Outfest 2011: Notes from a Darkened Theatre

Outfest 2011 is underway, bringing movie lovers across LA together to experience the latest in gay related films. With 163 films – 67 features and 96 shorts – from 25 different countries on the schedule, there’s plenty to see.

Now in its 29^th year, Outfest is often a So Many Movies, So Little Time situation. Every time slot has multiple flicks I want to catch. Thus I’m forced to choose. Sometimes I pick a winner, other times it’s not so great. But this year, I’ve been lucky so far as all the flicks I’ve seen have been good. One of them, We Were Here, great.

One of the pluses about Outfest is that actors, directors and writers are right there watching the movies too. So, it provides a chance to shake hands with people whose work you admire and hobnob with up-and-coming actors.

I spent a busy opening weekend watching movies, listening in on panel discussions, chatting with filmmakers and catching up with fellow movie-loving friends.

Here’s a brief write up of the movies I saw. The panels will be written up separately. 

We Were Here

The prolonged standing ovation this film got speaks volumes about its impact on the audience. This documentary chronicling the beginning of the AIDS crisis in San Francisco is heart wrenching. Hard to believe enough time has passed since those plague years that people can now do a retrospective on it.

But apparently such a retrospective is needed, desperately. For older viewers, the film provided a release for all the feelings they bottled up while they lived through those devastating times when friends were dying. For younger viewers hungry to know more about this crisis, it provided a window into the recent past.

Expertly edited together, this film combines archival footage with present-day interviews with 5 people who survived the crisis. Those 5 open their hearts to the audience by sharing deeply personal, deeply painful memories. And by doing so, they make We Were Here must see.

There’s one man who talks about being a wuss by dropping out of an early clinical trial because the drug made him too sick. Turns out he was the fortunate one since every one else in the study died. There’s the socially awkward man who blossomed as he began helping out in a hospital AIDS wards. Or the man who became an AIDS activist because someone had to demand a government response.

We Were Here is a movie best seen with an audience. The AIDS crisis pulled people together and made the gay community stronger as a result. Best to relive it together too. 

eCupid

A laugh-out-loud romantic comedy, this is the most fun I’ve had at the movies in ages. The premise is that Marshall (played by Houston Rhines) is about to hit 30 and is getting bored in his 7-year relationship. He downloads an “eCupid” app that promises to help him find true love. Instead, it turns his life upside down offering plenty of laughs along the way.

Lead Rhines (pictured right in coat)carries the film easily on his broad shoulders, letting the audience feel Marshall’s frustration, confusion and vulnerability as his world unravels. Handsome and charismatic, Houston Rhines is a someone to keep an eye on; he’ll be going places in Hollywood.

Noah Schuffman (pictured right in vest) plays Marshall’s boyfriend, nicely conveying the confusion and betrayal that accompanies a breakup. Schuffman and Rhines share nice chemistry. You want to believe in this couple, that they have something worth fighting for. The rest of the supporting cast is equally attractive and equally strong in the acting department.

With eCupid, writer/director JC Calciano proves his previous film, Is It Just Me, was no fluke. Calciano is a gifted filmmaker who should be entertaining us for years to come. One of his most astonishing accomplishments is the fact the eCupid was shot in 12 days on a $75,000 budget. The production values are so high, the editing so expert and the performances so good, it looks and feels like a $5 million film. eCupid might well set a standard for high quality, ultra low budget filmmaking for years to come.

Longhorns

A clever comedy poking fun a frat boy bonding, Longhorns follows a Texas college student who watches porn videos with his roommates, only to end up jerking them off. That contents him until he meets an openly gay student who he’s drawn to and repulsed by. These conflicting feelings force him into some awkward situations that gives viewers plenty of chuckles.

The cast, led by newcomer Jacob Newton, is first rate. They capture both the fear and excitement of the college students discovering gay sex through very textured performances. Director David Lewis said during a q & a that he lucked out getting these actors since they brought layers to the characters he never imagined.

The film features a full frontal nude scenes of each of the five male leads, including Dylan Vox, who was in The Lair and Dante’s Cove. Vox also is known for doing gay porn under the name Brad Benton.

Going Down in La-La Land

A $200,000 film that looks like it had a $2 million budget, this is a winner. The tale of a gay struggling actor who turns to porn to get the rent paid. That decision leads to many, many hilarious situations.

Star Matthew Ludwinski has the right combination of youthful exuberance and naïveté to make the part work. He wears his heart on his sleeve and the audience genuinely cares about him. He’s especially got good chemistry with Allsion Lane who gives him a place to stay when he moves to LA. She’s Grace to his Will.

The latest from director Casper Andreas, this film is fun and moving. Andreas is proving himself an accomplished director, capable of pulling off complicated shoots with many locations on a tight shooting schedule. One only wonders the things he might be able to accomplish with a bigger budget and a longer shoot.

Becoming Chaz

Sure, this documentary about Chaz Bono’s transition to a male has already played on TV’s Oprah Winfrey Network. But the film was even more amazing to see with an audience.

This is a warts-and-all documentary showing both touching moments with girlfriend Jenny Elia as well as frustrated arguments. We see old Sonny and Cher show clips of Chastity as a toddler and meet his extended family too. And in the process we get to know a brave man doing what’s right for himself.

Bono was courageous to allow film crews to follow him through this deeply personal experience. But his bravery has made for one of the most compelling documentaries ever made. The upshot is the Chaz is happier with his life now and viewers have an enriched experience, a glimpse into something that is still a mystery to many people.