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

@ Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, 312/744-6630: International Dinner and A Movie - Taste of Cherry (Iranian cuisine served) - Mar. 18; M (German cuisine served) - Apr. 15; Rififi (French cuisine served) - May 20 & 21.

@ DOC Films @ U of C/Max Palevsky Cinema, 1212 E. 59th St, 773/702.8574: Queer Heroes - I'm The One That I Want - March 13.

In theaters -

Bringing Down The House (Touchstone): I didn't think it was possible, but openly gay director Adam Shankman's new movie is actually worse than his previous two. That's a hard track record to beat, considering that the two movies are the insipid Jennifer Lopez vehicle The Wedding Planner and the Christian morality tale A Walk To Remember with Mandy Moore. Sorely lacking in laughs, this pseudo-comedy begins with a legal chatroom conversation between divorced dad Peter (Steve Martin), screen-name Legaleagle, and single and available Charlene (Queen Latifah), screen-name Lawyer-girl. After a face-to-face meeting is arranged, Peter discovers that Charlene, an escaped convict on the lam, isn't who he thought she is, which leads to some of the most degrading and unpleasant racial humor I've seen onscreen since The Guru. Everyone gets into the act, including Peter's racist neighbor Mrs. Kline (Betty White), his racist heiress client Mrs. Arness (Joan Plowright), his hateful ex-sister-in-law Ashley (Missi Pyle) and his horny fellow attorney Howie (Eugene Levy), to name a few. There are even a couple of anti-gay slurs, including one uttered by Mrs. Kline to Peter's young son Georgey, who tells the kid that his haircut makes him look like a faggot. Bringing Down The House barely raises the roof. (D-)

On TV:

HBO—Normal: Jane Anderson, who directed the award-winning '1961' segment of If These Walls Could Talk 2, directed this film adaptation of her play Looking For Normal about an observant Illinois man's transgender journey to become the woman he was born to be. When devoted and deeply in love husband Roy (Tom Wilkinson), faints during the party celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary with his wife Erma (Jessica Lange), it is cause for alarm. Doctors can't find anything wrong with him, but Roy knows what is eating it at him. While he and Erma meet with their pastor Rev. Muncie (Randall Arney), he reveals to them that he knows he 'was born in the wrong body. I'm a woman. I've known it all my life.' This declaration sets off a chain reaction that causes Erma to throw Roy out of the house, stating that 'there's no way you could be a woman. Only a man could be this selfish.' Normal explores the dramatic effects that Roy's admission and subsequent steps toward gender-reassignment has on his family, including his teenage daughter Patty Ann (Hayden Panettiere), who is also in the process of becoming a woman, his grown son Wayne (Joe Sikora), and the people he works with at the plant, including his boss Frank (Clancy Brown). Roy's story is told with sensitivity and humor. The performances are first-rate, and watching all of the transformations, including Erma's and Wayne's, along with Roy's is akin to watching a garden bloom through time-lapse photography. (B+) - Mar. 16

Sundance Channel highlights (check local listings for times) - Anatomy of a Scene: Prozac Nation - Erik Skjoldbjaerg's film version of the Elizabeth Wurtzel memoir stars Christina Ricci, Jessica Lange, Jason Biggs and Anne 'Just Visiting This Planet' Heche - Mar. 16, 20 & 22; Down and Out in L.A. series: The Fluffer - Mar. 12; Breathless - Mar. 13; Gods and Monsters - Mar. 15.

On video:

@ Video Data Bank (SAIC, 112 S. Michigan Av, 3rd Floor, Chicago) - 312/345-3550. Since 1976, the Video Data Bank has been the 'leading resource in the United States for videotapes by and about contemporary artists.' Tapes may be previewed, rented or purchased after a VDB Quote Form is filled out (www.vdb.org). Work by several video artists from the LGBT community can be accessed at the Video Data Bank. Third Known Nest is a compilation of videos, from 1991 through 1999, by Tom Kalin (director of Swoon). Tomboychik is a video by Sandi Dubowski, acclaimed director of the documentary Trembling Before G-d. In this 1993 video, Dubowski turns his camera on his grandmother, who tells him that he'd 'be beautiful as a girl' while they are trying on wigs. His grandmother tells him that she was one of the boys when she was younger and did what the boys did, including fighting and jumping. At one point she declares herself a 'boy/girl.'