It's a Sequel to Another Gay Movie

I went to see the first film in Kendall when it was playing. I must have been the youngest person in the theater, the majority of the people there were older man, age range around early 30s to 40s. I thought the movie was really funny in that twinkie sort of way. You know, a laugh here or there, but really not fulling or meaningful. I took down a lot of notes about the film--that social science analytical brain always ticking--because I thought the film, while not Oscar worthy by any means, was a good example of gay film makers commenting on gay culture and stereotypes.

One of the more interesting aspects of the film is the fact that there are many references to things "only" gay people would know about. Almost like hidden symbols and messages that only a person who was aware of them would pick up on. I showed the film to both gay and straight people and you could really tell that one group picked up the references and the other did not. For example there is a scene where you have ManHunt.Net on a computer screen. The gay audiences laughed about it. The straight ones asked what it was about. There is also the gerbil reference, which I guess only older queer people and in-the-know folk would pick up on.

Then of course there are the many cameos that appear in the movie. And it ranged not just from well known people, or at least within the scope of queer actors/performers, such as ANT or that guy from Kids In The Hal, but also an array of people from other sections of the gay media that are less popular, and most certainly unlikely to be seen in a straight film along side big stars, porn stars and drag queens. The show does a good job of getting the many faces of the community in the film, because it is a gay film, which means you'll get the bears, people with really weird fetishes, and the old creepy men that love boys. The film isn't trying to portray a realistic portrait of gay life: it's a comedy after all.

And then there was the sequel. I am going to admit it, I'm probably going to go see the film when it comes out. However, I do have some problems withe the premise of the film: basically the boys are going to Ft. Lauderdale and the goal of the entire break is to sleep with as many people as possible. Not exactly the wisest bit of information to be projecting on the big screen, but the film itself is set in different world than our own. In the trailer there is scene where crabs attack the boys privates, clearly joking about picking up an STD, but it is not so much a lesson as it is poking fun at it. Movies like this exist in a ideal gay world where homosexuality is accepted and the many realistic worries do not exist. And that's both good and bad.

I'm excited for the cast, some pretty big names, like Rupaul (in drag again, or sort of, I could not really tell), Brett Corrigan, and a host of Drag Queens, and I am sure much more. Much like the first, I'm not expecting to get a lot out of it, in terms of content, but a lot of notes when it comes to queer film making.