Big Gay Picture Show

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema and more

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema & more

Paternity Leave (Review)

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Director Matt Riddlehoover has been described as gay cinema’s answer to Woody Allen. It’s difficult to know whether he’s consciously thinking about that when he makes his movies, but there are definitely a lot of echoes of Woody in his work.

With Paternity Leave those echoes are particularly of some of Allen’s earlier work, where he took an absurdist situation but then didn’t treat it in an overtly over the top, silly way. The movie follows boyfriends Greg (Jacob York) and Ken (Charlie David), who’ve been together for four years, but whose lives are flipped upside-down when Greg discovers that he’s pregnant. [Read more…]

Dániel (Short Film Review)

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The short film Dániel recently received its World Premiere at the Palm Springs Film Festival and will be screening at festivals over the coming months. It follows the eponymous Dániel (Balázs Csémy) a Hungarian living in the UK who is paying for his studies by working as a male prostitute for both men and women.

He is invited for lunch by his friend Nori (Hilda Péter), who introduces him to her new boyfriend Tom (Henry Garrett). They seem to be getting along well, chatting about their lives and experiences, but Tom may be hiding something he wants to tell Dániel while Nori isn’t around. [Read more…]

Little Bi Peep (Review)

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Emma (Anna Shields – who also wrote and co-directed the film) is a young woman who works in a sex shop. She also enjoys sleeping with both men and women as much as she can, but she isn’t one to get attached, partly because these fleeting bits of fun allow her to be whoever she wants to be – a teacher to one person, an artist to another – anything that isn’t someone stuck in a sex shop who doesn’t quite know what the next step to take is.

Into that comes Mason, a trans man who takes a shine to Emma, and to her own surprise, who Emma genuinely likes back, and who she starts to develop true feelings for. Despite her disarmingly honest approach to her sexual dalliances, Emma unsurprisingly finds it difficult to stay as detached from those around her as she might like, as some don’t like what she’s got to say even if she is just being honest, and that may come back to bite her. [Read more…]

Folsom Forever (US DVD Review)

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San Francisco’s annual Folsom Street Fair is one of those legendary events that is likely to leave very different impressions in different people’s minds (assuming they’ve even heard of it, of course). Some may view it as pit of depravity, full of sexual freaks and weirdos, others think of it as a celebration of diversity that allows the kind of things that are usually hidden to have their day in the sun. There are also those – mainly those who know little about it – who think it’s essentially an open-air orgy, while some view it as something exclusively for Leather Queens.

The documentary Folsom Forever sets out to take a close look at the Fair, covering its history and what it has become now – something that isn’t just tolerated by the City, but which is actively promoted due to the vast amounts of cash it generates. [Read more…]

Eat With Me (US Cinema Review)

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Elliot (Teddy Chen Culver) is a gay man running a Chinese restaurant (which is in major financial trouble). He’s trying to figure out his love life, which certainly isn’t devoid of men but none of them are around for long. His life is shaken up when his mother, Emma (Sharon Omi), turns up on his doorstep and asks to stay for a while.

It appears she’s left Elliot’s rather thoughtless and selfish father, although she doesn’t want to talk about it. There’s also the added complication that while Emma knows her son is gay, she’s not comfortable with it and isn’t sure how to reconcile it in her own mind. However with the help of Elliot’s next door neighbour (Nicole Sullivan), Emma begins to find a new way to look at her life and her possibilities. For Elliot meanwhile, having his mother stay forces him to re-evaluate his tendency to push possible relationships away. [Read more…]

Candid Love (Review)

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Candid Love is a surprisingly fascinating and unusual documentary. It throws you right into the middle of a relationship between two men that’s in crisis. Daniel’s father has died and he’s travelled to his home state of Wisconsin to organise the funeral. However we don’t actually meet him properly until he returns, instead being introduced to Jon, who’s still in Texas, and doing his best to provide support.

However we very quickly come to realise that ‘doing their best’ for these men isn’t necessarily the same thing as succeeding. They are both damaged; balancing mental health issues, drug use and addiction, as well as pasts that neither have completely left behind. Even their sexuality isn’t simple, as while Daniel identifies as gay, his greatest love was a woman and it’s clear he still hasn’t completely gotten over the end of that relationship. There is an uneasy air sometimes with Candid Love where it’s difficult not to think about how much their sexuality plays into the cause and effect of the issues they face and how much it stands to one side. [Read more…]

First Period (US DVD Review)

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It’s initially difficult to know what to make of First Period, largely because it takes a while to get used to the fact the two main female characters are actually played by men. It’s certainly not the first time a film has done it, but there’s something about First Period that initially makes it feel particularly incongruous. I’m not sure what it is, but it may be because normally when it’s done, half the joke is the fact it’s a ‘man in a dress’, but that’s not true here, as it’s never even hinted that Cassie (Brandon Alexander III) and Maggie (Dudley Beene) are anything other than American teenage girls.

The film is a loving homage/send-up of 80s teen movies, with Cassie starting a new school and keen to be noticed and popular. However the moment she turns up the bitchy, popular clique are quick to ensure the slightly overweight girl knows she’s at the bottom of the social heap and that her dreams of popularity are laughable. She does however befriend Maggie, who’s about as unpopular as it’s possible to be, but has a good heart despite her occasional plans for murder. [Read more…]

Such Good People (US DVD Review)

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One of the ‘barriers’ to having gay people in films is that a lot of the time filmmakers and producers feel there has to be a reason for a character to be gay (and to be honest, a lot of audience members aren’t much better). Unless they’re a very minor character or we’re supposed to be laughing at their campery, an LGBT character’s sexuality has to be intrinsic to the plot or they don’t exist – something that’s not demanded of straight characters.

It’s always good then when a film comes along where with a few nips and tucks the two main characters could have been straight, but they’re not, and the movie doesn’t try to de-gay them by essentially treating them as friends who say they’re in a relationship but show no signs of it. [Read more…]

Chance (BFI Flare Review)

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Shown as part of the Fragile Things grouping of short films at BFI Flare this year, Chance is the story of an unlikely love that develops between two very lovely differently-heartbroken individuals.

Clifford Hume’s portrayal of a man lost in a deep depression after the death of his wife is touching and absolutely spot-on: His daily struggles are shown in a tender yet unflinching light and Chance‘s minimal dialogue serves to underscore those feelings of hopelessness and isolation. Tight close-ups and beautifully framed wide shots in a park underline masterfully the loneliness and, later, the growing companionship the main characters find in one another. [Read more…]

Fragile Things Short Films (BFI Flare Review)

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Curtains
Dir. Nathan Evans
Curtains is the warts-and-all story of an unlikely love triangle between two gay men and a lesbian. Very touching and authentic, this is a really well-portrayed short story that raises questions about the nature of fidelity, sex and relationships. While there are no weak links in the cast, Dave Kelley gives an outstanding performance in the central role. [Read more…]