Actor/director Olivia Wilde and gay filmmaker Gregg Araki are each, in their own way, having quite a year. Wilde’s “The Invite,” which she directed and stars in alongside Seth Rogen, Penelope Cruz, and Edward Norton, is a hit. Meanwhile, in August, Araki’s 2004 masterwork “Mysterious Skin,” a movie adaptation of the Scott Heim novel starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and actor-turned-director Brady Corbet, is being rereleased in theaters in a new 4K restoration.
Opening with a quote about marriage from Oscar Wilde and ending with a dedication to Diane Keaton, “The Invite” (A24) is the hilarious tearjerker we’ve been waiting for all year. An English-language adaptation of Cesc Gay’s 2020 movie “Sentimental” (based on Gay’s stage play), “The Invite” was directed by Olivia Wilde, who also plays one of the four lead characters, and features a screenplay co-written by Rashida Jones.
In 2020, Emmy and Tony Award-winning gay national treasure Sean Hayes took the unfortunate misstep of playing the titular character in “Lazy Susan,” a movie for which he co-wrote the screenplay. It’s painful to even think about the gifted Hayes playing that lead role in that dismal movie.
Readers and writers of poetry know that characteristics of the literary genre include imagery and economy of language. To her credit, filmmaker Sasha Waters does a respectable job of incorporating both into her documentary “Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World” (Kino Lorber/American Masters), a celebration of the life of the titular lesbian poet who passed in 2019.
I've always had a soft spot for stories about strong women.
“Disclosure Day” (Universal) is the third installment in Steven Spielberg’s friendly alien trilogy, including 1977’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and 1982’s “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (“War of the Worlds” doesn’t count because those aliens were meaner than Pete Hegseth). It’s also heavy on religious allegories, as well as a serious indictment of secretive government agencies. The latter is especially notable due to our current administration’s obsession with Area 51.
“Stop! That! Train!” (Bleecker Street/World of Wonder) is an ill-conceived homage to the 1980s Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker comedies, including “Airplane!”, “Top Secret!”, and “The Naked Gun,” with a hat tip to 1976’s disaster comedy “The Big Bus.” Fueled by tired sight gags and slapstick, as well as laugh-less and lifeless jokes, “Stop! That! Train!” should never have been allowed to leave the station.
Now streaming on Peacock and available on VOD on June 12, “It’s Dorothy” is filmmaker Jeffrey McHale’s latest documentary. Arriving 126 years after L. Frank Baum’s book was published, 87 years after “The Wizard Of Oz” movie premiered in theaters, and 57 years after Judy Garland’s untimely passing, “It’s Dorothy” takes a deep dive into the lasting impact that the character of Dorothy Gale has left on our culture.
On June 1, I went to see Masters of the Universe with my husband Sebastian and one of my closest friends since college, Justin, and somewhere between the action, soundtrack, ridiculous fun, and nonstop commentary between the three of us, I realized something: I had forgotten how good it feels to simply have fun.
It’s official! A “Rocky Horror” revival is in full swing. Currently running on Broadway, the Tony-nominated “The Rocky Horror Show” stars hot, out actor Luke Evans as Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Meanwhile, on screen, you can watch the documentary “Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror” (Magenta Light), directed by Linus O’Brien, son of Richard O'Brien ( writer of “The Rocky Horror Show,” co-writer of the screenplay for “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” and, of course, portrayer of Riff Raff on stage and screen).
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