LGBT - Page 6

Manufacturer: Criterion Brand: Image Entertainment Model: 4963016

River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves star in director Gus Van Sant’s haunting tale of two young street hustlers: Mike Waters, a sensitive narcoleptic who dreams of the mother who abandoned him, and Scott Favor, wayward son of the mayor of Portland and the object of Mike’s desire. Navigating a volatile world of junkies, thieves, and johns, Mike takes Scott on a quest from the grungy streets to the open highways of the Pacific Northwest, in search of an elusive place called "home." Groundbreaking and visually dazzling, My Own Private Idaho is a stirring look at unrequited love and life at society’s margins. Mapping the spaces between fortune and degeneracy, Shakespeare and street cant, Europe and the Pacific Northwest, and gay and straight, My Own Private Idaho is the 1991 masterpiece by director Gus Van Sant. River Phoenix gave the most generous and memory-searing performance of his tragically shortened career as Mike Waters, a narcoleptic street hustler in search of his mother. His best friend, Scott, played by Keanu Reeves, is a son of privilege who fosters plans of rejoining the moneyed world of his father after gallivanting with assorted urchins and ne'er-do-wells. The beautifully symmetrical story that emerges between the two is one of friendship, yearning for lost time, and sexual identity conveyed with a poet's eye for landscape. The camera lingers on abandoned houses in golden fields and time-lapse clouds, providing what T.S. Eliot called "the objective correlative"--external representations of interior emotional states. We're treated to striking iconic sequences like a barn falling from the sky and still-life scenes of carnal entanglement. The supporting cast is a rogues' gallery that includes Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Udo Kier, director William Richert, and a variety of "nonactors" pulled literally off the street to provide documentary veracity to a film that gleefully careens into riffs on Henry IV. It's beautiful. What's also beautiful is the Criterion Collection's treatment...

Manufacturer: Lions Gate Brand: Lions Gate

22 episodes on 4 DVDs. 1998-99/color/NR/fullscreen. Will & Grace debuted with a controversial splash because one of its two lead characters is gay--but smart writing and topnotch performances, not politics, have made the show a hit. Two neurotic and sharp-tongued urbanites--gay lawyer Will (Eric McCormack) and straight interior designer Grace (Debra Messing)--delight in their volatile but enduring friendship as they share a sumptuous New York apartment. Sweeping into the mix are Will's unapologetically queeny friend Jack (Sean Hayes) and Grace's wildly eccentric assistant Karen (Megan Mullally). Much like Seinfeld, the humor on Will & Grace springs from self-obsession, petty jealousy, and compulsive interfering in each other's lives--basically, the building blocks of human nature. The show's writers apparently feel compelled to keep the lead characters warm and likeable in the usual sitcom mode (which hardly seems necessary, as McCormack and Messing are naturally engaging). As a result, it's Jack and Karen who get free reign to be truly obnoxious and ridiculous--which, of course, makes them incredibly funny and charismatic. Hayes and Mullally rise to the occasion, ripping through absurd situations and arias of narcissistic wit with dazzling panache. Will & Grace's plots routinely center around scenarios that could feature a married couple or two same-sex roommates: Will and Grace bicker over buying a dog, find their relationship tested by apartment renovations, or discover they're both pursuing the same guy--standard sitcom material that the gay factor gives a clever spin. Though their relationship gets in the way of their sex lives, the two take so much pleasure in each other's company that they can't help but stick together--a surprisingly chaste theme for such a culturally groundbreaking show, but one that Will & Grace's addicted audience undoubtedly appreciates. --Bret Fetzer

Manufacturer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Brand: Sony Model: 4987585

Brilliant, egocentric and completely unique, Oscar Wilde (Stephen Fry) defied convention on almost every level. While coming to terms with his newfound sexual identity, he also experienced his most creative period, resulting in some of his best-known works. As his literary career flourished, the self-realization of his homosexuality caused Wilde enormous torment as he juggled marriage, fatherhoodand responsibility with his obsessive love for Lord Alfred Douglas (Jude Law). It is this passionate and stormy relationship which consumed and ultimately destroyed him. Featuring a brilliant supporting cast including Jennifer Ehle, Academy Award(r)-Winner Vanessa Redgrave and Tom Wilkinson as Wilde's chief adversary, the Marquis of Queensbury.

Manufacturer: Ariztical Entertainment Brand: Ariztical Entertainment Model: 631008072593

Zack and Benji open up their relationship for a weekend of fun at a gay resort in Palm Springs. After Zack runs into his ex-boyfriend Casey, Casey lies and tells him he met someone new to avoid Zack's pity. When Casey reacquaints with an old high school friend, Peter, he manages to convince him to pretend to be his boyfriend despite Peter's reluctance that it will interfere with his promiscuous weekend opportunities. As sexual tensions start to mount between Benji and Peter, Zack becomes increasingly dissatisfied with his relationship while Casey longs for a stable relationship of his own. A sexy and outrageous comedy, Eating Out: The Open Weekend serves up plenty of eye-candy and raunchy fun along with the pursuit of finding true love.

Manufacturer: Embrem Entertainment Model: EMB006

A candid, sexy, and outrageously funny look at what an actor can - and will do - to survive in Hollywood. Young, handsome, and ambitious, Adam arrives from New York with dreams of making it big in L.A. He moves in with his zany best friend Candy who, between auditions, spends her time at the gym, shopping, or looking for a wealthy man. Adam gets off to a rocky start, complete with parking tickets and an insufferable job answering phones. A new job in production looks promising, but soon Adam finds himself dealing with down-and-out directors, washed up starlets, and meth addicts, as he starts to loose himself in a seamy underworld of gay porn and prostitution.

Manufacturer: Breaking Glass Pictures Brand: BREAKING GLASS PICTURES

The Skinny is a sharply scripted comedy about a group of four young black gay men and their lesbian best friend. They arrange to meet up in New York City one year after their graduation from Brown University. Their plans for a weekend of fun start off well, relaxed in each other's company as only old friends can be. But old tensions quickly resurface. Drinking, drugs, hidden desire and the demands of promiscuity put friendship, trust and even lives at risk.

Manufacturer: MTV Brand: Noah's Arc Model: 34716951

The film based on the LOGO TV series finds the characters' relationships cracking under pressure during a weekend wedding getaway in Martha's Vineyard. Bonuses: featurettes, deleted scenes. Based on the popular television series, Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom is a feature film that continues the narrative thread of the second series, with all the luscious drama that one would expect. In this, Noah Nichols (Darryl Stephens) and his ARC: Alex Kirby (Rodney Chester), Ricky Davis (Christian Vincent), and Chance Counter (Douglas Spearman), retreat to Martha’s Vineyard for Noah’s intimate marriage to Wade Robinson (Jensen Atwood). While Alex’s hubby, Trey (Gregory Kieth), video chats from home to babysit their newly adopted Ethiopian child, Chance brings his husband, Eddie (Jonathan Julian), and Ricky is accompanied by the 19-year old Brandon (Gary Leroi Gray) for some lighthearted fling-dating. But as the four couples hole up and attend separate bachelor parties, each relationship begins to unravel. Alex’s pill-popping throughout the weekend, compiled with surprise drop-ins from Noah’s boss, Brandy (Jennia Fredrique) and rapper Baby Gat (Jason Steed), don’t help Noah and Wade work through last-minute jitters. Humor abounding, many of the deep questions about what marriage and commitment mean are filtered through scenes about stress related to coming-out and what promiscuity symbolizes to gay men. Appearances by two moms, Noah’s (Suanne Coy) and Wade’s (Tonya Pinkins), also make for some fun, and tense, situation comedy. Jumping the Broom has all the verve of the series, so if you are already a fan, this romantic tale will not disappoint. --Trinie Dalton

Manufacturer: Warner Archive Collection Brand: WARNER BROS. DIGITAL DIST

From the folks that brought us Mr. Magoo comes "Gay Purr-ee," a stylish and sophisticated animated musical about a group of cats in Paris, France. "The Wizard of Oz" meets "Camelot" in the classic voices of Judy Garland and Robert Goulet, who add another dimension to the clever script by animation master Chuck Jones ("Looney Tunes") and his wife. The terrific score is by Harold Arlen ("The Wizard of Oz").When sold by Amazon.com, this product will be manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.