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<\/p>\n10 comforting queer flicks to soothe the soul in a discomforting time<\/b><\/p>\n
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As the dog days of winter drag on, the odds of ending up sick in bed rise. Then again, with Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0daily F-bombs, it\u2019s a wonder every sane person in America hasn\u2019t come down with a nasty case of nausea.<\/p>\n Fortunately there are\u00a0plenty of options when it comes to movies to keep us company and distract us from reality. The list assembled here comprises of the equivalent of comfort food\u2014gay<\/a> films we love to watch again and again that put us in a good mood, rather like old friends. These are not necessarily\u00a0the the \u201cbest\u201d movies, flicks that challenge us artistically or intellectually and gobble up festival honors. Instead, they warm our hearts by reminding us of the beauty of same love, community and pride.<\/p>\n Check out or revisit these queer flicks for a little comfort, and some warm & fuzzy feelings\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. The Broken Hearts Club<\/strong><\/p>\n Before he produced superhero TV, Greg Berlanti<\/a> (Arrow, Supergirl<\/em>) tried his hand at writing and directing an indie film. The result, The Broken Hearts Club<\/em>, became a latter-day classic of queer cinema, a love letter to the surrogate family of the LGBT community. These days it plays like a shocking who\u2019s-who of stars on the rise: Justin Theroux, Zach Braff, and Timothy Olyphant all have early roles, as does Dean Cain before he became a Trump surrogate and spokesman for dermal filler. John Mahoney steals his scenes as an aging gay<\/a> restaurateur, and becomes the emotional center of a film as tender as it is funny.<\/p>\n 2. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert<\/strong><\/p>\n For a dragtastic good time, check out this gem from Oz about three cross dressers in the Australian outback. The film helped launch the stateside careers of Guy Pierce and Hugo Weaving, and reminded the world of the considerable talents of the great Terrence Stamp. With Oscar-winning costumes that have to be seen to be believed, and one of the most fabulous soundtracks to ever grace the screen, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert<\/em><\/a> affirms the family-like glories of gay<\/a> camaraderie. Even the most stoic viewers will get in touch with their inner drag queens, thanks to the sharp dialogue and irresistible music.<\/p>\n 3. Trick<\/strong><\/p>\n Two gay<\/a> guys<\/a> do their best to hook up in this romantic farce, and along the way, they realize something curious: they actually like<\/em> one another. Christian Campbell <\/a>(Neve\u2019s brother) and John Paul Pitoc play said horny<\/a> dudes, though the real joy of the movie comes from (of all people) Tori Spelling<\/a> as Campbell\u2019s ditzy friend. Who would have thought that the actress could actually steal all of her scenes as a wannabe Broadway actress? Likewise, noted drag performer Coco Peru gives a memorable performance as one of Pitoc\u2019s one night stands. Trick<\/em>\u2019s <\/a>premise is hardly original, nor are its characters. Yet, as a charming portrait of boy<\/a>-on-boy<\/a> romance, the movie succeeds and will no doubt leave a smile on the face of a queer audience.<\/p>\n 4. Latter Days<\/strong><\/p>\n The closeted Mormon sexual fantasy has far surpassed clich\u00e9 in recent years. In fact, thanks to the Church of Latter-Day Saints\u2019 role in the passage of California Prop. 8 and other anti-LGBT legislation, anything Mormon grates more than fascinates (ok, Book of Mormon <\/em><\/a>notwithstanding). Latter Days<\/em><\/a> came out in 2004, and memorializes the last moment when queer culture found Mormon culture fascinating. As written and directed by C. Jay Cox, Latter Days<\/em> chronicles a flamboyant Los Angeles gay<\/a> falling for his closeted Mormon neighbor. Much like several other films listed here though, the romantic leads get upstaged by the eccentric supporting characters, and a supporting cast that includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Amber Benson, Mary Kay Place and Jacqueline Bisset. Though ostensibly a comedy, Latter Days<\/em> does feature some disturbing scenes of conversion therapy, suggesting that if made today, the film would veer more toward the dramatic. In that sense, the film has a certain innocence about it, making it a charming, if na\u00efve meditation on coming out and first love.<\/p>\n 5. GBF<\/strong><\/p>\n If a mass hit like Mean Girls<\/em><\/a> hinted at the dynamic between cliquish teen<\/a> women<\/a> and their gay<\/a> besties, GBF<\/em> <\/a>indulges the idea, and becomes a hilarious answer to hetero-elitism. Part of director Darren Stein\u2019s<\/a> ongoing fascination with teen<\/a> girls<\/a> (his film Jawbreaker <\/em>covered similar ground), GBF<\/em> follows the rivalry between two young, gay<\/a> high schoolers, one out and the other closeted. While their semi-feud provides plenty of laughs, GBF<\/em> has a darker undercurrent\u2014one highlighting the hypocrisy of straight women<\/a> who want gay<\/a> friends, but refuse to acknowledge gay<\/a> relationships or homophobia. Even with the film\u2019s serious edge, GBF<\/em> keeps the humor coming, making it as familiar and comforting as other high school\/queer interest movies like Mean Girls<\/em> or Clueless<\/em>.<\/p>\n 6. Shared Rooms<\/strong><\/p>\n A queer answer to holiday relationship movies like Love, Actually<\/em> or The Family Stone<\/em>, Shared Rooms<\/em><\/a> follows a trio of gay<\/a> couples<\/a> all in various states of commitment over the week between Christmas and New Year\u2019s Eve. A fresh-faced cast lends credence to what amounts to a meditation on love and family as a hook-up turns serious, a roommate arrangement masks hidden feelings, and a happy married couple<\/a> takes in a young, gay<\/a> ward. The unrated movie also features plenty of nudity from its very attractive cast, including the full frontal variety (actors Justin Xavier and Alexander Neil Smith might actually spend more of the movie\u2019s runtime showing off the full Monty rather than dressed). Rather than titillate though, the nude<\/a> scenes add a layer of honesty to the story, somehow making the characters all the more believable. The film\u2019s one misstep lays in the film\u2019s adoptive subplot: at times half of the married couple<\/a> seems a bit too<\/em> excited to have an adoptive gay<\/a> teen<\/a>, to the point it borders on creepy. Still, Shared Rooms<\/em> has a great deal of charm, and some heartwarming scenes of a gay<\/a> surrogate family becoming a real one.<\/p>\n 7. Boy Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n Q. Alan Brocka directed this adaptation of Matthew Rettenmund\u2019s novel about a hooker with a heart of gold. Boy Culture<\/em><\/a> doesn\u2019t play like the gay<\/a> version of Pretty Woman<\/em>, however. In fact, it smashes the Cinderella nonsense of that film precisely by introducing a set of realistic characters, led by X. As played by Derek Magyar, X makes no apology for his questionable line of work. On the contrary, he seems to feel more shame for being part of a love triangle with his two hottie roommates, Andrew and Gregory. With a multi-racial cast and a melancholy backdrop of Seattle, Boy Culture<\/em> unfolds less as a gay<\/a> film about sex<\/a> than a thoughtful drama about finding love in an oversexed world. For a queer audience, Boy Culture<\/em> surpasses the fairytale silliness of most romantic comedies\u2014gay<\/a> or straight themed\u2014with believable characters and some real introspection.<\/p>\n 8. Billy\u2019s Hollywood Screen Kiss<\/strong><\/p>\n Sean Hayes<\/a> burst onto the indie scene just prior to his tenure on Will & Grace<\/em><\/a> with this queer romance. Hayes plays Billy, a Los Angeles photographer who falls for one of his models named Gabriel. But is Gabriel gay<\/a>? Billy spends most of Billy\u2019s Hollywood Screen Kiss<\/em> trying to realize the issue isn\u2019t Gabriel\u2019s sexuality\u2014it\u2019s if he\u2019s attracted to Billy personally. The premise does wear thin over the film\u2019s 92 minute runtime, though Hayes gives such a winning performance, he buoy\u2019s the film when its shortcomings should sink it. Billy\u2019s Hollywood Screen Kiss<\/em> belongs to that trend of late 90\u2019s-early 2000\u2019s indie films more preoccupied with gay<\/a> characters being gay<\/a> rather than telling an interesting story. At the same time, sometimes a queer audience just needs a movie that understands the life of LGBT folk, and in that sense, the film comforts, even when it wears thin.<\/p>\n 9. Lazy Eye<\/strong><\/p>\n Writer-director Tim Kirkman examines the One That Got Away in Lazy Eye<\/em><\/a>, a film that postures as a love story. Loaded with sharp, naturalistic dialogue and featuring two fine performances from Lucas Near-Verbrugghe & Aaron Costa Ganis, the story centers on two middle-aged men<\/a> rekindling a long-ago romance. As the film unfolds, it begins to reveal its true subject. Lazy Eye <\/em>is less about lost love than nostalgia for youth, confronting past idealism and ultimately, growing up. In that way, the film could easily work as a sequel to one of those \u201cI\u2019ll never forget that summer\u201d coming of age films. Ganis and Near-Verbrugghe have a magnetic chemistry, and like Shared Rooms<\/em>, Lazy Eye<\/em> features a good deal of nudity and graphic sex<\/a>, though not in a pornographic way. Rather, the film has a voyeuristic quality which adds to the underlying feeling of realism. Gabe Mayhan\u2019s photography captures the majestic beauty of the desert on par with the most glorious images of Lawrence of Arabia<\/em>, and if the movie leaves a bittersweet taste, it feels like a comfort rather than revulsion. The two leads find something even better than closure\u2014they find themselves.<\/p>\n 10. The Wedding Banquet<\/strong><\/p>\n Before Ang Lee <\/a>raised the bar on queer films with Brokeback<\/em> Mountain<\/em>, the director helmed this heartwarming tale about a gay<\/a> Chinese man<\/a> reconciling his traditional family with his American queer life. For lead character Wai-Tung, that means marrying a traditional Chinese woman<\/a> with the titular traditional Chinese ceremony, even while he keeps his longtime boyfriend Simon at home. The Wedding Banquet<\/em> succeeds thanks to a perfect blend of drama and comedy, an appealing cast, and Lee\u2019s astute direction. In the end, the movie isn\u2019t so much about being gay<\/a> or being Chinese as it is about balancing family expectations, and becoming a fully-formed adult. Years ahead of its time, The Wedding Banquet<\/em> remains an overlooked classic of queer cinema, and a comforting one at that.<\/p>\n \nwww.queerty.com\/10-comforting-queer-flicks-soothe-soul-discomforting-time-20170225?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+queerty2+%28Queerty%29<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 10 comforting queer flicks to soothe the soul in a discomforting time As the dog days of winter drag on, the odds of ending up sick in bed rise. Then again, with Donald Trump\u00a0daily F-bombs, it\u2019s a wonder every sane person in America hasn\u2019t come down with a nasty case of nausea. Fortunately there are\u00a0plenty … Continue reading 10 comforting queer flicks to soothe the soul in a discomforting time<\/span> ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/queerty-prodweb.s3.amazonaws.com\/content\/docs\/2017\/01\/11151629\/maxresdefault1-670x468.jpg\")
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