Limited runs and special events:
2nd Annual Chicago Palestine Film Festival, www.palestinefilmfest.com: - Apr. 17 - 25
19th Annual Chicago Latino Film Festival, 312/344-8252, www.latinoculturalcenter.org:
@ 3 Penny Cinema - 2424 N Lincoln:
Chico and Doña Barbara - Apr.16
@ Biograph Theater - 2433 N Lincoln:
Herencia, Viva voz / Speaker Phone, Habitos sucios, Historia de un beso, Rosarigasinos / Rodrigo Grande, Tres noches de un sábado - Apr. 16
@ Facets Multimedia - 1517 W Fullerton:
Oscar Alemán - vida con swing / Oscar Alemán- A Swinging Life and Urban poet - Apr. 16
@ Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State, 312/846-2600: Etoiles: Dancers Of The Paris Opera Ballet (Tout Pres Deseetoiles) - Nils Tavernier's 'real-life backstage drama' is 'laced with aching ambition, jealousy, and hope.' An exclusive view of the 'insular world of performing artists who have trained from earliest childhood toward one goal: to win a place in the most elite ballet company in the world.' - Apr. 18-24
@ Music Box Theater, 3733 N Southport, 773/871-6604: Sing-A-Long West Side Story - opens Apr. 18
In theaters:
Anger Management: After Jack Nicholson (About Schmidt) and Adam Sander (Punch Drunk Love) turned in two of the best performances of their individual careers in 2002, you might wonder what possessed them to get involved with a Peter (Tommy Boy, Nutty Professor II) Segal vehicle such as this. Because he suffered a public humiliation as a pre-adolescent (he was pantsed on a Brooklyn street corner while kissing a girl on whom he had a crush), mild-mannered, advertising man Dave (Sandler) has issues with public displays of affection. He also has trouble standing up for himself at work, and when he is wrongfully accused of assaulting a flight attendant, Judge Daniels (Lynn Thigpen) sentences Dave to an 'anger management' course. The course is taught by Buddy (Jack Nicholson) the man he sat next to on the plane. Buddy's group session is populated with the usual assortment of zany characters including raging Chuck (John Turturro), gay Lou (Luis Guzman), and porn stars/lesbian lovers Gina (January Jones) and Stacy (Krista Allen). During the course of his 'cure,' Buddy appears to be jeopardizing Dave's relationship with girlfriend Linda (Marisa Tomei), helps Dave get in touch with his internalized homophobia by introducing him to transvestite hooker Galaxia (Woody Harrelson), and allows him the opportunity to confront childhood bully Arnie (John C. Reilly) who is now a Buddhist monk. Penis-size jokes and queer characters abound, but that is not meant to be taken as a recommendation, because jokes that fall flat are also in abundance. It's a shame that this had to be beloved character actress Thigpen's last movie. (C-)
Spun (Newmarket): A near-lethal blend of Drugstore Cowboy and Requiem For A Dream, Spun is the tweaked-out feature-length debut by Jonas Akerlund. 'Based on the truth and lies,' the hip young cast (Jason Schwartzman, Mena Suvari, Brittany Murphy, Patrick Fugit) snorts, twitches and grinds its way through this methamphetamine fueled movie in which Deborah Harry plays a lesbian phone sex operator, Eric Roberts plays a gay man who supplies crystal chemist Mickey Rourke with his cooking supplies, heavy metal homo Rob Halford plays a gay porn store clerk, and gay actor Alexis Arquette plays a crystal meth snorting cop on a reality TV show. Funny and frightening, Spun is sure to make you dizzy, and may send a few audience members running to rehab. (B-)
On DVD and VHS:
Just Can't Get Enough (Wolfe Video): I had seen more than enough five minutes into this wretched dramatization of the story of the Chippendales dancers. Not even the prospect of seeing Jonathan Aube (as Chad, the face that launched a thousand or more Chippendales calendars) or John Paul Pitoc (Mark from the movie Trick) wearing next-to-nothing was enough to validate this insufferable piece of junk. (D-)
Lan Yu (Strand Releasing): With the student protests in Tiananmen Square as the backdrop, Stanley Kwan's complex and groundbreaking gay love story, Lan Yu, set in Beijing in the late 1980s is a welcome addition to the growing canon of gay cinema. Architecture student Lan Yu (Ye Liu) is in need of money having moved to the big city to go to college. He meets wealthy businessman Chen Handong (Jun Hu), who offers him money in exchange for sex. Four months later Lan Yu and Handong meet again while Lan Yu is on break, and they resume their relationship. While Handong struggles with his feelings, he lavishes the younger man with gifts. Their relationship survives a few rough spots, including Handong's infidelities and his marriage to a woman. When Handong finds himself in trouble with the law because of shady business dealings, it is Lan Yu who comes to his rescue. However, just as the couple is about to settle into a domestic life (which is, surprisingly, accepted by friends and family), tragedy strikes. The disappointing end aside, Lan Yu is a revolutionary film that deserves to be seen. (B)
On TV:
Cinemax: Kissing Jessica Stein (Fox Searchlight): If Woody Allen was a bisexual woman, and several years younger, he might have made the movie Kissing Jessica Stein, the first queer-themed film that deserves to be compared to Annie Hall. Authentically funny, exceptionally well-acted and with dialogue written the way that people actually talk, this good-natured comedy successfully covers a multitude of bases without overextending its reach. (A) - Apr. 20, 26, 30
PBS - In The Life: Hosted by E. Lynn Harris, the April edition of the acclaimed LGBT newsmagazine series begins with a segment on groups that mobilized homosexuals in the post-World War II world, including the Mattachine Society and Daughters of Bilitis, as well as the post-Stonewall organizations that sprang up, such as Gay Liberation Front, Lesbian Feminist Liberation, Salsa-Soul Sisters, Gay Activist Alliance, and the eventual founding of The Center in NYC. Special guest Lesley Gore revisits the lesbian literature of pre-organized Greenwich Village, which features an interview with renowned novelist Ann Bannon, a.k.a. the 'Queen of Pulp.'
Mason Essif produced and narrated a story about the struggles between bar and business owners and condo residents in the Boystown stretch of Halsted Street in Chicago. Essif's piece includes interviews with B&B owner Shawn Smith, resident Rick Ingram, bar owner Mike Macharello, Ald. Helen Shiller, and Dan Foy of The Center on Halsted. The segment includes lots of footage of Halsted and the neighborhood, including the rainbow pylons, bars such as Sidetrack, Little Jim's and Manhole, and businesses such as The Ram and Batteries Not Included.
There are also pieces about activists battling the Christian Coalition in Maine, the big concentration of same-sex couples in Decatur, Ga. (called 'Dyke Acres'), the all-gay team of middle-aged athletes who competed in the Eco-Challenge in Fiji, and Harvey Fierstein's amusing bit about coming out of the stage door and into the dating game. - WTTW in Chicago, Channel 11, Apr. 20 (midnight)
Sundance Channel -
Happy Together (Cheun gwong tsa sit) - Apr. 16 The Rainbow - Apr. 17, 25, 29
Priest - Apr. 18, 23
I'm The One That I Want - Apr. 19, 22
L.I.E. - Apr. 20, 24
The Monkey's Mask - Apr. 22
The Brandon Teena Story - Apr. 22, 27
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