Gay Best Friend: George Downs in "My Best Friend's Wedding"

NEW WEEKLY SERIES!

by Christopher James

The trope of the “gay best friend” proves that not all representation is created equally. In the 90s especially, we finally got to see openly gay characters in big Hollywood movies, specifically romantic comedies. Before that, queer characters were often only coded as such. While this representation was a step forward, the types of LGBTQ+ representation were always the same: white, cis gay men without an interior life. Throughout this series, I want to revisit these characters and examine the good, the bad and the ugly of their portrayal and how it has shaped the culture of today.

George Downs (Rupert Everett) embodies a lot of what is bad about the “gay best friend” trope. So why do I love him so much? It’s not just because Everett is incredibly charming and handsome. George starts out as a sidekick and becomes the “love interest.” Sure, we never get to spend time with him a queer man and learn more about his love life and relationships. Still, he's the force that shapes and defines the narrative. That this happens in a $100 million plus Julia Roberts blockbuster is no small feat...

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1987: Vanessa Redgrave in "Prick Up Your Ears"

Each month before the Smackdown, Nick Taylor looks at alternates to Oscar's ballot...

As Cláudio wrote sometime last year (that's how long ago Sunday was, right?), the 1987 Supporting Actress vintage boasts a truly unique set of contenders. Their specific careers, overall narratives, and individual performances and the films they were in could hardly have been more different. Add in the fact that all five were one-and-done nominees and the whole list takes on a genuinely ephemeral, one-of-a-kind quality, even if three of them have the same first name.

The presence of brand names just for A-list star power, would, in most years, dilute this quality. Still, it’s strange to see some of Oscar’s favorite names on the outside looking in during 1987. Top theorists have speculated for decades how Anjelica Huston failed to get cited for her sad, moving performance in The Dead. And what about Vanessa Redgrave in Prick Up Your Ears, who won NYFCC and was the only Golden Globe nominee who didn’t translate to Oscar’s ballot...

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Himbos in Peril: The Boxer-Briefs Horror of David DeCoteau

by Patrick Gratton

Marcus Hobson’s body trembled as he felt an external power take control. “Is this what enlightenment feels like?” Nothing’s been the same since the night he met Jaspen Frasier, the president of Omega Alpha Psy. Marcus never saw himself pledging. But that all changed with a single touch, as Jaspen confided in Marcus the secrets of his success. This holy ointment, was god’s, or the devil’s, gift to man to reclaim eternal power. The veil that set him back had been lifted, everything was within his grasp. Exhilarated, he wanted to be free to possess whatever his will desired. He basked in his beauty. His modesty had withered away, he felt free, free of the confines of his mind and soul. What mind? What soul? Little did Marcus know that those were withering away as well.

This is an excerpt from a synopsis of the David DeCoteau film The Brotherhood VII: The Ascension. Or is it? Does the film actually exist? I might have made it up but does it matter? With a filmography whose imagery and plots are so indistinguishably alike, as to make the audience's mind as foggy as the hunky protagonists, who is there really to say?

As a self-described “Gay Roger Corman”, the prolific DeCoteau has 160+ directorial credits to his name. It’s rare to find a filmmaker with such a large output, delving into so many various genres, with such limited social imprint. Despite his success working with B-Movie Mogul Charles Band, DeCoteau’s name is barely mentioned, even within the halls of the queer horror canon...

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Abe’s NewFest Wrap

By Abe Friedtanzer 

Saltanat Nauruz stars in "Welcome to the USA"

There are so many film festivals going on right now, and I’m very glad that I was able to screen so many selections from NewFest. I had the chance to watch fifteen films from the  32nd edition of the New York LGBTQ Film Festival, which took place online this year, representing more than a third of the feature slate. I had already seen Uncle Frank at Sundance, and I would definitely recommend that Alan Ball film, which comes to Amazon Prime on November 25th.

Here are NewFest’s jury prize winners for this year... 

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AFI Fest: Switzerland's Oscar Submission "My Little Sister"

by Christopher James

The first image depicts a frail woman in a hospital hooked up to an IV. The camera moves in and seems to fixate on the needle in her arm. For the uninitiated, this introduction feels almost parody-esque of an Oscar foreign language film. Are we in for a two hour depression porn where beautiful Europeans slowly die from cancer?

Luckily, My Little Sister, Switzerland’s Oscar submission, is more than meets the eye in that opening moment. Yes, it’s a cancer drama. However, it’s a more unorthodox exploration of a complicated sibling dynamic...

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