Gay Best Friend: Buck (Mike White) in "Chuck & Buck" (2000)

A series by Christopher James looking at the 'Gay Best Friend' trope

Before his successful career took off, Mike White wrote and starred in the indie comic-thriller "Chuck & Buck."Mike White is an incredible talent. Currently on HBO, his miniseries The White Lotus has become a must-see weekly event. Between Enlightened, School of Rock, Beatriz at Dinner and impressive seasons on Survivor and The Amazing Race, White has been a great fixture of film and TV over the past couple decades. In honor of The White Lotus success, we thought we would travel back in time to one of his earliest performances and screenplays - Chuck and Buck.

The early digital film feels like a relic of another time, especially compared to White’s more polished HBO work as of late. The advent of digital allowed more filmmakers a chance to tell their stories as they were able to do it on the cheap. Much of Chuck and Buck looks like a painfully awkward home movie. Yet, that only heightens the discomfort one feels while watching this odd, comic thriller.

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The Best Costumes of 2000

by Cláudio Alves

Before we say goodbye to 2000 and move forward to the next Smackdown year, 1946, I'd like to take a look at the Best Costume Design Oscar race. Take it as a digestif to our coverage. In any case, this specific lineup offers a remarkably comprehensive overview of some of the category's favorite elements and most glaring blind spots. As always, period work dominates, though there's also space for fantasy and contemporary narratives, intersections of fashion and costume, as well as a non-English-language movie. The nominees were… 

• Anthony Powell, 102 Dalmatians
• Rita Ryack, How the Grinch Stole Christmas
• Jacqueline West, Quills
• Janty Yates, Gladiator ★
• Tim Yip, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

First up, let's look at the period films and, more specifically, our victor.

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You Can Count On Me: Fraternal Cinema

In preparation for Thursday's Smackdown Team Experience is traveling back to 2000.

by Cláudio Alves

Mainstream cinema, such as it is, has an understandable fondness for the portrayal of interpersonal relationships. That's what happens when narrative cinema dominates and character-based drama is the rule. Nevertheless, it's interesting to note how some bonds are more privileged than others in storytelling. Romantic love is common. Friendship has its own subgenres. Parents and children are at the center of many tales. Enemies, rivals, hateful adversaries have their place too. But sibling relationships, though very common in life, are very rarely at the forefront of any given motion picture. Consequentially, when such a film appears, there's an added value to its existence. At least, that's how I feel.

Kenneth Lonergan's debut feature, You Can Count On Me, is probably one of the best examples of this rare fraternal cinema…

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A Love Letter to Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous"

In preparation for the next Smackdown Team Experience is traveling back to 2000.

This photo is an instant serotonin hit.

By: Christopher James

Almost Famous is a love story. That’s not as a reference to teenage journalist wunderkind William (Patrick Fugit) and his love for legendary “band-aide” Penny Lane (Kate Hudson). It’s also not a reference to William’s adoration for the band Stillwater, which sets off the chain of events. Writer-director Cameron Crowe made Almost Famous as a love letter to professional passion. William loves music and just wants outlets to profess his feelings on the subject. Can a journalist be a fan? This is a question asked multiple times throughout the movie. In the end, the answer is yes and no. You have to love something enough to devote your life to it, but not so much that you get swallowed up by it...

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Almost There: Björk in "Dancer in the Dark"

by Cláudio Alves

Premiering at the 53rd Cannes Film Festival, Lars von Trier's Dancer in the Dark became one of the most discussed films of 2000. At the end of the festivities, von Trier would walk away with the Palme D'Or while his leading lady, Icelandic music artist Björk, won the Best Actress prize. It's unusual for any Cannes competition title to win more than one award from the main jury, but sometimes it's impossible to deny a performance's magnificence. Such was the case in 2000. As the musical hit theaters critics worldwide began to chime in and the praise for Björk's achievement became more mountainous. Even some who objected to von Trier's experiment had words of adoration for its star.

It's fair to say that Björk's performance in Dancer in the Dark was one of the most acclaimed acting achievements of 2000. Nonetheless, when Oscar nomination morning arrived, she wasn't among the Best Actress nominees…

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