Queer Double Feature
Dec. 12th, 2007 08:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blodeueddFor the past few days, I've been having these horrible cravings for junk food. Bring on the burgers, the fries, the chips, the chocolate... Hopefully, it will pass by the end of the week.
It's back to two birds, one stone:
To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar
A case of the title being longer than the actual movie, this drag queen road trip is as campy as you'd expect. And as you'd also expect, the car breaks down and the three fabulous divas are stranded in a little nowhere town, where they teach the locals to accept differences and to embrace their inner love of sequins and feather boas. And all the while, they're being hunted down by a vengeful cop who's pissed that when he tried to feel up one of the "girls", there was more to feel up than he'd expected.
The only thing I found slightly disturbing about this film was the subplot about the abusive husband. He's run out of town, in the end, and that's it. That's it? What about handing him over to the law? Unless the filmmakers were trying to make a point about law enforcement, what with the homophobic officer and all, I don't see why they couldn't have just locked him up. Even in a comedy, something like that is a sour note.
The only other thing I have to say is that Patrick Swayze makes a very handsome woman.
Final Verdict: 6/10
If These Walls Could Talk 2
If These Walls Could Talk was about abortion. This one is about lesbians! Following the same format as the first movie, there are three separate stories; the first one takes place during the early '60s, the second one during the '70s, and the last one takes place in the present day.
Edith & Abby: Spending a lifetime together is sweet, but when one partner dies and the other is left with nothing because she's not acknowledged as the partner, it's heartbreaking. Lesson: gay relationships should be recognised by the law.
Linda & Amy: Newly liberated women shouldn't have to conform to any butch/femme standards. But what if one of those "old-fashioned stereotypes" really does fit to one's self-image? Lesson: there are pressure to conform and discrimination even within minority groups, and lesbians should feel free to adopt whatever identity they feel best with.
Fran & Kal: Just because they have no Y chromosome between them doesn't mean that two women can't have a baby together. If the director was going for "quirky", wouldn't either Ellen or Sharon Stone been enough? Together, it's practically overkill! Still, Ellen's mini-rant, about wishing she could give her partner a child, was rather touching. Lesson: loving couples, no matter their gender, should have every right to raise a child.
Strangely enough, I found this film much preachier than the first one (especially the 1972 segment, which is too bad, because it was the hottest), which I didn't expect. I guess lesbians are a preachier topic than abortion, at least from these directors, and it's always disappointing when important issues are made to feel triter than they should.
Final Verdict: 7/10 (would have been 6.5, but I awarded an extra .5 for the hotness of Michelle Williams and Chloe Sevigny together)
It's back to two birds, one stone:
To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar
A case of the title being longer than the actual movie, this drag queen road trip is as campy as you'd expect. And as you'd also expect, the car breaks down and the three fabulous divas are stranded in a little nowhere town, where they teach the locals to accept differences and to embrace their inner love of sequins and feather boas. And all the while, they're being hunted down by a vengeful cop who's pissed that when he tried to feel up one of the "girls", there was more to feel up than he'd expected.
The only thing I found slightly disturbing about this film was the subplot about the abusive husband. He's run out of town, in the end, and that's it. That's it? What about handing him over to the law? Unless the filmmakers were trying to make a point about law enforcement, what with the homophobic officer and all, I don't see why they couldn't have just locked him up. Even in a comedy, something like that is a sour note.
The only other thing I have to say is that Patrick Swayze makes a very handsome woman.
Final Verdict: 6/10
If These Walls Could Talk 2
If These Walls Could Talk was about abortion. This one is about lesbians! Following the same format as the first movie, there are three separate stories; the first one takes place during the early '60s, the second one during the '70s, and the last one takes place in the present day.
Edith & Abby: Spending a lifetime together is sweet, but when one partner dies and the other is left with nothing because she's not acknowledged as the partner, it's heartbreaking. Lesson: gay relationships should be recognised by the law.
Linda & Amy: Newly liberated women shouldn't have to conform to any butch/femme standards. But what if one of those "old-fashioned stereotypes" really does fit to one's self-image? Lesson: there are pressure to conform and discrimination even within minority groups, and lesbians should feel free to adopt whatever identity they feel best with.
Fran & Kal: Just because they have no Y chromosome between them doesn't mean that two women can't have a baby together. If the director was going for "quirky", wouldn't either Ellen or Sharon Stone been enough? Together, it's practically overkill! Still, Ellen's mini-rant, about wishing she could give her partner a child, was rather touching. Lesson: loving couples, no matter their gender, should have every right to raise a child.
Strangely enough, I found this film much preachier than the first one (especially the 1972 segment, which is too bad, because it was the hottest), which I didn't expect. I guess lesbians are a preachier topic than abortion, at least from these directors, and it's always disappointing when important issues are made to feel triter than they should.
Final Verdict: 7/10 (would have been 6.5, but I awarded an extra .5 for the hotness of Michelle Williams and Chloe Sevigny together)
