By Ken knox

Guys & Balls

Set in the hyper-masculine world of professional soccer (um, make that football), Guys & Balls tells the story of Ecki (hunky blond Maximilian Brückner), a closeted bloke who gets tossed off his football team when his homophobic teammates find out he is gay. Before you can say “Holy feel-good gay movie,” Ecki enlists the aid of his disgruntled sister (Lisa Maria Potthoff) and a former soccer star (Rolph Zacher), forms an all-gay team and challenges his old team to a match. The film plays out like a gay version of A League of Their Own, closely mirroring the trajectory of American sports-themed films (an underdog team full of “colorful” but lovable characters makes good by standing up for themselves), but—despite its outdated gay stereotypes and predictable ending—is ultimately a harmless and charming story of self-realization. We could do a lot worse. Bonus features: trailers.

Let's Get Frank

Openly gay Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is the subject of Let's Get Frank, an interesting but fractured 2003 documentary film by Bart Everly. Everly spent 24 months following the outspoken politician with cameras during the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton in an effort to reveal what makes Frank tick. He's not completely successful. While some of the film's lighter moments reveal Frank to be a promising closet comedian, 95 percent of the movie is taken up with footage from the congressional impeachment hearings against Clinton (and Frank's tireless efforts to defend the president). Any commentary by Frank about his own life comes merely as an afterthought. The result is that we know no more about Frank than we did at the film's start. Frankly, Barney deserved better. Bonus features: a new interview with the representative filmed in 2005, in which Frank reflects on events that have taken place (including the fight for gay marriage) since the movie's completion.

Shock Treatment

Ostensibly a sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Shock Treatment is a bizarre musical comedy featuring several familiar faces, though it has virtually nothing in common with its predecessor. Stepping in for Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon, Cliff De Young and Jessica Harper portray now-sparring marrieds Brad and Janet Majors, who go on a game show and end up becoming prisoners in a twisted, day-glow world of reality television hell. The colorful sets and costumes are visually inventive, and Richard O'Brien and Richard Hartley's enthusiastic songs (particularly “Little Black Dress” and the title track) often match the campy fun of the original, but De Young and Harper are poor substitutes for Bostwick and Sarandon, and the absence of any of Rocky Horror's gender-fucked sexual shenanigans renders Shock Treatment void of the salacious satire that made the original such a subversive classic. Still, it's worth a look—if only because it pre-dated today's reality TV craze. Bonus features: a commentary by fan club presidents Mad Man Mike and Bill Brennan, a brand new “Shockumentary” on the making of the film, and a featurette on the movie's musical score.

Summer Storm

In Summer Storm, a sweet German import (yes, another one about sports) from writer-director Marco Kreuzpaintner, a closeted teenager with a crush on his straight best friend and rowing teammate is forced to deal with his sexuality when their team is pitted against a team of openly gay rowers during an eventful summer regretta. Though coming-out films have become rather trite in recent years, Kreuzpaintner thankfully avoids many of the clichés that are prominent in gay cinema. Instead, he does the story justice by casting a group of talented young actors to portray his well-developed characters (as protagonist Tobi, German superstar Robert Stadlober—who, incidentally, is bisexual—is particularly good) and capturing the heartbreaking pangs of young love with gentle authenticity and sincerity. A hot soundtrack featuring Nada Surf, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Radio 4, and Nova International adds to the movie's charm. Bonus features: except for a few trailers, sadly none.