by Gregg Shapiro
Barenaked in America ( Shooting Gallery ) : While they are probably not signs of the apocalypse, the return of the comedy concert film and rockumemtary do give a person cause to think about why these genres are gaining popularity again. Canadian-born actor Jason Priestly directed this better than average documentary about the all-male Canadian band Barenaked Ladies, and their 1998 STUNT concert tour which was, by far, their largest and most far-reaching. Original band members Steven Page, Ed Robertson, Tyler Stewart and Jim Creeggan, along with newer band members Kevin Hearn and Chris Brown ( who took over for Hearn after he was stricken with leukemia ) are interviewed and offer revealing, and often amusing, peaks into what makes Barenaked Ladies such a crowd-pleasing musical group. Other interviews were conducted with tour managers, tour-bus drivers, and road managers. Celebrities such as Jon Stewart ( no relation to drummer Tyler Stewart ) , Jeff Goldblum, Conan O'Brien, Andy Richter and even director Priestly also appear in the movie, but their presence has little to do with the band's credibility. Whether or not you are a fan of Barenaked Ladies, this is a very entertaining entry in the rock band documentary category, and is being released in time to cash in on the buzz regarding the band's latest album Maroon. FYI, openly gay singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright opened for Barenaked Ladies on a few of the dates during the STUNT tour. On a scale of 1 to 10: 7.5 ( Wide release 9.29 )
Woman On Top ( Fox Searchlight ) —"Once upon a time in the land of Bossa Nova" Isabella ( Penelope Cruz ) was born with the curse of motion sickness and a gift for cooking. Isabella was such a good cook that she could "melt the hearts and palettes of men" and thus she fell in love with Toninho ( the sexy Murilo Benicio ) , who put her to work in the kitchen of his restaurant where he charmed the patrons in the dining room. While Penelope slept, he seduced other women, until one night when she caught him and left him. Penelope departed for San Francisco to reconnect with childhood friend Monica ( Harold Perrineau Jr. as a very convincing drag queen ) and start anew. Of course, Penelope's cooking skills had all the straight men in San Francisco ( and there appears to be quite a few ) lusting after her, including TV producer Cliff Lloyd ( Mark Feuerstein ) , who gave Isabella her own cooking show and made her a star. Meanwhile, Toninho, who couldn't live without Isabella, discovered her whereabouts and sought her out in San Francisco. Director Fina Torres' savory cinematic concoction plays like Like Water For Chocolate directed by Pedro Almodovar. She respects the gayness of San Francisco, Latin passion, mysticism, and comedy, allowing the ingredients to fill the screen and the theater like a mingling of the aromas of sex and soup simmering on the stove. On a scale of 1 to 10: 7.5
ON TV
The Cream Will Rise ( First Fleet ) : It's hard to believe that singer/songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins would want anyone to see this very revealing documentary about her career and personal life, but here it is in black and white. Director Gigi Gaston's grainy film footage features both live performance and shocking interview footage. An out lesbian, Hawkins is perhaps best known for her hit singles "Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover" and "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep." Anyone familiar with Hawkins music or stage identity only knows a very small facet of her personality. We get to know Hawkins better than we ever wanted to in this unflinching expose of her life. The scenes between Hawkins and her mother are the most troubling. It is here that this documentary airs all of Hawkins dirty laundry, including the fact that she was molested as a young girl, which is the source of her estranged relationship with her mother. This painful portrait may only be meant for the eyes of die-hard fans, and even they might consider that they have been given too much information.
On a scale of 1 to 10: 5.5 ( On The Sundance Channel
Girlfight
by Lawrence Ferber
Watching girls kick ass can be fun, which is why the opening scene in Girlfight is so tasty. Toughie teen Diana ( Michelle Rodriguez ) faces off with a lyin' cheatin' skanky ho'—who backstabbed her best friend—in the girl's bathroom at school. It's just one of many scuffles Diana's picked in the past year. However, she soon learns to funnel her aggressions into the boxing ring, and from there Girlfight deteriorates into a drab, all-too-straight indie.
It all starts when Diana visits her scrawny, and dare I note nelly little brother Tiny ( Ray Santiago ) at the dingy neighborhood gym where he takes boxing lessons. That isn't necessarily his choice—it's dad's ( Paul Calderon ) . And soon Diana relizes SHE should be the one donning gloves and bouncing around. So after breaking down the gym's outdated code of misogyny, she clandestinely takes lessons herself, filching dad's money and hawking heirlooms to pay for them, and pissing off Tiny in the process. But with help from her increasingly father-like trainer Hector ( Jaime Tirelli ) and romance with fellow boxer Adrian ( Santiago Douglas ) , Diana proves this girl can put up a fight in any ring she wants.
What could be a fictionalized companion piece to the documentary Shadow Boxers, Girlfight examines what leads one young woman to the ring. Yet its flaw is feeling fictional. Delusional, even. Writer/director Karyn Kusama conceived of a character who is SUCH A DYKE. I mean, Diana just reeks of dykedom, and I'm not simply caving in to stereotypes here—I've seen Shadow Boxers, you know? And her romance with a potential contender is beyond contrived, in fact I saw it coming six blocks before reaching the screening room's entrance. If you're gonna be con
Kudos where they're due, meanwhile: cougar-like, Rodriguez is fierce ( and hot ) . God bless the fey, gentle ( and hot ) Santiago, whose Tiny should've been as fagged up as Rodriquez' Diana is dyked-down. And Calderon, who played a twisted fag in Q&A some years back, is suitably restrained as Diana's surprisingly non-cliché, troubled father. A promising first round for Kusama. But ah, you coulda been a contender!
Gay director helms URBAN LEGENDS 2
by Tim Nasson
"Things do not always happen as you plan them," says openly gay director, John Ottman, of his Urban Legends 2: Final Cut.
While at school, Ottman always figured that he would be a director. In fact, while at University of Southern California, he majored in directing. "I met Bryan Singer at school," he says [ Singer also happens to be openly gay ] . "We worked on some films together in school and became friends."
Of course, as we all know, Singer majored in directing and went on to direct The Usual Suspects, Apt Pupil, and this summer's X-Men.
"Since I had worked with and became friends with Bryan in college," says Ottman, "we became comfortable enough with each other to be able to work together once we were out of school. I edited and did the scores for both Apt Pupil and Usual Suspects."
Securing Urban Legends 2 as his directorial debut was bittersweet for Ottman. "I always had visions of directing an art film. Not a big studio film such as Urban Legends 2 which came in at around $15 million. While the film is more 'thriller' than 'slasher,' I think that this sequel is more sophisticated than the original. I tried to take the high road. The film has lots of humor in it, too. People are either going to completely embrace that, or they're going to be shocked by it."
With Urban Legends 2 Ottman gets to direct a pretty, new cast of young kids, save for teenage heartthrob of the last decade, Joey Lawrence, who now goes by the name Joseph Lawrence.
"Working with these kids was a lot of fun. They were very talented. They were all completely perfect for their roles and bring a unique freshness to the movie because they are all newcomers," says the 36-year-old Ottman. One of the characters, Vanessa ( Eve Mendes ) , plays a lesbian. "Eve played the token lesbian, and at first was supposed to get killed off a lot sooner. We expanded her role because she was so great at itr," he explains.
Directing the sequel to a very successful Urban Legends proved enjoyable yet challenging for Ottman. "Urban Legends was one of Columbia Pictures' top-five grossing films in 1998," says Ottman. "The first one used lots of great urband legends and we wanted to top that. Instead of making a rehash we made a movie that hopefully the original audience and new ones will both enjoy."
Thus was born the concept of a movie-within-a movie. One of the many scenes to keep your eyes open for is the one with Trevor/Travis played by the devastatingly gorgeous Matt Davis. He is in bed with lead character Amy, played by Jennifer Morrison. She had a no nudity clause in her contract. He did not.
"I am very comfortable with my sexuality," says Ottman. "I don't flaunt it. Three weeks into the shoot I was having luch with Eve who plays the lesbian and for one reason or another the subject of my sexuality came up and she was very surprised. She actually thought it was cool that I was gay."
Ottman goes on to explain that he felt very lonely on the set of Urban Legends 2. "There I was, with over 70 cast and crew members and I was the only gay person. After a while everyone working with me started to feel bad that I there was no one for me to meet."
I asked Ottman what he did for fun, since he lives right in the heart of the gay Hollywood mecca. "To tell you the truth, I don't dance and don't really like the music they play at clubs. And when I do happen to go, which is not very often, I don't meet anyone because I exhude such awkwardness. I am not the night club type. I hold my drink way too high. What I enjoy doing most is sneaking into a corner of a coffeehouse with a friend to play 'Scrabble,' or go to dinner or play miniature golf."
Are you single? I asked. "I am hopelessly single,"Ottman replies. "Find me a boyfriend."
