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Reviews
Dream Girl, U.S.A. (1986)
I'm surprised this aired
I was in the audience for a taping of this show, and it was dreadful. This was stooping pretty low for Ken Howard, and it must have been embarrassing for the contestants. I liked seeing Ken Howard, though.
Hidden Hills (2013)
The previous reviews must have been fake.
I just saw this movie at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and it was dreadfully boring. It was not funny, relevant, nor entertaining. The acting was atrocious and it made LGBT people look like buffoons. I heard little laughing during the movie, which was played to a packed theater. The applause at the end was polite at best. To compare this to a Doris Day & Rock Hudson movie is wrong. Has anyone connected to this movie ever watched a Doris Day & Rock Hudson movie? Doris & Rock were a match made in heaven on screen, despite their off screen differences. Sorry, I usually give gay movies 10 stars. But this was not worth my time nor money. If the above reviews weren't fake, what did I miss? Seriously.
American Primitive (2009)
Palm Springs International Film Festival
I just saw this movie at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. It was the "world premier" - which I find odd since the film was shown in 2008 elsewhere. The film said copyright 2009 - so perhaps it was re-edited. Overall I liked the movie, though as a gay man, I realized right away that it was from the viewpoint of the straight daughter. The theme that families of all kinds are valid was the best part. I wish that there had been more understanding of the gay characters, particularly in the era that the film was set. The gay characters seemed dim-witted and incompetent of detailed conversation. Perhaps that's the way they were supposed to appear. I wish the daughter who was the poet had more lines. She was terrific. I do congratulate the producer for a great film on her first try.
Bugcrush (2006)
Disturbing movie
I saw Bugcrush this evening as a part of the Palm Springs Short Film Festival. It was the final movie in the series of gay shorts, with the other movies (for the most part) being funny & interesting. This was the last movie - and was dark, disturbing, grotesque, and bizarre. Perhaps if I was prepared for a creepy, scary movie I would have enjoyed it - but I gasped in all the same parts that the rest of the sold-out gay crowd did. When the Q&A's came at the end, more than half the crowd got up and left, saying things like "Let's get out of here, so I don't have to hear anything about Bugcrush." Of the eight movies shown, Bugcrush was the most memorable - but not in a good way. If that was the point of the movie - it succeeded.
Swing (2003)
I believe in angels & I believe this is a great movie
I just saw the movie Swing this morning at a showing in Palm Springs, CA. I was surprised at the fine quality of the movie, and the fact I had never heard of it before - since it was made 2 years ago. Fortunately it will be out on DVD in January 2006.
It was a great movie, with great performances. Jaqueline Bissett, Jonathan Winters, Nel Carter, and Barry Bostwick were among my favorites. For an independent film, it was chock-full of veteran actors, each performing at their very best.
I love angel-themed movies, and this was clearly a movie which tugs at one's heart. It sort of reminded me of a sophisticated version of Touched By An Angel - which was a great TV show. It was a movie for all ages, since angels are of course ageless.
I was fortunate in that Jacqueline Bissett & the screen writer did a Q&A after the movie. It really has nothing to do with my impression of the movie, except to say that they were fabulously gracious people.
And speaking of fabulous, the soundtrack is incredible. A combination of old and new songs make for a great soundtrack, and help to weave the fabric of the story between the younger characters and the older characters.
Surge of Power: The Stuff of Heroes (2004)
10 snaps for a gay superhero
I just saw the movie tonight at the Gay & Lesbian Film Fest in Palm Desert, California. It was a funny movie - patterned after other comic book superhero movies, but with gay characters. My favorite parts were the cameos. Nichelle Nichols was awesome & looks as beautiful as she did when she filmed Startrek. I always enjoy seeing Lou Ferrigno of Incredible Hulk fame - and he looks terrific and as muscular as ever. It's nice to see him in a speaking part & wearing his hearing aids - he is a great example of a real-life superhero. The movie had gay characters, but they weren't all just stereotypical buffoons like in many gay movies & sitcoms. Though romance was in the air, the characters abstained from any physical contact - in the tradition of true superheros. It is a low budget, independent film - and as such I wasn't expecting a Spiderman-type blockbuster movie with special effects in excess. Instead, the plot and characters carried the movie, with only minimal special effects. I hope the movie finds a distributer, or at least shows up as a DVD, so I can see it again.