( Kinsey ) Six down and two to go. Having already delighted thousands with films, filmmakers and celebrity guests, the 33rd Reeling Film Festival gets ready to wind up without winding down.
The opening night screening of Fourth Man Out was a huge success. "The audience loved the movie," said Brenda Webb, the festival's features co-programmer who also serves as executive director of Chicago Filmmakers. "The producers commented onstage that the Reeling audience gave the film the most laughs they've heard to date. We were delighted with the reception. It set a great tone for a week of fantastic LGBTQ movies to come."
Here are my thoughts on the final eight films. You can still read expanded versions of these and 15 other festival reviews at www.windycitymediagroup.com .
Visit the festival's online headquarters at reelingfilmfestival.org .
Wed., Sept. 23
In the Turn ( ** ˝ ), 6:45 p.m.
Erica Tremblay's documentary about a ten-year-old transgender girl being empowered by a queer roller derby collective, the Vagine Regime, is so inspiring I wanted to love it; but its episodic structure is off-putting and despite being about roller derby, it shows very little of the sport.
Beautiful Something ( ** 1/2 ), 7 p.m.
A throwback to gay ghettoization, Beautiful Something is set in a nighttime world of men looking for love and finding sex. After two hot sex scenes to get your attention, it's mostly talk, with everyone overacting ( mostly well ) except Zack Ryan, who stands out for his natural performance.
Two 4 One ( *** ), 9:15 p.m.
The old "pregnant man" premise is no longer a fantasy. Canadian filmmaker Maureen Bradley blends seriousness and humor in the right amounts as Adam, who used to be Melanie, gets pregnant while helping Miriam, his former lesbian lover, artificially inseminate herself. Bradley makes you laugh, cry and believe it.
Like You Mean It ( ** ˝ ), 9:30 p.m.
It could have been an excellent study of a gay relationship in crisis, but writer-director-star Philipp Karner made it a vanity project, all about his character while short-changing his more sympathetic partner, played by Denver Milord. Their scenes togetherthe film's bestsuggest what it might have been.
Thursday, Sept. 24
Stuff ( *** ), 7 p.m.
I'm not a big soap-opera fan but Stuff happens to be a good one. After 14 years together, Deb ( Yvonne Jung ) and her wife Trish ( Karen Sillas ) are drifting apart. Deb drifts toward Jamie ( Traci Dinwiddie ), a hot tattoo artist. Solid acting overcomes minor weaknesses in the screenplay.
That's Not Us ( ** ), 7:15 p.m.
A lesbian couple, a gay couple and a straight couple share a beach cottage near Manhattan, each with a problem to work out during the weekend, in a largely improvised, largely dull drama. The title is misleading. The aim is to attract multiple demographics and make them say, "That's us!"
Hush Up Sweet Charlotte ( * ˝ ), 9:15 p.m.
Billy Clift's follow-up to "Baby Jane?" is a far less successful drag spoof, again featuring Matthew Martin in the Bette Davis part. This one's less spoof than remakewith men in the leading female roles; a bad melodrama that's rarely even amusing, once you get over the initial giggles.
Death in Buenos Aires ( *** ), 9:30 p.m.
You're never sure what to believe, including your own eyes, in this intriguing police procedural. Inspector Demian Bichir heads the investigation of the murder of a gay man from a wealthy family. Rookie Chino Darin gets himself assigned to the case. The twists are both intelligent and hot.