Dorothy Approved Films

New Director Ash Christian, makes good creating a new Dorothy code phrase.

"Fat Girls" becomes the new Icon next to Dorothy her herself.

A modestly impressive debut -- especially considering that writer/director Ash Christian was 21 when he made it -- this poignant comedy will appeal to anyone who vividly remembers what it's like to be a high school outcast

BIG-HEARTED and often quite funny if crudely made, "Fat Girls" cleverly subverts the clichés of high school comedies to serve an autobiographical story about an overweight gay teen in a small Texas town.

Ash Christian, is appealing (if somewhat mature) in the main role. He hangs out with an enormous girl (Ashley Fink) while his sex life is limited to furtively groping his ostensibly straight co-star in the school's production of "The Odd Couple."

This a cute freshman director picture and I look forward to Ashes' next film Mangus!

Vmedia
Berkeley Calif.

It was approximately a decade ago when a noted film director -- I believe it was Paul Verhoeven -- stated that in American cinema, it was OK to chop off a female breast but not acceptable to caress one. Of course, that quote still applies today, and if anything, American cinema has become more timid -- not in matters of violence or scatology, mind you, just in s-e-x -- since the early to mid-1990s, a period when the controversy surrounding the NC-17 rating was at its peak.

You may recall that the NC-17 designation was created to replace the X rating for the purposes of mainstream cinema. The X became solely the domain of porno flicks; the NC-17 was supposed to allow moviemakers to create raw, uncompromised features made exclusively for the eyes of adult audiences, mature films that didn't need to tone anything down for the sake of the kids. Of course, it didn't quite work out that way. The United States is nothing if not a puritanical nation, and the forces of repression and prudery made sure that the NC-17 would fare no better than the X rating. With many mainstream newspapers refusing to even carry ads for films that were rated NC-17, the designation died a swift death. Today, it's barely ever used, and the few films not aimed at tots, teens or easy-to-please adults are simply released unrated.

That's the case with John Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus, but even without an officially sanctioned MPAA rating, the film pushes the envelope of what's allowed on screen further than just about any other non-porn flick that comes to mind. Perhaps not since 1980's Caligula has a non-XXX motion picture been as sexually explicit as this one (admittedly, I haven't seen Michael Winterbottom's 9 Songs). But whereas Caligula was a wallow in brutality -- the violence and gore offset any potential pleasure generated by hardcore sequences which, truth be told, weren't all that competently filmed anyway -- Shortbus is a celebration of sex that, in turn, morphs into a celebration of those most inalienable of American rights: life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

A multi-layered film featuring a multi-character ensemble, Shortbus is weighty enough that it doesn't simply begin and end with the orgasm. Well, OK, it does begin with it: The opening montage, the most hardcore stretch in the film, finds the principal characters engaged in their own sessions of intercourse, masturbation or S&M. After this eye-catching intro, the film settles down and allows us to get to know its players better. Sofia (Sook-Yin Lee) is a sex therapist ("I prefer 'couples counselor,'" she states more than once) who has herself never experienced the joys of an orgasm, not even with her husband Rob (Raphael Barker). James (Paul Dawson) and Jamie (PJ DeBoy) are described as the perfect couple, though James' perpetual moodiness and Jamie's constant neediness lead them to mutually agree to seek companionship from a third party; that turns out to be a nice kid named Ceth (Jay Brannan), and the resultant ménage a trois proves to be a point of dismay for their mysterious, Peeping Tom neighbor Caleb (Peter Stickles). And Severin (Lindsay Beamish) is a dominatrix who's so burned out on her daily routine that she's searching for something -- anything -- to awaken her senses. Their paths all converge at an underground venue called Shortbus, a haven for open-minded people to discuss, watch and engage in all manner of sexual expression.

The hype and controversy surrounding the film's erotic content has been so deafening that it'd be a shame if this gets dismissed out of hand as a one-trick pony. Director Mitchell, whose previous feature was 2001's marvelous musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch (in which he also starred as the transsexual protagonist), wrote the screenplay for Shortbus along with the participation of his cast members, and such a free-flowing environment of ideas allows the picture the opportunity to mature -- to grow and deepen -- along with its characters. In many ways, this is a New York picture through and through: That's evident from the witty opening sequence, when an extreme close-up of something (Is it a sculpture? Is that a penis?) comes into focus as the camera pulls back and we realize it's the Statue of Liberty standing guard over the Big Apple. There are the usual references to 9/11, but we don't sense that Mitchell is merely paying lip service -- these are frightening times for our country, with internal threats splitting apart the nation's citizenry as much as outside ones, and Mitchell seems to be suggesting that anything that can cheer us and unite us should be wholeheartedly embraced. It's an open invitation that should reach all states Blue, Red and Zebra-Striped, though, admittedly, I'm still freaked out that this is opening this Friday at, of all theaters, the Manor. (Let's just hope the bluehairs don't accidentally wander into this auditorium at the moment when James is ejaculating on his own face, or Manor management, like Lucy to Ricky, will have some 'splainin' to do to the medics subsequently called to the scene to revive the victims.)

The cast is mostly comprised of screen novices and newcomers -- no surprise, since it's hard to imagine A-listers like Brad Pitt or Scarlett Johansson going this far for the sake of their art (though, Lord knows, their fans wouldn't object!). Their collective lack of screen polish provides the characters with a natural demeanor that works well for this setting. Sook-Yin Lee, however, is the breakthrough in the cast: Her performance -- by turns fearless, funny, frustrated and frenzied -- surely ranks as one of the year's best.

Mitchell isn't so Pollyanna that he's suggesting everyone's difficulties will be solved by one good bout of sexual acrobatics. Indeed, many of the characters' problems and hang-ups are directly hardwired into their own opinions on the subject. But what makes Shortbus unusual for an American movie is that it isn't frightened of sex, it doesn't reduce the act to insensitive frat boy gyrations, and it doesn't employ it as a bludgeoning weapon (on that latter point, see this year's execrable Basic Instinct sequel as Exhibit A). As a movie, Shortbus is a turn-on, but not in the sense readers might imagine. The picture isn't physically stimulating so much as it's mentally and emotionally arousing -- it considers the brain and the heart the true erogenous zones, a viewpoint that ultimately turns out to be the movie's most startling aspect.

THE BEST NEW GAY THEME MUSICAL!!
(be sure to miss this one)

On a scale of one to gay, Disney's made-for-TV High School Musical was off the freaking charts. The gay subtext, conveniently ignored by mainstream America, smacked every homosexual in the head who happened to be within the vicinity of the movie. The high school basketball star wants to sing and dance and asks his macho father, "Did you ever think about trying something new, but were afraid of what your friends might think?"

Perhaps disturbed by the gay subtext that was pointed out to them by homosexuals with agendas, Disney attempts to butch up High School Musical 2, removing all traces of queer allegory and metaphor and amping up the heterosexual love triangle. Even so, this sequel (which exists in a parallel universe where the high school experience is so watered down that it might as well be clear) is perhaps even gayer than the first movie.

First of all, decades from now, when grown straight women and grown gay men are asked about when they first started having sexual feelings, most of them will say, "When I saw High School Musical 2!" That's because heartthrob Zac Efron, the basketball star in question who bares his hot stomach in the latest issue of Rolling Stone, can be seen in the movie walking around in a tight tank top, playing hoops with his shirt off, splashing in a pool in cute swim trunks, and doing a musical number wearing all black in which he dances on the sand dramatically like a David Copperfield TV special from the 80s. So gay.

Then there's the strange case of Ryan Evans, played by Lucas Grabeel. He is the film's only overtly gay character, though they avoid making verbal references to his sexuality. Instead, he wears a pink shirt and pink beret at the movie's start; he enjoys making curiously fey gestures; he does yoga with his mother; he pouts when he doesn't get to wear his "tiki warrior outfit"; and he gets taunted into playing baseball. His position? Pitcher! So gay.

And can we talk about the musical numbers? The dance moves are leftovers from the boy band era of the late 90s, and the songs sound like the Backstreet Boys' unreleased demos. That's not a complaint, by the way, because the musical numbers are fun and, frankly, awesome in their unabashed ridiculousness. When Zac starts shuffling his feet 30 seconds into the song, "Work This Out," you can't help but be amazed, appalled, and admiring all at once. So gay:
Finally, HSM2 provides a gift to drag queens everywhere in the form of a song that will be lip-synced at drag shows for the next five years. It's called "Fabulous," sung by the bitchy Sharpay Evans (Ashley Tisdale), in which she belts: "I want fabulous/That's my simple request!" So gay.

When I sing myself to sleep tonight, I will do so with tunes from High School Musical 2. Was it as gay for you as it was for me? by Prince Gomolvilas.

I had to share this with readers of my site
Vmedia

If you have time read this Blog about the sub text of HSM - its very funny -

High School Musical is gay. I don't mean like, "Dude, that movie's so gay!" I mean, it's literally gay. Let me explain.

Since I'm well on my way to becoming the go-to authority on American teenagers (I'm reading both Grace Palladino's Teenagers: An American History and Thomas Hine's The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager), I decided that I needed to understand the multimedia juggernaut that is High School Musical, which has sold a shocking number of DVDs and CDs; and was the Disney Channel's most viewed program ever when it first aired in 2006. So I watched the DVD in last night.

The made-for-TV movie is a squeaky clean musical with a Velveeta-cheesy pop soundtrack that is so utterly devoid of edge or even personality that you really begin to feel that any preteen girls who even attempt to turn Zac Efron's asexual heartthrob persona into a teenage sex symbol should be shot.

I guess the Disneyfication of the American high school experience should be expected, but what I wasn't prepared for was the overt gay allegory that High School Musical wears on its sleeve.

Zac plays the high school basketball superstar whose father is the coach. Throughout the movie, he attempts to keep a shocking secret from the entire world?that he wants to sing and audition for the school musical. Nothing could be further from his manly (or, more appropriately, boy-ly) image, and his father is enraged when he finds out, unable to handle his son's dirty little secret, a secret that subjects poor Zac to ridicule from his peers. Indeed, early on in the movie, Zac asks his father on their home basketball court, "Did you ever think about trying something new, but were afraid of what your friends might think?" Um...sounds like a coming-out party just waiting to happen.

You may argue that the main reason Zac wants to be in the school musical in the first place is because he's after a girl?namely, Gabriella Montez, played by Vanessa Anne Hudgens. But look at her! She apparently is the only person of Hispanic descent in the United States, besides her mother. In the world of High School Musical, she is "different," she is "the other." Plainly put, she is so different from Zac on the surface that she might as well be a guy. Indeed, at one point she confides in a friend. "Did you ever feel like there's this whole other person inside you just looking for a way to come out?" Man, they're really hammering home the point, aren't they?

When Zac's singing aspirations are revealed to the school at large, a spate of students finally feel comfortable enough to spill their own secrets, prompting everyone in the cafeteria to sing "Stick to the Status Quo." The battle to be who you are (or as gay as you wanna be) rages on.

Well, in the end, no one sticks to the status quo. It's a happy ending for a free America, but a tragedy of Titanic proportions for homophobes around the globe.



High School Musical 2 airs August 17, 2007. I also just found out that Radio Disney is hosting a free High School Musical 2 Friday Night Premiere Party and Talent Competition in Buena Park, near Disneyland. I am morbidly curious. And I just might have to go.

By Prince Gomolvilas

Happy endings are rare in gay theme movies. In "Brokeback Mountain" and last year's Israeli drama "The Bubble," homophobia is triumphant. So is the pressure to conform to heterosexual standards.

Markowitz's "Shelter," which won top honors at last fall's Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (best picture and director), takes a different approach. Although it never discounts the impact of prejudice on a romantic same-sex relationship, it convincingly reaches for a less-tragic conclusion.

Like the cowboys in "Brokeback Mountain," the San Pedro surfing buddies in "Shelter" struggle with a sexual attraction that seems to grow naturally out of their friendship.


Markowitz, who wrote the script while he was visiting Seattle, is an art director ("Quinceañera"). He had directed only short films before but demonstrates an instinctive ease with the challenges of a feature-length narrative. Shooting much of the film at photogenic "magic hour," as the sun approaches the horizon, he smoothly establishes Zach's status as an athlete, an artist and a boyish family man who treats his nephew as a son.

It's a star-making, multilayered role, and Wright makes it his own. He connects with the character's passion and mischief, as well as his secretive and sometimes low end Shelter is finally less about erotic soul-searching than about defining one's boundaries. And if at times the symbolism is a bit heavy-handed and the ending is easily foreseen strong performances and Joseph Whites burnished cinematography do much to atone. Coming out has rarely looked so pretty. side.

What could have been a standard-issue coming-out, coming-of-age movie develops a remarkable intimacy, especially when Zach confesses to his girlfriend (who is more observant than he realizes) and lets down his guard enough to let Shaun call him beautiful.

"Shelter" may seem an odd title, but in the end it couldn't be more appropriate. Thiis is my new favorite add to my Dorothy approved films.

Vince
Vmedia Berkeley Ca

This great new Indi opens this weekend in NY LA and SF and its a great new take on Midsummers Nigh Dream - with a new company of actors.

This far surpassed HSM3 in any form. Tom Gustafson finally made his short "Fairies" into a full-scale musical in "Were the World Mine," the script is clever as it is based in an all boys prep HS.

Tanner Cohen has an amazing singing voice, so it isn't hard to believe that he would captivate the school's star rugby player, the handsome Nathaniel David Becker. And Cohen, like Shakespeare's puckish sprite, explodes all stereotypes, managing to be at once masculine and fey. Robie brings the right note of sardonic humor to her witchlike role. Zelda Williams (Robin's daughter) adds considerable spunk as Timothy's best friend. Christian Stolte makes a perfect Shakespearean fool as the macho coach turned into a lovesick ass.

The rich full cinematography belies the modest budget. Lots of movies take no chances and still manage to fail. This picture dares to summon the spirit of the Bard as well as the ghost of Arthur Freed and succeeds as a rousing, warm-hearted feeling.

Take a chance on this film and see it on the big screen. It was a hit at the Frameline film fest in SF and held many honors as the audience fav in other film fests earlier this year.

Vince
Vmedia Berkeley
*THR