Movie Review – Cloudburst

I love hearing the stories of old LGBT couples because they tell us how far we’ve come and give us the inspiration to keep going.  That’s why I jumped at the chance to watch Cloudburston Netflix.  It turned out not only to be a great comedy but also one of my new favorite lesbian films.

Writer and director Thom Fitzgerald, an out and proud bisexual man, knew what he was doing when he wrote the part of Stella for actress Olympia Dukakis, a straight ally and LGBT activist.  Her lover of 31 years, Dot, was played by Brenda Fricker, the first Irish woman to win an Oscar.  The story begins when they decide to elope in Canada in order to avoid being split up by family.  On the way they pick up Prentice, played by Ryan Doucette, who quickly becomes their new best friend and biggest advocate.  Together they cause all sorts of madness and mayhem that will have you laughing to split your sides.

Filmed in Nova Scotia, where much of the movie is said to take place, the backdrops are absolutely breathtaking and the lighting and settings capture the mood of every scene perfectly.  The music is generally of an older, jazzy generation that helps to frame the upbringing and experiences of the two older women.  Also, I have to commend the costume designer and makeup artist for turning Olympia Dukakis, Cher’s mother in Moonstruck who went on to play inSteel Magnolias, into a foul mouthed bull dyke.

I guarantee that these wild, wacky characters will have you on the edge of your seat waiting for their next adventure.  They did for me, and that’s why I rate this movie a solid 4 stars.  Since it’s available on Netflix, you can make this your instant choice for this weekend’s movie night.  Make sure you let me know what you think in the comments below.

Movie Review - But I'm a Cheerleader

I first saw "But I'm a Cheerleader" while sitting tensely in an older girl's room at the age of eighteen.  Despite my awkwardness, the hilarity of the movie soon drew me in and carried me away.  Since then I have watched it twice more and each time I laugh, I cry, and find something new about it to love.
Perhaps it's because the writer, Brian Wayne Peterson, is gay or because the director, Jamie Babbit, is a lesbian that this movie unlike so many others highlights gay rights issues while still being relatable.  They manage to show the disturbing nature of gay conversion therapy in an over the top yet light way that allows you to laugh.  The five step program of the "True Directions" camp where Megan, played by actual lesbian Natasha Lyonne, is sent by her friends and family is comically stereotypical.  It's blatantly obvious that the camp was designed by Mary J. Brown, played by Cathy Moriarty, to perpetuate her lifelong mission to "fix" her gay son Rock, played by Eddie Cibrian.
Not only is the plot well developed but the acting is superb as well.  In a movie like this, when the actors are supposed to overact, it's easy to have some actors give too much and others too little.  But this is a cast of born stars, and with half of them being gay themselves, they know how to deliver the material.  It's great to watch Graham, played by lesbian Clea DuVall, take clueless Megan under her wing and show her how to love herself... and other women.  We even get a few chemistry lessons from some of the other actors as well.  Don't worry kids, this is one class that won't bore you.
I wouldn't want to forget the set, cinematography and soundtrack either.  Together, they create a modern day town stuck in the past.  The cringe worthy gender stereotypes that the teens have to endure at the camp are magnified by the segregation of pink and blue in dress and set.  Even camp leader Mike, played by none other than RuPaul, is overtly gay but wears an all blue track suit that reads "Straight is Great."  When paired with poppy sixties style music it helps us to appreciate the surreal nature of the "safe haven" Mary has created, not for the kids but for herself.
Overall, I was blown away with this movie and to this day my only gripe with it is that I wish someone had told Graham to wash her hair.  Even still, it is my number one favorite LGBT movie thus far.  Obviously, it gets five stars from me, but I would like to know what you think.  Watch it today and leave a comment below.

Lesbians in Film

I think the most disappointing thing for me when I was first starting my road to self discovery was how hard it was to find LGBT movies and lesbian movies in particular.  I couldn't find them in my home town Blockbuster or at the movie theatre.  My friends weren't raving about the new hit lesbian romance and trying to do a search for it on Netflix yielded just two results, both the worst movies I've never finished!  It was depressing and frustrating that as a young person trying to gather as much information as I could about a new community I would soon try to infiltrate that society was suppressing this information.  Lesbian themes were taboo and even the term lesbian film sparked shock and disgust in others.  There minds instantly jumped to pornography and intense Sapphic scenes meant for male masturbation.  It only adds to your embarrassment as a young person trying to find films that reflect your life if when you ask someone where the lesbian section is they give you a dirty look and try to point you to the dark curtained room at the back of the store.
So, for many years I was forced to scour through blogs to find other people's lists of their favorite lesbian movies and then search Youtube to find and watch them.  This was not easy and I soon exhausted my resources, leaving me to feel as though I would never have a proper method of finding these elusive movies that intrigued me.  As time went on I decided that lesbian movies didn't interest me anymore anyway because I wasn't really a lesbian, I'm transgender.  So for years the search dogs were called off and the lesbian films were put to rest.
However, I recently started a new Netflix account which allowed me to hit the reset button on my preferences.  It just so happened that I had heard about a lesbian film that was supposed to be very good and could be found on Netflix and that was the first thing I watched.  When it was over, Netflix gave a me a list of suggestions and when I saw that one of them was another lesbian film I figured why not, I was kind of in the mood for it, and I watched that one as well.  Next thing I know, Netflix thinks I'm a lesbian woman out for Sapphic romance and that's all it seems to suggest for me.  I was blown away.  I never knew how many lesbian films were on Netflix and they are no longer hiding in dark corners.  They even have a whole section for Gay and Lesbian under the Watch Instantly tab and once Netflix knows your inclination for these movies they start popping up everywhere.  I've now worked my way through about 20 lesbian movies and I realized, I need to let other LGBT teens in on the secret so that they don't have to suffer as I did, watching yet another straight movie about stereotypical sex roles because it's all you can find.  Therefore, I will start reviewing LGBT films as I come across them because, let's face it, a lot of them suck and you don't want to have to sit through four duds to get to one stud!
Review coming soon on:  "But I'm a Cheerleader"