|
 Garçon Stupide
In Garçon Stupide, Loic, an attractive young gay
man, juggles time between working in a factory assembly line
and turning tricks at night. In between ass and assembly
line, he shares his sexual conquests and personal desires
only with his friend Marie. But when he meets Lionel, an
older man who has responded to his personal ad, his life
takes an unexpected turn. Through narrative and interview,
Garcon Stupide does an appealing job of taking the viewer
through a wonderful, albeit diverse journey towards an enhanced
understanding of the lead character, as well as the personal
challenges a young gay man might encounter when searching
for genuine love. Bonus Features: Nada. —Jim Holmes
Hard Pill
In Hard Pill, Tim (Jonathan Slavin) awakens on the morning
of his 33rd birthday, a lonely, disillusioned gay man. Throughout
the day we meet his various friends and co-workers, who are
rated on a sexual scale by how gay or straight they are.
Later, over a candle-lit birthday cake, frustrated by the “currency” in
the gay world, flames fly when Tim announces he's enrolled
in a controversial study to pill-pop his way to straight.
After the tumultuous birthday bash, he leaves his gay life
and complicated friends behind, in search of a girlfriend.
Enter Tanya, the very naive “girlfriend.” In
between opinionated street interviews, Tim pops his pills
in an attempt to find his “mojo.” The workplace
becomes tense, relationships get reviewed and friendships
go from hot to cold, as we follow Tim from gay to straight.
Over time, Tim discovers that a pill can't replace his passion
for men, and he returns to his old gay ways, realizing being
straight is a hard pill to swallow. As Jackie Susann wrote: ”Sometimes
you have to climb Mount Everest to reach the Valley of the
Dolls!” At times Tim's trek was a bit laborious; you
might want to take a pill first! Bonus Features: None —JH
Little Britain: The Complete Second Series
Dafydd Thomas, who endlessly espouses that he’s “the
only gay in the village” and Vicky Pollard, the trash-talking-est
teen in all of England, are among the characters who make
very welcome returns in season two of the UK’s most
beloved sketch comedy series Little Britain, the brainchild
of comic wunderkinds Matt Lucas and David Walliams. However,
it’s a new character Bubbles De Vere, a rotund elderly
woman played by Walliams, who makes the, ahem, biggest impression.
Your sides will split from laughter as Bubbles, who fancies
herself a vixen, drops towel and tries to use her imagined
feminine charms to avoid paying her massive bill at a posh
spa. The entire second season is available on this two-disc
set. Bonus features: Commentary by the stars, a documentary
on the series, 2005 Comedy Relief sketches with Elton John,
George Michael, and Robbie Williams, plus some really funny
deleted scenes that were perhaps too risqué even for
this bawdy series. —Jeremy Kinser
That Girl, Season One
With her plucky charm, Mary Quant wardrobe, and signature
brunette flip (still TV’s most iconic hairstyle—sorry
Rachel Green!), Ann Marie thanked her parents for raising
her properly and headed off to New York to pursue an acting
career. As winningly portrayed by Marlo Thomas on That Girl,
the single gal in the city sitcom which ran from 1966-71
on ABC, Ann was also an “It girl,” a groundbreaking
female character, paving the way for other liberated ladies
like Mary Richards and Carrie Bradshaw. The series holds
up surprisingly well and, as with many vintage series, it’s
a kick to spot the before-they-were-famous celebs making
guest appearances; there’s no disappointment here with
George Carlin, Dabney Coleman, Teri Garr, Rob Reiner, and
even Carroll O’Connor turning up as a touchy tenor.
All 30 episodes are available on this five-disc boxed set.
Bonus features: An interview with the still-beguiling Thomas,
who discusses the origin of the series and being TV‘s
youngest female producer, vintage promo ads that are very
much of their time period, and select episode commentary
by Thomas and co-creator Bill Persky.—JK
Transamerica
On the eve of her sexual reassignment surgery, Bree Osbourne
receives a phone call from the son she never knew she had
and is forced to fly to New York to bail him out of jail.
The two embark on a cross-country adventure that forces them
to bond in ways they never imagined. While that description
may sound a bit drippy, Transamerica—part road movie,
part coming-of-age drama, part character study, and part
observational comedy—marks an auspicious directorial
debut for openly gay Duncan Tucker, who also wrote the screenplay.
Felicity Huffman made the leap to award-winning A-list movie
actress with her indelible portrait of the beleagured Bree,
while talented cutie pie Kevin Zegers makes a strong impression
as her troubled son Toby. Look fast for cameos by L.A. locals
Andrea James and Calpernia Adams, who served as consultants
on the film. Bonus features: Commentary by Tucker, whose
observations actually deepen the viewing experience, interviews
with the director and cast, and the video for Dolly Parton’s
Oscar nominated song “Travelin’ Through.”—JK
|
