Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Knight at the Movies: Movies for a romantic Valentine's Day
by Richard Knight, Jr., for Windy City Times
2012-02-08

This article shared 6187 times since Wed Feb 8, 2012
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


For straight movie lovers, there are plenty of romantic choices to choose from in theaters as the season of love (aka Valentine's Day) approaches. For Our People … well, skip down to the DVD recommendations below. This weekend, Chicago will finally get a look at Madonna's feature directorial debut, W.E., the story of the "romance of the century" (20th, that is) between the Duke and Duchess of Windsor—whose romance scandalized the world (and caused the Duke to give up his crown and, reportedly, his self-esteem, opting instead for a life as a whipping boy to the steely duchess). After a batch of wildly divided reviews following the film's festival debut, the movie's distributor has pulled way, way back on plans for theatrical distribution and, not surprisingly, W.E. wasn't screened in time for WCT deadlines. (Also, as of this writing, the movie is only scheduled to play one theatre in Chicago beginning this Friday: Webster Place.)

Nevertheless, for moviegoers of a historical romantic bent, the curious (and the curiously profane)—I'm veering somewhere in between at this point—Madonna's movie might just be the ticket (and certainly her recording of "Masterpiece," the theme from the film, has whetted a few appetites). Queer writer-director Michael Sucsy (who helmed HBO's marvelous Grey Gardens) now makes his feature debut with the romantic melodrama The Vow, in which comely young wife (Rachel McAdams) wakes up from a coma following a devastating accident to find that she can't remember her equally gorgeous husband (Channing Tatum). Jessica Lange, who won an Emmy for Grey Gardens, is featured and heartstrings are sure to be plucked and tears shed as said gorgeous husband does whatever it takes to win back the long-suffering wife. I can't vouch for the emotional temperature of the picture, as it also wasn't screened in time for critics (although the score by Rachel Portman is indeed, lush and lovely, and the theme song by Taylor Swift appropriately wistful).

For those not willing to risk tamping down the embers of love, however, look no further than the weekend's one bona fide romance classic. This is the Music Box Theatre's special matinee screening, on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 2 p.m. of Blake Edwards' Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Writer and queer icon Truman Capote was never happy with Audrey Hepburn as his Holly Golightly; he wanted Marilyn Monroe (who would've made a stunning, although very different, Holly) for the part and famously carped about Hollywood's 1961 ruination of his novella, Breakfast at Tiffany's. However, Capote's is a lone voice in the wilderness: True the re-imagining of the George Peppard character from gay best friend (best on Tru himself) to hunky would-be lover for Audrey Hepburn's Holly Golightly is a big switch from the novella—but, poured into the traditional Hollywood romance mold, it improbably works.

Between Hepburn's effortless chic (dressed, as usual, in a combination of Givenchy's French couture and Edith Head's sensible daywear), Edwards' sure direction of George Axelrod's clever script (and Edwards expert choreography of the memorable party sequence), Peppard at the height of his stunning blond looks and the acidic voiced Patricia Neal as his monetarily generous "patron of the arts," the movie is gloriously romantic. All of it, of course, is bathed in Henry Mancini's gorgeous music, highlighted by the Oscar-winning "Moon River."

The making of Breakfast at Tiffany's—detailed in Sam Wasson's recent book Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.—is filled with fascinating backstory details (including the truth behind the movie's major false step: Mickey Rooney's unintentionally offensive performance as the outraged Japanese neighbor). However, delving into Wasson's breezy tome might spoil much of the mystery for hardcore romantics, so those folks might want to wait to read it after the Music Box screening.

The event kicks off with a "Sweetheart Sing-a-long" with the Music Box organist, and the venue is offering a special after-screening dinner tie-in with the newly opened DeLeece restaurant just up the street. For lighter movie fare, Music Box is also programming 1984's wacky fairy-tale comedy The Princess Bride on Valentine's Day itself (Tuesday, Feb. 14) at 7:30 p.m. Details and tickets are at www.musicboxtheatre.com .

Although queer romantic films (the sort where no one dies or is mourned, that is) are rarely found in cinemas these days, here's a list of five favorite, random recommendations for home viewing to increase the room temperature on your own Valentine Day's celebration (and feel free to add to this short list with your own suggestions at our website):

1. Normal (2003): Jessica Lange is the understanding wife when husband Tom Wilkinson becomes a female after their 25th-wedding anniversary in out writer-director Jane Anderson's compassionate view of middle-aged transgender love.

2. Maurice (1987): Forbidden gay love in Edwardian England is told through the lens of Merchant-Ivory. James Wilby and best friend Hugh Grant begin a tentative romance that is thwarted by societal conventions, but hang on; the handsome "underkeeper" is waiting in the shadows to save the course of true love.

3. D.E.B.S. (2004): Out writer-director Angela Robinson's spy caper parody is fun and funny. It also features a budding—and forbidden—love between plaid, mini-skirted schoolgirl/spy Sara Foster and her equally comely nemesis, superspy assassin Jordana Brewster. Holland Taylor is hilarious as the tough house mother.

4. Were the World Mine (2008): Queer writer-director Tom Gustafson collaborated with off-screen partner Cory James Krueckeberg on this delightful gay fantasia, a teen musical reimagining of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, set at an elite male boarding school.

5. Big Eden (2000): All the residents in tiny Big Eden, Mont., are trying to help Henry (Arye Gross), the big-time artist from New York, who has returned home to take care of his ailing grandfather. Gross figures out that the man of his dreams is not the hunky Dean (Tim McKay), his best friend from boyhood, but rather the shy Native American, Pike (Eric Schweig), who is waiting in the wings. This delightful romantic comedy (my fave gay-romance movie of all time) was the debut feature from out writer-director Thomas Bezucha.

Check out my archived reviews at www.windycitymediagroup.com or www.knightatthemovies.com . Readers can leave feedback at the latter website.


This article shared 6187 times since Wed Feb 8, 2012
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

JP Karliak morphs into non-binary character for Disney+'s X-Men '97 2024-03-22
- series X-Men '97, a revival of the popular X-men: The Animated Series that's both continuing the ongoing mutant storyline and breaking new ground along the way. The character of Morph now looks more like the comic ...


Gay News

WORLD Uganda items, HIV report, Mandela, Liechtenstein, foreign minister weds 2024-03-21
- It turned out that U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator Jay Gilliam traveled to Uganda on Feb. 19-27, per The Washington Blade. He visited the capital of Kampala and the nearby city of ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer musicians, Marvel situation, Elliot Page, Nicole Kidman 2024-03-21
- Queer musician Joy Oladokun released the single "I Wished on the Moon," from Jack Antonoff's official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look, per a press release. The soundtrack, ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Lady Gaga, 'P-Valley,' Wendy Williams, Luke Evans, 'Queer Eye,' 'Transition' 2024-03-15
- Lady Gaga came to the defense of Dylan Mulvaney after a post with the trans influencer/activist for International Women's Day received hateful responses, People Magazine noted. On Instagram, Gaga stated, "It's appalling to me that a ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Jinkx Monsoon, Xavier Dolan, 'Frida,' Lena Waithe, out singer 2024-03-08
- Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon is headed back to the New York stage, joining off-Broadway's Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey beginning April 2, according to Playbill. The casting makes Monsoon the first drag ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer actors, icons duet, Hunter Schafer, Oscars, Elizabeth Taylor 2024-03-01
- Queer actor Kal Penn is set to star in Trust Me, I'm a Doctor—a film that chronicles the final days of actress/model Anna Nicole Smith, whose overdose death in 2007 at age 39 sparked a tabloid ...


Gay News

Dorian Film Awards: 'All of Us Strangers' takes top prizes 2024-02-27
- February 26, 2024 - Los Angeles, Ca. - For its 15th Dorian Film Awards, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics fully embraced All of Us Strangers, writer-director Andrew Haigh's fantastical and tear-inducing tale of two ...


Gay News

SAG Awards honor Streisand, few LGBTQ+ actors 2024-02-25
- Queer entertainers made their mark—although not a major one—at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, held Feb. 24 in Los Angeles. The event was live-streamed on Netflix for the first time. Indigenous and Two-Spirit actor ...


Gay News

WORLD Caribbean ruling, Pussy Riot, Russian raid, Canadian warning, anti-trans bar 2024-02-23
- The top court in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines dismissed a challenge to colonial-era anti-gay laws, Reuters reported. Javin Johnson and Sean Macleish—two gay men who had pushed to decriminalize ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Kristen Stewart, Rock Hudson, Talia Keys, 'True Detective,' Marvel comic 2024-02-23
- At the Berlin Film Festival, Kristen Stewart defended her photo shoot for a Rolling Stone magazine cover that went viral and divided audiences on social-media platforms, per The Hollywood Reporter. "The existence of a female body ...


Gay News

Second Glance Productions hosts LGBTQupid Soiree 2024-02-16
- In celebration of Valentine's Day, Chicago based film and media production company Second Glance hosted The LBGTQupid Soiree. The event, which was focused on spinning attitudes on this particular day, was presented at The iO ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Elton John, Hannah Gadsby, video game, Jennifer Lopez, queer thriller 2024-02-16
Video below - Sir Elton John has sold his Atlanta home and is now auctioning off more than 900 of his personal items that were kept in the 13,500-square-foot condo, The Daily Mail noted. The massive collection includes rare ...


Gay News

GALECA announces nominees for the Dorian Film Awards 2024-02-07
--From a press release - Feb. 5, 2024 - GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, consisting of over 500 entertainment critics, journalists and media icons, today announced the group's democratically chosen nominees for its 15th Dorian Film Awards. All of ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ JoJo Siwa, Tom Holland, Bowen Yang, Pet Shop Boys, Mariah Carey 2024-02-02
- In the wake of Nigel Lythgoe exiting So You Think You Can Dance, queer personality JoJo Siwa is returning to the series, per Deadline. Siwa, who was a judge on season 17 of the Fox show, will replace Lythgoe, who left ...


Gay News

Leather Archives & Museum announces 2024 Fetish Film Forum 2024-01-27
--From a press release - CHICAGO, Illinois—After a wildly successful inaugural year, including a 10-film series at the Leather Archives & Museum and a 5-film series at FACETS, the Leather Archives & Museum is thrilled to announce the continuation of Fetish ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.