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Thursday, Aug 28, 2008
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Come out, come out, wherever you are - on DVD, that is |
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| Come out, come out, wherever you are - on DVD, that is | ||
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by Ron Anders -
SGN A&E Writer If I had been able to watch coming-out themed films with happy endings in the 1950s and early 1960s - instead of the examples set by such films as The Children's Hour (one of many films culminating in the gruesome demise of a tortured queer character) -- things would have probably been a lot easier for this queer guy. How times have changed! Or have they? I'd like to think that the coming out process is a hell of a lot smoother for people these days - and, for some, it may be. But for those who struggle with embracing their identity - and having others accept it (or not) - whether in a small town and or a big city, it continues to be a path paved with self-reflection, doubt and - hopefully - eventual self-acceptance. In honor of National Coming Out Day (October 11th), here are some films on DVD that run the gamut of queer experience. Queer people have looked to the media for an accurate reflection of their lives, but film and TV have rarely mirrored ?them authentically. A very pleasant surprise is Outing Riley (out on DVD this month), a coming-out tale about Bobby Riley -- a sweet, goofy thirty-something guy from a traditional Irish Catholic family where "you're born, you go to school, you get a job, you get married, you have a baby, you move to the suburbs and you die." Bobby is out to his sister, who is protective of him, but increasingly (and comically) impatient with his elaborate efforts to hide his life (and his boyfriend) from his hard drinking, very straight older brothers. I was disarmed by the freshness, humor and intelligence that actor/writer/director Pete Jones (a Project Greenlight contest winner) brings to this feel-good film, his sophomore directorial effort. Without resorting to stale homilies, he establishes a comic ambiance rooted in genuine feeling, which went a long way in drawing me into the trials of a family in flux. Shot on a shoestring, the film looks and sounds great. I got lots of laughs from Outing Riley - and it bears the hallmark of my favorite films: I can't wait to watch it with my friends. After watching Outing Riley, it was with some trepidation that I revisited (after 10 years) Hollywood's venture into coming-out-lite, Frank Oz's In & Out. This flick features two handsome Hollywood heavyweights: Kevin Kline and Tom Selleck. Gay veteran writer Paul Rudnick's screenplay takes its inspiration from Tom Hanks' Oscar acceptance speech (for his win for Philadelphia), in which he thanked a Gay teacher who inspired him. Here, Matt Dillon steps into Hanks' shoes - thanking his hometown literature teacher (Kline) on Oscar night. When Dillon reveals that this teacher is Gay, it is news to everyone, including the about-to-be-married object of his tribute. In & Out now seems almost prehistoric in this post-Brokeback Mountain era - like a comic diversity training film you might show to second-graders. It suffers a case of the cutes (Debbie Reynolds as Kline's crusty/adorable mother) and includes some cheesy stereotyping that set my teeth on edge -- inferring that a queer identity is indicated solely by worshipping Barbra Streisand, dressing neatly and discoing to I Will Survive. What makes it worth watching are the lead performances. Kline lets loose and shows his chops as a great physical comedian. Tom Selleck is dreamy in the Gay-reporter-with-no-scruples role. (The two actors share a comic kiss - a small miracle for Hollywood at the time.) And let's hear it for Joan Cusack, who steals the film (and stole an Oscar nomination) as the befuddled, jilted bride. Perhaps a director other than Muppet veteran Frank Oz would have supplied some much needed grit to this quaint comedy. Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story was a controversial hot potato on television when it debuted in 1995. The film manages to avoid many of the pitfalls of made-for-TV biographies and, for its trouble, won many prestigious awards. A tight script (focusing on Cammermeyer's fight against dismissal from military's dismissal after disclosing that she is a Lesbian) and economical, straightforward direction make this an unfussy, solid effort - excelling in its depiction of Cammermeyer's gradual realization that the fight for her rights would be played out on a national level. The soul-wracking decision about whether or not to expose her partner and beloved children to intense scrutiny is at the heart of this film. Glenn Close's performance beautifully underscores the inner turmoil under the character's outward reserve. Judy Davis, as her edgy, bohemian partner, provides a perfect counterpart. The script occasionally falters, allowing the actors to spout shorthand-speak clichés about their characters. With performers as masterful as Close and Davis, these shortcomings do minimal damage to the story's intensity. The extras on the disc are interesting only for Cammermeyer's reflections on her ambivalence about allowing her story to be filmed -- agreeing to it only after realizing that her story would serve a larger purpose as a platform to discuss the value (and emotional toll) of coming out. Serving in Silence captured a huge audience -- 25 million viewers on its first broadcast. Emerson, a precocious adolescent boy, has been home schooled by his ex-hippie parents in a small town in Nova Scotia. His mother decides that it is time for him to enter the real world - and enrolls him in a public high school. So begins writer/director Amnon Buchbinder's Whole New Thing, deservedly a multiple award-winner on the Gay film festival circuit. I was beguiled by this gem of a film -- an ode to non-conformity and the growing pains of coming out. It appealingly depicts Emerson's rude awakening to the travails that accompany his identity as an outsider. Aaron Webber, 16 years old when the film was shot, shows an uncanny ability to flesh out the excitement, confusion and comic ineptness of this boy's emotional awakening. This is an actor to watch. Also superb is Daniel MacIvor as the Gay teacher on whom Emerson has his first school-boy crush. The film was supposedly written in two weeks and filmed in 15 days. If this is true, then I look forward to what the film's creators can do with just a little more time! So, perhaps, we can be encouraged -- as members of the queer community -- that some filmmakers have recognized us for who we are - as some of these films have demonstrated. |
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