Somewhat fatigued with low-budget gay independent films that mostly rely on supernaturally perfect male bodies to lure us in, I threw in my FAT GIRLS screener expecting to fall asleep or fast forward from gratuitous nudity scene to gratuitous nudity scene. I was mightily disappointed and absolutely engaged. This is a gritty, unforgiving look at authentically damaged and far from perfect real queers struggling through adolescence in some godforsaken corner of Evangelical Land. The film, which opens in New York on November 2 at the Quad Cinema and rolls out nationally through November, is billed a comedy--but it's the kind of comedy that relies on the mess that is our lives. If you can't laugh at yourself, you might have trouble laughing at this movie.

Obeying the spoiler rule, I will say that the movie is full of surprising and very funny and often time disturbing plot twists--again, pretty much like real life. And the ending will not surprise you. It will surprise you. It may offend you. It may please you--depending on your hold on reality as opposed to having a firm belief in traditional and absurd Hollywood endings.

But like much of this flic, the ending will stay with you for days as you ponder it's political correctness vs the way things really and oftentimes work in this imperfect place we call our lives.

What I loved about this film is the lack of romantic rubbish and the veneer of glamor. Adolescence is hard and it is exponentially harder for fat girls and chubby gay boys. Finally we have a movie where the gay boys aren't' pretty and the struggle is real. Go and see this movie. It's refreshing and exciting to see a queer movie that doesn't rely on prostitution, tragedy or abs to draw you in. And no happy endings, just the next step in figuring out the plan--whatever it is.

One warning, the movie's R rating is misleading. I can't quite figure out the reason for the R rating other than to conclude that just showing gay reality is enough to offend the homophobic jerks who rate movies. If Fat Girls had been an entirely straight take on the adolescent struggle it likely would have earned a PG-13. So don't go assuming that an R rating means full frontal or even the occasional moon. There is some discussion of penis but no one is kind enough to show any.

You can read much more of my raves and rants on gay cinema by clicking here.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the big gay movie that changed everything apparently changed nothing.

What a shocker! You remember Brokeback, don't you? Hollywood's first gay romance, written by a heterosexual, directed by a heterosexual, starring heterosexuals...I'm sorry, what was gay about it? Well, now, after two years of waiting for the Hollywood revolution, it turns out that it ain't coming. Kind of like ENDA and the Hate Crime Bill--lot's of talk but no action. Now that's gay! Read more here.

Of course, we can still be grateful to Brokeback Mountain for giving a homophobic America a new and even more fun way to disparage the queer community. Nothing says loser like gay Brokeback.

The greatest challenge associated with aging is not morbidity and mortality; it's novelty. More precisely it's the hunger for novelty, a hunger that grows increasingly difficult to satisfy. And when I was asked to review a new Logo film, Coffee Date, which premiered just this past Sunday, I found it very difficult to enjoy and report on the film with an open mind. How many times have I endured this particular story line? Coffee Date poses the prickly question: Can a heterosexual WASPy All-American hunk find love and companionship with a homosexual Latino stud sporting the perfect six-pack? It's the latest and trendy incarnation of the classic buddy movie merged with a social-consciousness raising unlikely romantic couple faced with top-of-mind social and political challenges.

Can rich Roman Catholic Bridget find love with poor Jewish Bernie? Can anal compulsive Felix survive life with Oscar the uber-slob? Can liberal Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy accept their snow white daughter's marriage to intensely African-American Sidney Poitier? Can straight All-American computer programmer Todd and steamy gay Latin lover hair stylist Kelly find love, friendship and sexual compatibility?

Having lived my entire adult life in big cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles and pretty much only traveling to New York City and back, I tend to be a bit naive when it comes to all the states nestled in between this country's two coasts. Accuse me of geographical prejudice, but, when I think of states like, say, Utah, I usually think they're places with homophobia oozing out of every single crack on every single sidewalk. While these states surely aren't as liberal as their blue counterparts, I am reminded time and again that it's not nearly as grim as I paint it out to be in my paranoid mind.

My friend Scott Heim, who is the author of Mysterious Skin (which was later adapted into a film by Gregg Araki and previously adapted for the stage by yours truly), just pointed out on his blog that a Salt Lake City library seems to be okay with gay.

When I finish all my work for the day, I sometimes reward myself by thinking about straight guys kissing. (C'mon, I know you do it too! Don't you? Don't you?!) As hot as it is to watch gay men lock lips, there's something about two straight men crossing traditional boundaries that gets my blood pumping.

Indie movies and even Hollywood flicks have had their share of man-on-man smooching when it comes to films with gay themes. But last night I was trying to remember all the (non-pornographic!) movies I had seen that featured straight male characters that shared a full-on mouth kiss. To my disappointment, I could only think of three films, which were all varying degrees of hotness and seemed to represent the spectrum of straight males kissing, good and bad.

I had fully intended to write a light, fluffy little piece today called "Celebrities Who Made Me Gay". Unfortunately, while skimming the Concerned Church-Ladies of America web site, I spotted a truly crazy article by Pat Boone. I'm drawn to crazy Christians, like a magpie to tin foil.

I liked Pat Boone when I was a kid. He seemed so sweet and caring, so hairless, so pretty, so polite. Budding lesbians love those qualities in a boy. Pat was the 1960's equivalent to the boy band member who is described as the "sweet one". The "sweet one", as you all know, is the one who eventually "comes out" on the cover of People Magazine. Of course, Pat's not gay, but we have other things in common. He played Ann-Margret's love interest in the movie State Fair. I played Ann-Margret's love interest in my head.



When Ann-Margret sang How Lovely To Be A Woman Like Me, in the movie Bye Bye Birdie, I really wanted to believe she meant "like me". She's wearing jeans, a sweater and a baseball cap, for god's sake! If I had ever heard one rumor about Ann-Margaret being a lesbian, I would have been the first comedian to come out on national television, and you would all be surfing my web site, aftersusan.com, right now. Ann-Margaret has always been hip. She dated Elvis, she sang a duet with Tina Turner and my favorite ... she was the kitten in the movie, Kitten With a Whip. What was I talking about? Oh ... Pat Boone.

Again, Pat Boone is not gay. Don't read anything into the fact that he hawks Merv Griffin albums on his website. Honestly, who knew Merv Griffin was gay? No one. If there was ever any doubt about Pat's sexuality or his sanity, he cleared it up by releasing an album in 1997 entitled, No More Mr. Nice Guy. Pat changed his "sweet one" image forever by doing bad covers of heavy metal songs and dressing in leather on the album cover. Yes, nothing says "straight" like a bare chest, a leather vest and jewelry. Somewhere out there is a gay art director who is still laughing his ass off.

After almost 2,000 years of religious wars, religious persecution and religion-driven genocide, Europe has at long last made religion subservient to human rights, reason and constitutional law. Modern European nations embrace religious freedom, atheism and everything in between, but mostly they do not allow any of it to inform or impede reason and the fruits of humanism and enlightenment. The rising tide of full equality for gay Europeans, protection from discrimination and persecution, and the increasing legalization of same sex marriage throughout Western Europe is the result. Much of the same can also be said for Canada, although Canada is still somewhat more subject to the American condition than our brethren across the pond.

On a hopeful note, the United States was late to ending slavery and women's suffrage, lagging behind in both to most of our European friends. So from that perspective, one can be hopeful when it comes to gay rights.

Ironically, America was partly founded by men and women fleeing religious persecution (at least that's the popular myth and mostly not true--even with regard to the Puritans) and yet today, unlike Europe, we live in a nation where law and culture is subservient to religious fundamentalism. We are as much like our Islamic enemies as we are like our European allies. Equality, the Constitutional right to pursue life, liberty and happiness and our right to love and form families is denied to us despite our Constitution and simply because of a fundamentalist and profoundly childish view of the Bible.

Although I made a personal vow to not subject QueerSighted's regular readers to more High School Musical madness, the phenomenon has just jumped back into my consciousness because the Los Angeles dates of the national touring stage version of HSM have been announced (December 12 to 23, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre, with plenty of dates in other cities). Now, this stage production is not to be confused with the High School Musical concert tour or the High School Musical ice show or the High School Musical cult indoctrination. (Okay, I don't think that last event exists, but it might as well.) This is a huge stage musical with professional actors, a new book, and extra songs added. Oh, yeah, and it's gayer than the movie.



As you may remember, I mentioned that there are plenty of hints in the HSM movies about how the character of Ryan Evans is gay. The angry tweens who left vitriolic comments to my guest post about the HSM sequel were appalled that I would suggest such a thing, and they (understandably) did not know what I meant when I used the word "pitcher."

I had heard that the stage version of HSM was less coy about Ryan Evans's homosexuality. And legitimate news sources have confirmed that this is true, which makes the prospect of spending my hard-earned AOL cash to go see the stage show seem far more enticing.

Immodestly denying his well-earned place in the pantheon of gay icons, Adam Sandler has been promoting the international release of Chuck & Larry with claims that he's ready to fight for gay rights. We haven't had a gay icon champion of this stature since...well...since He-Man!

Last night he told the Mexico City media that he would like to work alongside gay-rights groups after starring in this year's "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry." He then upchucked 35 body shots of Jose Cuervo.

In Mexico with co-star Kevin James to promote the film's opening in theaters here, Sandler told a news conference: "If I can help anybody in any way, I certainly would."

But AP reports that the 41-year-old comedian stopped short of calling himself a potential gay icon.

"I don't think that's gonna happen, dude, certainly not," Sandler said. "If I was a gay man, I wouldn't want me to represent" the gay community.

Are you sure about that Adam? Such humility! The gay community is desperate for a guy who can deliver a good fart joke.

I can easily imagine you up there with Judy Garland, Elton John and Larry Kramer. Which reminds me, Adam, you should give Mr. Kramer a call. I hear he wants to raise his fist in gratitude for the work you did to dispel homophobia and gay stereotypes in Chuck & Larry.

Sandler even admitted to the Associated Press that he rather enjoyed his first on camera gay kiss. It was "not bad. He was clean, and he seemed to brush his teeth and all that," Sandler said.

Well, if that doesn't qualify Mr. Sandler for gay icon status, I don't know what will. Oh, Adam, you had me at your brilliant portrayal of satyrism.

CRUISING is the black sheep of gay cinema history. It's the kind of gay film we want to see but it is also the kind of gay film we'd rather nobody makes. What's most extraordinary about this high-profile controversial film is that it is extraordinarily mediocre, one of Friedkin's lessor accomplishments--of which there are many.

Friedkin is an odd director having created a few classics (The Exorcist, The French Connection), but mostly he's responsible for a whole slew of bad to boring film and television productions. CRUISING is not bad enough to be a camp classic and it's far from good enough to be a landmark film. So why all the attention--surely not just because a young buff naked Al Pacino is trussed up for a good poking? What Friedkin accomplished with CRUISING is an almost documentary-quality look at an important and influential part of the gay world circa 1980. CRUISING is, like it or not, a major record of a very important and influential moment in gay history--and from many aeries, it ain't a pretty picture.

At the time, gay activists condemned the film claiming that it would mislead straight America into thinking that the gay world is dominated by leather, S&M, fetish, sex clubs and relentless anonymous sex in every dark nook and cranny of New York's night world. Gay activists insisted that this world was on the fringe and did not represent mainstream gay America. Obviously, to suggest that the leather, rubber and fetish community was on the fringe of the 70s gay sex scene is not entirely accurate. Just ask The Village People or just about any New York or San Francisco queer who survived it..

I may not have itty bitty titties (although mine are real), I can still appreciate a grass-roots-style lesbian feminist movie any day of the week. That's why I was thrilled to be able to attend the West Hollywood movie premier of "Itty Bitty Titty Committee" and the after party on Monday night.

You may remember back to June when fellow blogger, Arlan, posted a blog called "Raise Your Fist If You Like Boobs" where she talks about her love of breasts and gives the new movie, Itty Bitty Titty Committee a shout-out and brief introduction. The movie first debuted at the Berlin Film Festival, and has since played at several other film festivals, including the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. The movie is meant to make a bold statement about women, how society views them and how they view themselves.



Itty Bitty Titty Committee is one of those movies that gets you all fired up and makes you laugh while doing it. The movie succeeds in spending equal amounts of time exploring the characters and documenting their wacky works involved in their feminist group, C(I)A - "Clits In Action". The main character, Anna (played by Melanie Diaz) takes a journey which is quite profound; she goes from a shy conformist to a subversive, pro-femme anarchist who celebrates her newly found acceptance into the lesbian community. Responsible for introducing her to this underground world is Sadie, who is attached to her controlling girlfriend despite all the verve and sass she displays as the C(I)A's unofficial leader. A wild romance develops between Sadie and Anna, propelling the central conflict of the plot and causing all sorts of chaos within the group dynamic.



In a character-based comedy, casting is everything, and in Itty Bitty it's spot on.

Whenever gay characters pop up in mainstream entertainment where gay characters are not expected and they're not meant to be stereotypical butts of jokes, I'm always a little bit shocked. I saw two movies in the theater this past weekend, and, when things suddenly (albeit briefly) turned a little bit gay, I audibly gasped. Gay characters that are casually stitched into the fabric of a Hollywood film are still so rare these days that, for a number of reasons, it takes my breath away.



In the so-so teen flick Sydney White, which transports the Snow White fairy tale to a college campus, our heroine (played with comic verve and charm by Amanda Bynes) attempts to become president of the sorority- and fraternity-run student council. Sydney's campaign hinges on her effort to reach out to the different cultural, religious, and ethnic groups that study in the shadow of the all-white, all "right" sororities and fraternities that rule the school. At one point, Sydney and her campaign helpers (the seven "dorks") can be seen cheering a tall, proud transgender student (billed as "Danny the Tranny") at a GLBT poetry night. And I gasped.

My QueerSighted guest post, 'High School Musical 2': Chock Full of Gay, generated so much traffic and so many comments (1,800+) that I was tempted to make this--my very first entry as an official member of the QueerSighted team--as controversial as possible by writing something like "The Little Mermaid Was a Big Lesbian" or "Donald Duck Bottoms for Dollars." But I know better than to court controversy on purpose. It's wiser to offend people unwittingly--that way, I can claim ignorance and escape persecution relatively unscathed.

So I will instead use my first QueerSighted post to stake my claim as this blog's resident nerd by expressing my excitement about DoorQ.com, a new website for gay fans of everything related to sci-fi, horror, and fantasy. Launching this Halloween, DoorQ.com (pronounced "dork," as pointed out to me by the far more perceptive Kenneth Hill, this blog's managing editor) will provide news, reviews, and interviews, as well as original fiction, comics, and short films. And as if that weren't enough to satiate your inner gay geek, the site will also have a slew of social networking features like personal profiles, forums, chat rooms, and matchmaking tools--'cuz nerds need lovin' too!

Dear Queersighted readers,

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a bit long in the tooth. The only reason I can imagine that I was asked to write for Queersighted, is that they desperately needed someone who could bridge the yawning age chasm between Richard Rothstein and all the other bloggers. Yes, It's true ... you always hurt the one you love. (BTW Richard, I've never snatched any Cootchie; it has always offered itself to me freely).

I've had a few weeks now to research what younger lesbians are interested in, and notwithstanding a tourette-like affinity for the words "hot", "hottie", "chicks", "super", "boobs", "frickin" and "awesome", or combinations thereof, it appears to an aging, wildly un-hip, newcomer like me, that girl bands are a popular topic.

So, in the spirit of unity and ingratiation, here is my first and last blog about a "super hot, awesome, hottie girl band, full of hot chicks with boobs" which gays, young and old, can frickin dig. I will do my best not to age myself in the course of my review. I dedicate this inaugural blog to the incredibly insightful, wonderfully witty, and older than me, Richard Rothstein.

Sweet Sue and her Society Syncopaters - Say, here's a nifty band of musical molls for all you gay guys and gals in Queersville. I'm not sayin' I'm superficial, but check out the chassis on these red-hot tomatoes! Yowzer! There's not a bug-eyed-Betty in the bunch. These dolls hit on all sixes!

You Ethel's out there, listen up. Daphne and Josephine are Hotsy-Totsy and how! These dissimulated dames slay me, so if you're a Daddy-O who prefers Sheiks to Shebas, these babes-with-a-beat, might be right up your alley.

Lead singer Sugar Kane has the gams and the pipes, but she's a bit of a Dumb Dora if you catch my drift. Sure, she's the Real McCoy, but I like my Janes saucy and well seasoned.

For me, Sweet Sue, founder of this sue-per synched, bevy of bearcats, is the choicest bit of calico. She's a tall drink of water, and man-oh-man, am I ever dying of thirst!

Sweet Sue and The Society Syncopaters started it all, kids. So, whether you're gay, straight, young, old, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, you've got to agree that this almost all-girl band has something for everyone. They're Frickin Awesome! Now how often can you say that and really mean it?

I hope you will all look for my next entry, entitled: World's Worst Gay Professions, where I will be discussing my brief career as a comedy writer for the Radical Lesbian Separatist movement.

Until next time, this is the other Sweet Sue, signing off, and reminding all you Daddies and Dad-ettes out there that every girl in my band is a virtuoso, and I intend to make sure it stays that way.

Last night, I had the good luck-- or mazal if you will-- to discover Eytan Fox and Gal Uchovsky, two of the most brilliant artists working in contemporary queer cinema today hanging out at New York's Splash Bar. At first I thought they were just trolling for some new talent, the next gay movie star, but when they weren't seducing New York bartenders with promises of screen tests, these two Israelis were hosting a party to celebrate the U.S. opening of their latest work, The Bubble.

I reviewed The Bubble just a few days ago and if you missed the review, click here and read it now. And if you're fortunate enough to live in or near one of the towns where The Bubble opens today, go and see it. This is the kind of queer cinema that will likely not come out of Hollywood for many years to come. And unlike a lot of the romantic comedy fluff that comes out of most other gay directors from around the world, Israeli queer cinema is transcendent and speaks to issues and emotions that resonate for all, straight and gay.

Gal was telling me that they previewed The Bubble on Wednesday night at Manhattan's Jewish Community Center for an audience of mostly conservative middle-aged and elderly Jewish ladies who admitted to being a little uncomfortable with the graphic gay sex (graphic by middle-aged Jewish lady standards but not by my standards) but couldn't wait to recommend The Bubble to their friends. Go Gal and Eytan!