Skip to main contentIs it just me, or have there been some really crappy films at the Portland Lesbian & Gay Film Festival in the past few years? As admirable as the festival has been, it often seemed to go on forever, and while there were some good films, there were also some real stinkers. Let's be honest, after a while, watching two guys kiss loses its novelty, and then you have to ask yourself, "Is this movie I'm watching any good?"
There was a time when gay film festivals, like so many other niche festivals, provided an opportunity to see movies that you might not see at the local multiplex or on home video. But things have changed in recent years. On one end of the spectrum, you have a much-needed and highly contentious battle for gay civil rights; on the other, you have a society where gays and lesbians have reached unprecedented levels of visibility and acceptance, although there is always room for more.
Because more and more queerness has been brought into mainstream culture of late, gay film festivals—PLGFF included—have undergone drastic changes. Ten years ago films with queer-friendly protagonists, like the upcoming Breakfast on Pluto, Capote and Brokeback Mountain, would have been the staple of any gay festival. Now those films play with the big boys at festivals like Toronto and Telluride. As a result, gay festivals are forced to find other movies that will cater to their audience—regardless of quality. The thinking seems to be that as long as a film has two girls in a naked embrace, or a tragic transgender hero, then a gay audience will flock to see it. But why should a queer audience be accepting of a movie lacking in quality, just because two people of the same sex pretend to get it on? If you want bad filmmaking with two men—or women—going at it, watch a porno.
In the middle of these odd and uncertain times, when the queer community finds itself in a limbo of acceptance and damnation, the Portland Lesbian & Gay Film Festival has thankfully changed its programming strategy. This year, in a bold move that favors quality over quantity, the festival has cut its length to nine days (Oct. 14-20 and 22-23), as well as shaved down the number of films that will screen. "We decided this year we were going to focus in on what's good, and let that determine how long the festival would last," says Tom Ranieri, one of the key organizers of PLGFF. "We chose to go with films with a gay appeal, and not just films that are gay."
The move might leave some festivalgoers scratching their heads asking, "What was so gay about that?" But there's still plenty of homo action to be found in films like Adam & Steve and That Man: Peter Berlin. At the same time, films like Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic and the absurdist Americana mockumentary Never Been Thawed have less to do with whose genitals you prefer to lick and fondle and more to do with entertaining the audience.
As the 2005 Lesbian & Gay Film Festival kicks off this weekend, it embarks on a new direction, proclaiming that if film is a reflection of who we are, then, while recognizing our varied sexuality, movies should also cater to our singular humanity.
Highlights (and Lowlights) of the 2005 Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
Adam & Steve (Cinema 21, 9 pm Friday, Oct. 14)—The Gay Breakfast Club meets There's Something About Gay Mary is a tidy way of summing up this messy movie from longtime queer-cinema favorite Craig Chester (Swoon). Pulling double duty as both director and star (Chester plays Adam), this comedy starts off really gross—and really funny—and goes downhill from there. After an unfortunate "accident" during an unforgettable one-night stand, we fast forward to the double aughts just in time to see Adam unknowingly hook up with the same dude (Malcom Gets as Steve) who shit on his face in the 1980s. Rather than mine the awkwardness of an unrequited love that dare not speak its name, it goes all preachy about (what else?) gay marriage. Then they break out in song and dance. (What's with musical numbers this year?) It's laugh-out-loud funny, but when one of the best things to recommend about a flick is an appearance by former SNL player Chris Kattan, you know it's missed its mark. BYRON BECK.
Life in a Box (Cinema 21, 2 pm Saturday, Oct. 15)—Who would have thought a film about three men in a relationship could be so dull? Go on the road with Jay and Steven, the singing duo Y'all, in this documentary that follows them on their quest to host their own variety show. Things take a strange and not-so-exciting turn when the couple—they're lovers as well—meet and fall in love with Roger, who joins them on the road. An unconventional relationship builds among the three men, as they each begin to re-examine their dreams and desires. DAVID WALKER.
Guys and Balls (Cinema 21, 8 pm Saturday, Oct. 15)—Maximilian Brückner stars as Ecki, a goalkeeper who gets kicked off a soccer team when his fellow players find out he's gay. Determined to prove sexuality has nothing to do athletic ability, Ecki forms an all-gay squad and challenges his former team to a game, while at the same time dealing with his budding relationship with a hunky nurse. Sherry Horman's German comedy is a by-the-numbers underdog sports film that uses a cast of gay stereotypes as the basis of its "feel-good" humor. Something a bit less predictable, with fewer stereotypes, would have been nicer. DW.
Margaret Cho: Assassin (Cinema 21, 8 pm Sunday, Oct. 16)—"I think Laura Bush is pretty, but you know her pussy smells like Lysol," jokes comedian Margaret Cho. In her latest comedy concert Cho returns with a vengeance, taking pot shots at anything and everything that strikes her fancy. Cho has a way with brutal, in-your-face comedy that will leave some cringing and others doubled over in laughter. DW.
Côte d'Azur (Cinema 21, 9 pm Tuesday, Oct. 18)—After watching this carefree comedy it's much easier to hate the French than it is to love them. The story revolves around the sexual secrets—both mistaken and genuine—of an artfully attractive and painfully self-aware Parisian family on vacation on the French Riviera. While Côte has plenty of views of the ocean's beauty (and naked boy booty) this supposedly modern take on the classic art of the Gallic farce does little to enlighten its viewers. That's because everyone, from a closeted father to a sexually ravenous mother to an "is he or isn't he?" son, spends so much thinking they are sooo cool. They laugh, they dance, they even break into song—that is, when they're not beating off in the shower or eating shellfish. BB.
Where The Truth Lies (Cinema 21, 7 pm Wednesday, Oct. 19)—Kevin Bacon and Colin Firth star as Lanny Morris and Vince Collins, a Martin and Lewis-like entertainment duo whose public personas mask morally bankrupt private lives. Their involvement in the mysterious death of a young woman becomes one of Hollywood's greatest unsolved crimes. When a hotshot journalist (Alison Lohman) attempts to solve the murder 15 years after the fact, she gets caught up in the depraved worlds of Lanny and Vince. Director Atom Egoyan's intricately constructed mystery never fails to be engaging, even though Lohman gives one of the worst performances ever committed to film in a role that seems to have been intentionally written badly. But Bacon and Firth make up for whatever shortcomings surround their co-star, giving performances that are both compelling and complex. DW.
Dorian Blues (Cinema 21, 9 pm Wednesday, Oct. 19)—Cute and innocuous are the best words to describe writer-director Tennyson Bardwell's sweetly comedic coming-of-age tale about Dorian Lagatos (Michael McMillian), a gay teen exploring his sexuality. At the heart of the film is Dorian's relationship with his younger brother, a popular high-school jock played by Lea Coco (who looks about 10 years too old to be playing a teenager). The film has an autobiographical feel, and Bardwell approaches his subject matter in a universal way that balances precariously between endearing and cliché. There's nothing groundbreaking, but there's nothing that doesn't work, either. DW.
Night Watch (Cinema 21, 9 pm Thursday, Oct. 20)—Edgardo Cozarinsky's portrait follows a 19-year-old Argentine hustler through the streets of Buenos Aires. Mixing and mingling with other hustlers, dope addicts, johns and the police on Halloween, Victor (Gonzalo Heredia) begins to suspect that some of those he encounters during the night may not be alive. DW.
That Man: Peter Berlin (Hollywood, 4 pm Saturday, Oct. 22)—With the massive tool that dangled between his legs, threatening to burst free of his skintight pants at any moment, Peter Berlin emerged as one of he most recognizable icons of queer culture during the 1970s. Jim Tushinski's documentary provides an illuminating portrait of the enigmatic Berlin, whose distinctive look—Dutchboy haircut, chiseled abs and the huge cock always on display—became a dynamic representation of the community that emerged from the shadows of Stonewall. Using interviews and a tons of Berlin images and footage, That Man is a compelling testament to an icon, as well as an intimate portrait of the man behind the myth. DW.
Never Been Thawed (Hollywood, 2 pm Sunday, Oct. 23)—There are three things you need to know about Never Been Thawed: First, it's a mockumentary that never convinces you it's real; second, describing the plot of the film can not do it justice; third, and most important, it is hilarious. Focusing on a club of TV-dinner enthusiasts, it features the oddest assortment of eccentrics this side of Waiting for Guffman, including the Christers, a Christian punk-rock group in it for the chicks, an ex-gay firefighter married to a bull dyke, a thirtysomething virgin who works as an abstinence counselor, and the owner of a pro-life cafe. As a whole, the film does not always work, but as a series of individual scenes, there are enough laugh-out-loud moments to make Never Been Thawed well worth watching. DW.
For a complete schedule, see www.plgff.org Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave.; Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy Blvd. $8 per show, passes and packets $70-$180.
WWeek 2015