The Body is Back From Vacation But the Spirit Hasn't Yet Arrived back to the Land of Entrapment. I will just say that the Province Lands and Cape Cod National Seashore is as glorious as ever.
I will post photos one of these days but, for today, let me just share some very different videos:
Here is a trailer for "Bros" - a gay RomCom which Hubby and I and some friends saw today. We enjoyed it immensely although I imagine not everyone will share that reaction. It is funny, serious, obnoxious at times, sentimental, sexy, over the top (Billy Eichner as Bobby can be obnoxious - enough already!), engaging, and entertaining at a time when we all need some frivolous enjoyment and diversion. Not to mention Luke McFarland. And the fact that a number of scenes are filmed in Provincetown, where we have spent many a vacation, including this past one.
Recommended.
On a completely different wave length is this from the Interfaith Alliance:
I would direct you to the enlightening comments by Wajahat Ali at time mark 6:35 and 50:30
Unfortunately this type of analysis and discussion does not get wide coverage or attention in the media.
I remember seeing West Side Story back in 1961 or '62. I was 13/14. I think the movie was rated for "Mature Audiences" and the Catholic Legion of Decency (ugh) rated it "Unobjectionable for Adults" but somehow I got in to see it. Probably with a couple of my friends from Catholic school. I thought it was great and it has always been my favorite musical.
I think "Officer Krupke" is my favorite number in the soundtrack, followed by "Cool" - I must have harbored secret delinquent tendencies.
Or did I know at some level that it was the creation of "four jewish gay men" as stated in the first video below?
ABC 20/20 did an hour special last evening on Steven Spielberg's new re-make of West Side Story which was a fascinating look behind the scenes with interviews with Spielberg, Rita Moreno and several of the actors. What struck me was how all the members of the cast are just such nice, warm, intelligent, likable people.
I am contemplating suspending COVID caution to see the new production when it comes out...but that seems too risky right now...I will likely wait...till...
Here are some videos of the 20/20 episode that aired last night...I think these three videos are the complete show.
I was ordering a few odds and ends from Amazon this November and December, a few food/flower gifts for mom and family back east, and just stuff we need that I am too paranoid to risk getting in person, like face masks, some containers to keep the mice away from the stuff in the garage pantry, chimney brushes which were not in stock at our local hardware stores...so I took advantage of ONE MONTH FREE of Amazon Prime. (At $119 per year I will not renew as I won't make up the cost in shipping and their free movies/TV series are not worth it in my opinion.
But...here are three gay-themed entries I would recommend if anyone has Amazon Prime.
RETAKE: POPCORN
The first, Retake, Starring: Devon Graye, Tuc Watkins follows a middle age gay man who picks up hustlers on the street in San Francisco and pays them to "role play" a past lover so he could re-live a past memory.
The first hustler didn't satisfy his needs but the next one not only "gets it" but is adept at taking on a new identity and acting out his required role. The two take off to recreate a trip to the Grand Canyon. (not sure why it took so long to get there, but that was the only flaw)
The dynamics and relationship between the two men is quite artfully portrayed by Graye (Brandon/Adam) and Phillips (Jonathan). Graye delivers an often delicate balance between the his role as Brandon and his real self Adam.
I'll give this one 5*stars because as gay-themed movies go, they are mostly kind of amateurish and poorly acted. This one was not only great acting but it was certainly not a "run-of-the-mill" plot. No murders, no cops chasing criminals, no guns, no loud music. Just good acting, interesting plot development and dialogue.
AFTER FOREVER: KLEENEX
This is a series that I hope to finish before our free month expires. The episodes are short but packed with intensity.
This is about two older guys (but much younger than me and in much better shape) which is told in present-day vs flashbacks. I won't be a spoiler except to say I could only get through three episodes and had to take a break. It's a tear-jerker.
And how could I forget the new movie "UNCLE FRANK" (Popcorn) About Frank, a gay Southerner and his niece, Beth. They return to the family home with for his dad's farewell. Husband Wally follows them and the long delayed coming out at the funeral is punctuated by undercurrents of Frank's father's rejection of him which are played out and take center stage.
Saw the Downton Abby movie this week. This was maybe the 4th or 5th movie I've seen in a theatre in four years...worth the trip.
If you watched the series on PBS, it was like coming home to see old friends.
Beautiful cinematography, spectacular sets, fine acting, humor, drama, fantasy, escapism. Two hours away from current events.
I'm not sure how a liberal, working class, anti-oligarchy old guy like me can come to actually like the English aristocrats in Downton Abby but...well, their servants seem to like them pretty well. So I'm in good company. Recommended.
Need some relief from politics and not looking forward to all the Black Friday advertising? Try a couple of Netflix documentaries. Not ones I'd pop corn for...but be my guest and go for the popcorn if you like. Enjoy!
Packed In A Trunk - The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkenson
Call Me By Your Name (I still find the premise of the title a bit contrived)
A story of same sex attraction and dynamics between Elio, a very intelligent 17 year old and Oliver, a nearly 30? year old doctoral student who comes to Italy for a summer internship with Elio's father and lives in their Italian villa. Elio is infatuated with Oliver and wonders if Oliver even likes him. They occasionally spar intellectually and eventually share some romantic moments until Oliver must return to the States.
Suffice it to say that there were changes in the location, minor changes in character and action and the elimination of Elio's obsessive self-reflection. All of which, in my opinion, improved, rather than detracted from the story.
I will not go into critiquing the actors and the screenplay and the filming and editing all of which were very good and/or well done.
But just from a subjective point of view, I enjoyed the movie so much more than the book. It seemed more realistic, more sensual, more romantic, and so much less cerebral, especially on Elio's part, than the book.
I was somewhat disappointed that the setting was in northern Italy and not along the seacoast near Naples. But the setting did work well and while in many respects very beautiful, it was not unrealistically idyllic. The setting and scenery did not upstage the story or characters.
One might find the switching between languages (English, Italian and some dialectical French with a bit of German) a bit distracting with the subtitles, but it works to convey the very natural European way of life and of interacting with others.
Both Elio and Oliver were so much more likeable in the film, whereas in the book I found Elio's incessant self-relection and rumination to be annoying, tedious and masturbatory. In the book I thought Oliver was distant, arrogant and mean toward Elio much of the time.
Here the main characters seem more real, more natural. Elio, while precocious, was not obnoxiously so. He was simpatico, and his confusion was so very adolescent. Oliver's and Elio's relationship develops more realistically and, for the gay audience I think, more satisfactorily. The actors are well cast and suited to their roles. I liked Elio's father, who was not a major character but had some great scenes.
Also, some interesting music throughout.
Bottom line: A nice movie to escape the craziness of the evening news and the real world, if you know what I mean. Recommended.
I must confess that I've been following the disaster in Washington closer than the weather related disasters in California and elsewhere... as if we need another example of climate change - it won't make a bit of difference to our new head of the Environmental Protection Agency who is intent on doing anything but protecting the environment.
And then there was the Congressional Hispanic Caucus being denied entry to a meeting with ICE - can anything out of Paul Ryan's office be more disrespectful.
Yes, I've been a news addict. Checking my blog list morning, noon and evening and sometimes in between. I refresh the browser frequently because some new development might have transpired in the past ten minutes.
Perhaps the entire administration has resigned. One can only hope.
In the midst of this nightmare, seeing a movie sounded like a good idea. Leon is working a 10-day stretch so I made a date to go to the movies with Wendy, our neighborhood admirer of gay men (she's too nice to be called a fag hag). So we went to a matinee on Saturday.
Strange that I felt as nervous as a teenager on a first date, given that I have never felt anything but comfortable with Wendy for the 16 months that we've been friends since moving here to Cochiti Lake.
But my date anxiety is beside the point.
I want to say a few words about the movie, Manchester by the Sea. Now, I am no film critic; for a slew of reviews or for a synopsis of the storyline you can Go here for that.
I've seen only two movies in an actual movie theater in the past year and a half, maybe two years. The last one was that Star Wars sequel or prequel which was not worth writing home about. Leon made me go.
But Manchester by the Sea was truly a movie that lived up to the artistic standards that make for great films.
I admit that one of the reasons I wanted to see Manchester by the Sea was because the story takes place in New England - in Massachusetts which is quintessential New England (the scenes of snow and trees and water and boats and winding country roads and congested small town traffic - such familiar scenes...pleasant perhaps, but they also reminded me that I do not miss the snow and the back-breaking shoveling and the tight narrow streets and honking horns of impatient drivers).
The filming location and setting in New England and by the sea becomes a character in its own right. And the choice of background for each scene not only contributes to the mood and impact of the scene, but conveys a realism that brings the viewer into the experience: a torn chain link fence, street-dirty snow, a fishing boat out on the water, a country road, a pub, a basement apartment, an alleyway, a cluttered bedroom.
As for the movie itself, in my view, Casey Affleck as Lee Chandler carried the film almost singlehandedly, although fine performances were delivered by the actors playing supporting roles and lesser characters (all of whom are listed here). My only critique is that Patrick seemed older, too precocious, for a 16-year-old.
The film artfully and carefully revealed the pain and anguish that Lee harbored for years following a horrific tragedy. We wonder about so many things. The script and the director and the acting all masterfully make us wonder and question: what are the pieces of the story, the past, that makes this guy so introverted, both so meek and so prone to explosive anger, so deeply sad and stoic, why he behaves in certain ways, what became of his ex-wife, his alcoholic sister-in-law, the reason why he left his hometown, his relationship with his brother and nephew. The filmmaker uses flashbacks to fill in the missing pieces - a technique that here is done so well and perfectly integrated.
The stereotypical Catholic Irish American has been portrayed in TV and film so many times that we must all be familiar with the men who are conditioned not to show any emotion that might be considered weak or feminine but who are allowed bravado and, sometimes explosive, anger. A culture where alcohol is both a social lubricant and a curse. A culture where all tragedy and loss is either repressed or dealt with stoically, or eased by a few stiff drinks.
The family in Manchester by the Sea is, I suppose, a typical/stereotypical, Irish American New England family, convincingly and realistically portrayed. A family not untouched by tragedy. As this story unfolds, the underlying emotions, despite the several characters' efforts to keep them buried, take on a life of their own. Emotions come to the surface gradually, most noticeably in Lee, but also in Patrick (Lucas Hedges) and Randi (Michelle Williams), as people and events force the characters to confront their losses.
My only regret on seeing this film was that I did not bring a box of Kleenex.
Go see Manchester by the Sea. If you're anything like me, bring Kleenex.
