Phil's DVD Review: GAYBY (2012) from Wolfe Video-July 24, 2013

GAYBY
Starring: Jenn Harris, Matthew Wilkas, Anna Margaret Hollyman, Mike Doyle, Alycia Delmore, Jack Ferver, Jonathan Lisecki, Charlie Barnett, Alex Karpovsky, Sarita Choudhury, and Adam Driver.
Cinematography by Clay Liford
Written and Directed by Jonathan Lisecki
Distributed by Wolfe Video

When I attended last month's Frameline 37 Film Festival, I saw some of the very best queer films I have ever seen. These films were funny, touching, shocking, educational, but above all, they were made by some of the most talented filmmakers out there. Today's movie review had the pleasure of being the Closing Night Film at last year's festival, and it's been distributed by the fine folks over at Wolfe Video (located right here in my hometown of San Jose). While comedic and heart warming at the same time, GAYBY also touches upon a subject that is very relatable regardless of sexual preference.

Straight yoga instructor Jenn (Harris) and gay comic book store owner Matt (Wilkas) have been best friends since college. Now being in their 30's, they're starting to feel old, especially Jenn, who really wants to have a baby. Problem is that she has no boyfriend and no potential suitors. Matt is also single and still trying to get over his ex-boyfriend. In the end, Jenn proposes to him their old plan of having a baby together....the old fashioned way! While preparing for parenthood, they both continue dating in an attempt to try to find love and happiness, but will it ruin their plans of having a baby together?

Both Harris and Wilkas have great on-screen chemistry together, playing off one another with precise comedic timing and flawed vulnerability which makes them relatable and believable. We know people like these in our everyday lives. They work with us, they're our friends and neighbors, and our relatives. Harris's Jenn looks, talks, and acts like a normal woman who is desperate to have a child of her own. Also, Ferver and Lisecki as Jenn and Matt's gay best friends bring so much comedic relief that I almost died laughing everytime they came on screen! These guys are hilarious!!

Now the film is based on a short that Jonathan Lisecki did a couple of years ago. Here, we see the continuation of that short, expanding the characters and the situation that ties everyone together. Here is a film that is both funny and romantic, but I wouldn't label it as a romantic comedy. It transcends the normal formality of labeling and really distinguishes itself as a uncategorized movie. It's queer, it's funny, it's silly it's romantic, it's sad, it's topical, it's everything that you the audience projects into it. Therefore, you cannot label the film; by doing so, you're limiting its potential and visibility as a crossover film.

The film has been screened at numerous film festivals, such as the Los Angeles Film Festival, SXSW, and of course Frameline 36. It has also won several Best Film awards, including from Out On Film Atlanta LGBTQ Festival and Boston Independent Film Festival.

The DVD has some cool bonus features: audio commentary, deleted scenes, previews, and the original GAYBY short I mentioned earlier.

GAYBY is one of my favorite DVD releases of 2013 thus far! It's wildly entertaining, full of interesting and believable characters, laugh out loud funny, and touching as well. This is one of the best LGBT films I've seen in a while! 5 out of 5 stars! Highly recommended!!

GAYBY is currently available on DVD at your local retailer. You can also purchase a copy at the Wolfe Video website at www.wolfevideo.com.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil attends FRAMELINE 37: Day Four-June 23, 2013

Welcome back to my final day of attending the Frameline37: San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival!! I saw another three outstanding films on Sunday, so sit back, relax, and enjoy my reviews!

The first film I saw was the documentary THE CAMPAIGN. This locally produced made film chronicled all the hard work and grass roots activism that transpired back in 2008, when the evil Prop 8 Bill was put on the ballot. The documentary showed all the volunteers that worked hard in defeating Prop 8; all their blood, sweat, and unfortunately, their tears. When Prop 8 passed, it devastated the queer community, especially here in San Francisco. The film spotlights those who really made an impact during the campaign.

The film was a painful reminder for me about what happened during that election. Even though the country made progress my electing Barrak Obama as president, the passing of Prop 8 was like a slap in the face! It became clear to me that even though we live in the 21st century, the thought of gays and lesbians getting married was blasphemies. To me the issue was more about civil rights than gay rights. I voted against Prop 8 while members of my own family voted for it. Of course we know how the Mormon church got involved with the Prop 8 campaign and how the used their money to swing the vote for their side. But history has been made and a grave mistake has been corrected. Even as I type this, DOMA has been defeated and Prop 8 no longer exist. Gay and lesbians have been getting married in masses. And I for one am very happy to see all my queer friends get married! After the screening, many of the film's cast and crew participated in a Q&A session. This was such a powerful, moving, emotionally charged film!! 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

The second film of the day was another amazing documentary. I AM DIVINE tells the story of the beloved Divine, the infamous underground drag queen starlet that rose to fame through the films by his best friend John Waters. Appearing in such classic trash films like PINK FLAMINGOS, FEMALE TROUBLE and LUST IN THE DUST, Divine went from a Baltimore drag queen to Hollywood superstar, thanks in large part to Water's first mainstream film HAIRSPRAY, which garnered her acclaim and attention. But on the eve of Divine's Hollywood debut, she passed away. Those interviewed for the film include Mink Stole, Tab Hunter, Ricki Lake, members of the legendary Cockettes, and of course John Waters.

The film was directed by acclaimed filmmaker Jeffery Schwartz (he made last year's outstanding documentary VITO), and was largely crowdfunded through Indiegogo and Kickstarter. For me, I loved Divine. Ever since I first saw her in HAIRSPRAY, I knew that I wanted to see all her films. She has become a drag icon in the gay community and she and her legacy will forever live on! Many of the film's crew and interviewers were on hand and conducted a Q&A session with the audience. Another  superb and loving tribute to the one and only Divine!! 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

The third and final film I saw on Sunday was the hilarious comedy WHO'S AFRAID OF VAGINA WOLF? Meet Anna (director Anna Margarita Albelo), a forty year old, latino, lesbian filmmaker who lives in her friend's garage and chain smokes while trying her to do list: lose 20 pounds, find a girlfriend, and write the script for her feature film debut. Oh she also dresses up in a vagina costume. When she meets Katia (Janina Gavankar) she finds the inspiration to write her film (but plans to use the film as a way to win Katia's heart). Joining Anna on her madcap adventure are her two best friends, Penelope (Guinevere Turner) and Chloe (Carrie Preston), but things don't work out well for the film or for Anna. Will she able to make her film and make Katia her girlfriend or will she go back to square one all over again?

The film is funny from beginning to end! Anna does a great job at both acting and directing, and seeing Guinevere Turner up on the big screen again was just icing on the cake! Our two leads have great on-screen chemistry (of course it also helps that they've been friends for years) and their comedic timings are outrageously funny! After the film both Anna and Guinevere conducted and interview and a Q&A with the audience. A terrific lesbian comedy that will have you laughing down the aisle! 4 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

And there you have it! My very first trip to a Frameline Film Festival! I had so much fun at this festival that I'm already planning to attended more screenings at next year's festival. In the meantime, the festival continues until June 30th so there's still time to check out all these amazing films! To purchase tickets, passes, and to view the screenings schedule, visit their official website at www.frameline.org.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil attends FRAMELINE 37: Day Three-June 22, 2013

Hello again everybody and welcome back to Day Two of my trip to Frameline37: San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival!! On Saturday I saw three films, including a midnight show featuring the one and only Peaches Christ!! Keeping me company on my trip was my best friend and make-up artist Michelle Snyder. So let's get this party started!!

The first film we saw was a documentary called BIG JOY: THE ADVENTURES OF JAMES BROUGHTON. Poet, author, filmmaker, trickster, artist, James Broughton was all these things and more.  He was part of the San Francisco Renaissance. He was an early pioneer of the experimental film movement in America. He was also the inspiration of the beat movement. He was part of the Radical Faeries as well as a member of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence named Sister Sermonetta. He had love affairs with both men and women, and briefly lived with the film critic Pauline Kael and they had a daughter named Gina. But it wasn't until Broughton met student Joel Singer, that he had finally fallen in love. And Joel became his muse, and created several new short films as well as new poetry books. James and Joel remained together for the next 25 years until his death on May 17, 1999.

The film was simply wonderful as well as inspiring! Here is an artist who made art his life, his passion, and his career. While he was making his incredible body of work, he was hiding in the closet, which affected his art because he was acting straight. But he followed his dream and became an acclaimed and award winning filmmaker and author. To the artist inside of me, I wished I could've been more like him! Truly an inspiration! After the screening, the producers as well as people interviewed in the film came onstage to conduct and funny and touching Q&A. Just a fantastic documentary! 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

The second film Michelle and I saw was the new film by the award winning lesbian director Jamie Babbit. BREAKING THE GIRLS is one outstanding thriller that features some great thrills and jaw dropping twists and turns! Sara Ryan (Agnes Bruckner) is young law student who works as a bartender. One night her friend and fellow classmate Eric (Shawn Ashmore) walks into the bar and somewhat flirts with her. This does not sit well with Brooke (Shanna Collins), who's dating Eric. Broke begins to sabotage Sara's life and until she has nothing left (she loses her housing, her scholarship, and her job). Enter Alex (Madeline Zima) a striking, mysterious, wild, beautiful and spoiled rich bitch lesbian who comes to Sara's rescue. The two women instantly bond and soon a love affair begins to bloom. But then things become complicated as lies, deceit and murder begin to consume Sara's life, thanks to Alex. To save her life, she reaches out to Eric and to Alex's gold-digging stepmother Nina (Kate Levering) for help, but will it be too late?

The film is easily her greatest production to date. Sporting a top notch and professional cast, high production value, and one outstanding script (courtesy of iconic lesbian actress/screenwriter Guinevere Turner), Babbit breaks the mold of what a lesbian film could and should be! And by working in a totally different genre, she gets to stretch out her wings as a director and really venture into a whole new world with new toys to play with. Interesting set-ups and lighting, long takes, and intricate characters are what we find in the film. Plus not too mention, hot steamy lesbian action that well make you sweat! An amazing piece of cinema from beginning to end! Destined to become a true classic!! 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!

Before the screening, the festival presented Babbit with the Frameline Award for her contributions to queer cinema and even showed a reel with clips from her work in film and television. After the screening, she and Turner took the stage for a fun and interesting Q&A session!

After the screening Michelle and I went and had a few drinks over at the bar Twin Peaks on the corner of Castro and Market. Then we dashed across the street for some very yummy pizza! Then it was back to the Castro Theatre for the special midnight show!!

For this year's Frameline, the festival teamed up with the iconic Peaches Christ for a Midnight Mass extravaganza! Peaches screened one of the greatest queer horror films of all time: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET PART 2: FREDDY' REVENGE!! And she had a very special guest for the show: the film's scream queen star himself Mark Patton was there live and in-person!! Michelle and I made our way to the front row so we could see all the action!

The show began with a horrifying and scary (in a good way of course) opening act with our hostess dressed up as Peaches Krueger doing was she does best; torturing a young nubile teenage boy in his sleep while leading a dance number with hot and sexy gay guys dressed up in leather! Peaches' make-up was just incredible! I think even Robert England himself would be impressed!

After the song and dance, Peaches thanked the audience and welcomed the return of the Midnight Mass!! She then wasted no time in bringing up Mark Patton for a very interesting and quite informative interview. Mark recalled the making of the film, the long hours, him knowing how queer the film was and so forth. He also talked about coming out and living in South America. Peaches had another surprise up her sleeve, as she called up the film's cinematographer Jacques Haitkin to the stage! After the interview, both Mark and Jacques took questions from the audience. There was also a costume contest, and then it was movie time!!

In the film, Mark portrays Jesse, the new kid in town who's family has just moved into Nancy Thomson's old house on Elm Street. However it doesn't very long till he's having the same horrific nightmares that plagued poor Nancy had about Freddy. Jesse befriends his neighbor and classmate Lisa, whom he tells about his horrible nightmares but she doesn't believe him. That is until she starts having the same nightmares herself. After doing some research on Freddy, she finds out that he's planning to take it over Jesse's body, but she may be too late. When he does takes over Jesse's body, all Hell breaks loose.

In hindsight, it's a wonder that no one in the film, cast or crew, noticed or questioned some of the material in the film. After watching it years later as an adult, I was flabbergasted on just how gay it was! The gay innuendos, the coach being tied in the shower and being whipped by towels, the leather bar scene, the list goes on and on. Go back and watch it again. It looks a lot different as an adult than it did when you were a kid! The film has gone on to become one of the greatest homoerotic horror films of all time!! And Mark has been hailed as a scream queen icon!

And that was my second day at Frameline37!! Remeber the festival continues until June 30th so there's still time to check out all these amazing films! To purchase tickets, passes, and to view the screenings schedule, visit their official website at www.frameline.org.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil attends FRAMELINE 37: Day Two-June 21, 2013

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Phil sees WE WERE HERE at The Castro Theatre-Feb. 27, 2011

Hello everybody out there in cyperspace, and welcome to the world premiere of my new movie blog, Phil's Film Adventures! After several years of seeing films in theaters, at film festivals, and on DVD,  I decided it was time to start blogging all my movie going experiences! And for my first blog, I decided to take a trip to San Francisco to see the documentary WE WERE HERE: THE AIDS YEARS IN SAN FRANCISCO at the world famous Castro Theatre.

WE WERE HERE is the latest documentary by David Weissman and Bill Weber, the creative team who brought the film THE COCKETTS to the big screen back in 2002. This powerful film chronicles the AIDS epidemic that struck the gay community in the Castro district in San Francisco back in the early 80s. Through on camera interviews by five individuals that were there, plus periodical and archival footage taken during that time, their stories bring to light what was actually transpiring and how the government paid little attention to the crisis. It also beautifully showed how the gay community came together to fight against what the press dubbed "The Gay Cancer."

The interviewees, who were caregivers, friends, lovers, researchers, activists and AIDS victims themselves, share their stories of struggle to contain the disease; by donating themselves to AIDS research, only to have those early tests fail with dire consequences. Some volunteered their time to assist those who could no longer help themselves, sharing up to date information on what and how to stop the spread of AIDS. Through these devastating times, the film also brought to light how women - more specifically lesbians - came to help their gay brothers in fighting the crisis through political protests and demanding more medical advancement.

After the screening, both directors came onto the stage and participated in a Q&A. The audience asked a dozen or so questions, and Wiessman and Weber answered them all. I was fortunate to partake in this as well. After it was over, I made my way towards them and thanked them for making such a moving piece of art.

The AIDS epidemic left San Francisco's gay community ravaged and broken, leaving wounds that would take years to heal. In the aftermath of it all, over 15,000 gay men died during that time. However, thanks to AIDS research, that number has declined significantly, but there is still no cure for the disease. But Weissman and Weber leave the audience with the idea that hope is still out there. The interviewees all came out of one of the darkest periods in GLBT history without giving up on hope. Some lost lovers, only to find love again. Some found themselves still at the forefront of the gay rights movement. The notion of not giving up made the gay community that much stronger, that more determined to live their lives without fear, and to face adversity together. WE WERE HERE is an amazing documentary that must be seen by everyone!

To learn more about the film and where it's playing, visit the their website at http://wewereherefilm.com/ 

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!