - Aug. 23 & 26, The Philadelphia Story - Aug. 29 & 31, and Stage Door - Aug. 30 and Sept. 1
In theaters:
Camp (IFC Films) - What Fame did for performing arts high schools, Camp is destined to do for performing arts summer camps. A crew of mostly lovable theater jocks board a bus and are whisked off to Camp Ovation, a land where they can sing show tunes and be themselves. Among the campers you will find 'honest to god straight' but flirty OCD stud Vlad (Daniel Letterle), virginal but ready Ellen (Joanna Chilcoat), high school drag queen Michael (the openly bisexual Robin de Jesus), big-boned belter Jenna (Tiffany Taylor), deserving diva Dee (Sasha Allen), camp tramp Jill (Alana Allen), and borderline All About Eve psycho Fritzie (Anna Kendrick), among others. While at Camp Ovation, in between classes, auditions, rehearsals and productions, crushes happen, hearts are broken and spirits are trampled, then lifted. Even an adult, such as once-successful playwright Bert Hanley (singer/songwriter and record producer Don Dixon), who now drowns his failure in alcohol, can be transformed at Camp Ovation. Sweet as s'mores and warm as a campfire, Camp can occasionally be as annoying as a mosquito (the unrequited sexual tension between Michael and Vlad), but on the whole it is very entertaining. Watch for musical theater legend Stephen Sondheim's appearance. (B+)
Seabiscuit (Universal/Dreamworks) - Basically a story of comebacks, Seabiscuit is based on a true story and was adapted for the screen and directed by Gary (Pleasantville) Ross. Three men—self-made business millionaire Charles Howard (Jeff Bridges), down on his luck boxer turned jockey Johnny 'Red' Pollard (Tobey Maguire), and 'crackpot' horse trainer Tom Smith (Chris Cooper)—from disparate backgrounds come together to form an unusual triumvirate, resulting in one of the great legends of the horse-racing world.
A near-epic period piece, when Seabiscuit keeps its focus on the main characters, including the titular horse, it is a moving and uplifting story about beating the odds. However, the parallels that the movie attempts to draw between America's post-depression revival and the success of the trio is more than a little heavy-handed.
Gigli (Columbia)—Real-life lovers Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez play contracted thugs Larry Gigli ('rhymes with really') and Ricki ('not her real name'), respectively, in this bland, chemistry-less semi-romantic comedy, written and directed by Martin (Scent Of A Woman) Brest. Gigli, who has a reputation as a screw-up, works for Louis (Lenny Venito) collecting debts and doing odd jobs. One of Louis's clients, Starkman (Al Pacino, in scenery devouring mode), is being investigated by the government, and Larry hires Gigli to kidnap Brian (Justin Bartha), the brain-damaged younger brother of the federal prosecutor assigned to Starkman's case. To ensure that he doesn't mess up, Louis also hires Ricki to help Gigli. Gigli, who fancies himself a ladies man, is rejected by Chinese philosopher-reading and yoga-practicing Ricki, who tells him that she is a lesbian. Even if she was straight, it would be hard to imagine Ricki being attracted to the greasy Gigli. In fact, in the brief scenes in which Ricki's distraught and estranged girlfriend Robin (Missy Crider) appear, the two women have more genuine emotional connection than any of the romantic scenes between Ricki and Gigli. Other supporting characters, including bizarre police detective Jacobellis (Christopher Walken) and Gigli's mother (Lainie Kazan), as well as the aforementioned Robin, successively pull the focus of the movie away from the lead characters in their brief time on-screen. MOVIE SPOILER (don't read on if you plan to see this movie): The pivotal point of the movie seems to be whether or not Ricki will have sex with Gigli. She does. However, she still maintains her lesbian identity and, although the pair ride off together in Gigli's 1966 Impala convertible, she makes it clear that it doesn't mean that she has gone straight. (C-)
O Fantasma (Picture This!) - Young and strikingly handsome Sergio (Ricardo Meneses) is a sexual compulsive who, driven by his animal desires, eventually hits rock bottom. Working on the night shift as a garbage collector in Lisbon, Sergio seeks out anonymous gay sex in public restrooms, in cars and various settings. The only other being with whom Sergio has any kind of connection is a dog named Lorde, and there are times when Sergio's behavior, including licking faces, sniffing garbage, tearing at things with his teeth, growling and whimpering, not to mention his endless 'humping,' acts more like a dog than a person. However, when he stumbles across a sexy swimmer and motorcycle enthusiast, Sergio finds a focus for his desires, only to have them unreciprocated. This rejection leads Sergio, dressed in head-to-toe black latex, into a bottomless downward spiral. Sexually explicit and both visually and psychologically dark, O Fantasma is as haunting and nearly as inexplicable as an apparition. In Portuguese with English subtitles. (C)
On TV:
Starz! (premieres Aug. 2 - check local listings for times) - Unconditional Love (Starz! Pictures/New Line Cinema): Middle-aged Midwestern housewife Grace (Kathy Bates), lives for the gushy, romantic songs of British crooner Victor Fox (Jonathan Pryce), who is known as 'the Lark from Lark.' (C-)
