Were the World Mine - Review!

Friday night I was able to catch a DVDrip (US DVD release is June 9th) and I loved it. For anyone that doesn't know, Were the World Mine is a feature film based on a short film called Faeries. It's about this boys boarding school that does a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Puck is played by the (seemingly) only gay kid in the school. During rehearsals he discovers a secret love potion within the pages of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and shortly everyone is falling in love with a member of the same sex. I should also point out it's a musical.

I've had the soundtrack for several months, and I've listened to it so many times I have the whole thing memorized. It helps that the main singer is about my range, so when I sing it (which I do all the time) I don't sound horribly off from the recording. Anyway, many of the lyrics are taken directly out of the original Shakespeare (I didn't actually check, so if it turns out that's not true, then whoops), and the songs themselves are great, I think. A lot of the bigger numbers are played as dream-ish sequences, but that means there also tend to be half-naked boys dancing around as faeries.

The movie itself is pretty good, certainly better than 90% of the gay-themed trash cinema. I like the main character, played by Tanner Cohen, and I was slightly drooling over his love interest Jonathan. Then again anyone with abs who can sing is pretty ok in my book. My biggest complaint about the film is that when some of the characters are "changed" they take on some pretty stereotypical behavior. The gym coach in particular gets a limp wrist and "clutches his pearls," which I find to be kind of annoying. But since he's not on the screen all that often, I'm willing to let it slide. Overall I think it's one of those movies that is fun to sit down and watch as long as you don't put too fine-toothed a comb to it. I'd say the same about Shelter and Latter Days, though, both of which I very much enjoyed.

"I like the boys to be boys"

Tonight was the season premiere of So You Think You Can Dance Season 5, and as with any SYTYCD premiere, there were lots of really great dancers and really bad dancers. This show is a ton of fun, but I have a very serious problem with one thing: Nigel Barker. More specifically, his rampant homophobia.

Tonight in the premiere, there was a pair of two men who were dancing Ballroom together. They explained in their intro that they had originally had female partners, but it didn't work out, so now they partnered with each other. They came on the stage in typical ballroom performance costumes (think sparkles) and danced with each other. They took turns being the lead to showcase their talent, and they did alright. Towards the end they messed up a lift and both fell over, but they recovered alright. Overall they did passably. I would have put them through to choreography (and before I begin my rant, I should say they did go through to choreography). For those of you unfamiliar with the show, during the first audition weeks, you can either go straight through to the semi-finals, or they put you in choreography to see how you handle other stuff. It's better than a rejection, and it means they think you have potential.

Now for the rant. Mitch and Mischa (the two male dancers) finished their dance, and went up for judging. Immediately Nigel started in with "I don't know what to say. I prefer the boys to look like boys and the girls to look like girls." No comment about their dancing. Just that he prefers traditional gender roles for both partners. Are we really still that stuck in the past? I'm not saying the pair had to be put through. I thought they were passable but not anything amazing and unheard of. But Nigel's comments very much came off as him not being able to buy two men dancing a romantic dance together. If they're fighting, or trying to one up each other, that's fine, but love? Hell no. If you don't like effeminate men, why not have a dance routine with two strong men loving each other. Make them two soldiers from Iraq and have it be a commentary on Don't Ask Don't Tell. Have it be two football players. Have it be a lyrical hip-hop routine about the difficulty of gender roles in a same-sex relationship. SO MANY OPTIONS. But no, dancing must be a Man and a Woman.

If it had just been this routine, I would have shrugged it off as Nigel being so distracted by their bad technique that he blamed their same-sex-pairing. But Nigel has a history of expecting exceedingly traditional things out of his dancers, and I'm tired of it. This show is so great, but it also gets so stuck in certain ways of thinking. I'm not saying we should throw away traditional dance, because there is some amazing stuff out there for mixed couples. But I also don't think we should ignore all of the possibilities for same-sex couples. And if you're not going to include them can't we at least NOT making derogatory comments about them? This is 2009. 5 states have approved Gay Marriage. We almost had a gay American Idol (unless Adam is faking it and he's straight. Which I'm beginning to think might be true). We are far past this kind of homophobia, especially in the entertainment world. And shame on the producers of this show for not setting a better example for all of the young and confused boys and girls who love dance out there. You can't pick and choose when you're going to tell a finalist's story.

But why am I surprised? This is Fox. When the best portrayal of a gay couple happens on The Simpsons, how can any of us be surprised?

Do I really have to find a word for it?

I don't talk about this so often, but an e-acquaintance of mine wrote this article, and I agree with a lot of what it says. And it quotes my favorite book ever.

Male Sexual Fluidity

I identify as gay, because honestly I don't find women overly physically attractive. To be more specific, I think the female form is beautiful, but I don't get aroused when I see it. Which is not a problem I have with men, and I'm happy with my boyfriend. But sometimes I wonder how much of these feelings are how I really feel, and how much is what society expects of me. I'm lucky, because a lot of my feelings really are gay, but I'm getting exceedingly tired of the label and all of the expectations that go with it.

For some reason, society feels the need for everyone to fall into a black or white category regarding their sexuality, and I've always seen it as more of a spectrum. I think when we force people to align themselves into one of two categories, it causes all sorts of problems. Why can't someone just like who they like? A straight guy may fall in love with another guy, but in general isn't gay. But he can't admit it because he has to fit into a box, so he can't be truly happy. And there's enough pain in the world, I don't see why we have to add to it.

Of course I think the first step is to get rid of this misconception that gay is bad, or weak, or less in some way. People might be more willing to admit that they have had a gay thought if it wasn't implied that such thoughts make you less of a man. This is rapidly turning into a soapbox issue for me, and not because I have a personal stake in it. It's not that I'm secretly in love with woman, it's just that I find this push to "fit-in" to be exhausting. Adam does a much better job of explaining things than I do. He's a pretty good writer (I especially like his autobiographical online story), so the article is worth a gander if you have a chance.

Fidelity

"Fidelity": Don't Divorce... from Courage Campaign on Vimeo.

Videos like this make me want to get militant. Not at the people that made the video, because the video is great. At the people for who Proposition 8 makes sense.

I have a crush...

I don't know what it is about this picture. Muscles? His expression? The fact that he's dripping? All of the above, most likely. He's so nice to look at.

And if you want even more to look at... Pages 4 and 5 are especially nice, I think.

You can also read this if you want to know a bit more about him as a person rather than an object.

I'm really not going to make a habit out of posting pretty boys, but I just liked this picture too much not to share it.

Kyle XY is back!!

And let me just say 'Woot' to that. I watched the first episode this morning, and I remembered why I love this show. The basic plot is Amanda has been kidnapped, and Kyle chases after her. What I enjoyed most about this episode is that Kyle is not fucking around, and as such uses his powers a hell of a lot more. The shit that boy can do with water is amazing. Speaking of amazing:



How hot is that? And how LOW. Jesus Matt Dallas, you have to do some heavy-duty trimming to wear your pants that low. I was seriously just intending on talking about the episode, but I went searching for pictures to make the blog more interesting and this is what I found. Totally side-tracked me. I know he gets asked to show his belly button ALL the damned time, so I kind of feel bad for him. But then I look at him and I feel a lot less bad, and a bit more "Why hello!". I cannot get over how low his pants are, especially because that's all I can see of the picture as I type this.

Ok. I need to stop talking about Matt Dallas being hot. The episode as a whole, like I said, was good. Favorite line of the whole night:

Lori: Wow.
Hilary: Oh, no, Lori, you don't understand! He was drunk, and I got wet, and ...
Lori: Ok, you can stop there.

AHHHH. You can't say that on ABC Family! If I had been drinking something I would have done a spit-take. Amanda's mom was cracking me up (partly because I love me some Teryl Rothery), and the scenes with Josh and Andy were sweet. I like Josh so much more now that he's with her. The parents were kind of forgettable, but they always are.

I legitimately feel bad for Jessie. Bitch just cannot catch a break. Do people forget that she grew up in a tube and has no social skills? Or parents. Or friends. I'm not saying she's not a bit of a bitch at times, but she has her reasons. I like it when her and Kyle are on the same team. You get the impression he makes her a better person, and she makes him less perfect. I enjoy not-perfect Kyle. And I enjoy Kyle leaping buildings and levitating. And I enjoy Matt Dallas naked.

The only thing I really want to happen this season is for Amanda to find out about Kyle. I can see how she's been sheltered from it up until now, but as Latenok (sp?) starts chasing after him, I can't believe she doesn't catch him doing something. Given her character she shouldn't have a problem with it. Or better yet she's like "Pssh, I already knew". Just like when I came out to my friends.

I've decided to be a lot more confident in my life. I'm not sure why this was a sudden revelation, but I'm just tired of being insecure and scared and as a result boring. I worry a little bit that I'll come off as a dick, but then I realize I can't be bothered so much. Especially if it makes me funnier. Anyway, I'm off to kill time before I'm released from work.

g0ys

http://g0ys.org/

I need people's thoughts on this. I know what my thoughts are, or at least I think I do, but before I share them I want to know how some other people think. All 2.5 of you that read this.

Hollyoaks

spoiler if by some random-ass chance one of you watches the series and is behind.



He didn't go to the fucking funeral? Are you fucking serious? It's hard enough to believe he didn't know it was happening, but to not go? And for his fucking sister to tell him that giving Carmel away was a better decision? This defies any and all logic, and has me so fucking upset I feel the need to rant at midnight even though I'm exhausted and no one reading this will care. This whole storyline doesn't make a damned bit of sense. I could follow it up through killing Kieron off, cause it shows Niall is such a complete and utter evil human being. And John Paul's guilt made sense too, I know I'd have that guilt. But he went to fucking Carmel's wedding over the funeral, and NO ONE knew about it? And shame on Carmel for being so fucking selfish. God. It's a good thing I've only got like two weeks of episodes left before John Paul is gone, cause otherwise I might swear off this shit entirely.

Why doesn't everyone see it this way?

Word.

I agree with everything he said, and it is why I can no longer have conversations with my mother (who is opposed to gay marriage. "Why does it need to be called marriage? I don't care if you have rights, but call it something different"). It's just so...hateful. I cannot fathom it. You don't care for men marrying men? Don't come to my wedding. Don't even be my friend. I've got enough shit being closeted at work on top of the hardships everyone else faces in the world. But how can you possibly tell me I am not entitled to the same things as you because I was born different? I always wind up at this point throwing my hands up in the air. I have no other argument than the Golden Rule, which these people claim to be the basis for their lives. I am a very logical person, and I pride myself on being able to see both sides of an argument, but these people defy any logic I could possibly see. It makes me sad. And I wish I could sit here and celebrate Obama and be happy for the direction the country is taking, but apparently in order for Obama to be elected I have to "take one for the team" as it were. Very sad.

Forever on a Tree

This took over my life. At least last night and today. My favorite parts are 16 to 20, after the boys are older. Not that the earlier parts weren't well written, but the boys were always a little young for me. And of course this is ridiculously gay (but not so porny) so if that offends you don't bother.

The author is Joey Gumb. I emailed him, he's a cool guy. Just giving credit.

(You can have this ) my man parts

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Save Me

So as I was thinking about doing, I went to see Save Me after work today. The traffic was bad, and I really did want to see it. Granted I was technically late, but it hadn't started. So as for my review.

If you don't know the premise, Chad Allen plays a gay drug addict who has one bender too many and gets put in a "ex-gay" program run by Judith Light. There he meets Scott (played by Robert Gant of QAF fame), and even though they're both in the program, you can tell straight off they will probably be in a relationship at one point before the movie is over. First, I really have to give the film credit for not making Light's character an "I hate gays" charicature. You realize she feels strongly about these issues, and personally I think she's crazy, but you can feel for her a little bit once you find out why she's doing what she's doing. I also think Chad Allen did a respectable job as a recovering drug addict. He was better in the Donald Strachey films, but he did a pretty good job. As for Robert Gant...I want to like him. But some of his expressions, especially in the hospital when his father was dying, were just RIDICULOUS. He looked more surprised than anguished, and that was a particularly important scene for his character. And he can't do "sad" very well. The scene where he and Chad Allen admit to their attraction was alright, though. Overall though, I'm glad I saw it, but I will never watch it again. It probably doesn't help that the guy sitting next to me clearly was not enjoying the film.

Tomorrow is "Were the World Mine" but I can't see it because of the play. So I will have to wait until December to see it in DC. The question now is if I go to see High School Musical 3 tomorrow, or perhaps Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. Depends on how early I get up, I suppose.

Were the World Mine

I'm kind of ridiculously excited for this film. I've posted first a song from it that I LOVE. And then a "sneak peek" afterwards. I liked the Sneak Peek more than the trailer. Here's the website for anyone that's interested.

Clay Aiken

Ok, I don't really give a shit that he came out of the closet or not, but I suppose "yay visibility" but I was reading this post on Dlisted about some of the 'Claymates' reactions and they are classic:

"This is a gut wrenching day for The ClayNation. Somebody wake me up, I hope its a dream."

"please tell me I'm not the only one who is shocked beyond belief! I feel numb I'm so upset. This can't be real!! How can you guys say this won't change anything? This changes EVERYTHING. I don't even know what to think right now"

"I wish him well and hope he gets some peace of mind now BUT I feel he lied to everyone-especially us fans. He should have just said so years ago. I feel like we were "used". I still love to hear him sing but I also feel he has now become like a Michael Jackson and it's a bit too weird! He isn't just the plain ordinary person with the values he first stood for.-but it's just my opinion."

"One really sad thing for me that sums this up. THis morning at the breakfast table my 9 and 10 year olds were there and the radio was on and they came on with the headline "FOrmer American Idol..." and I knew what was coming and I ran to turn it off. I didn't want my young children to hear that and ask questions about it. To me this is the saddest thing and the reason I won't be able to hold him as my idol. I remember the day when I ran to turn it on and called all the family to watch with pride. It just seems so in your face now and I don't want exposing my kids to this. "

"I just feel rather silly now having spent the last 5 years drooling over and being fan girly for a singer I thought was straight and now finding out he is gay. It does change my perception of who he is and how I see him. We always called him our boyfriend and that won't be happening anymore."

Seriously? I mean like, really? I wish I had the powers of self-deception of some of these bitches.

Orson Scott Card

I used to really like his books.

Seriously, I loved the Ender series, especially Children of the Mind. And I was really excited for the film version. Too bad he's a big old scoop of bigot with whip cream and an anti-establishment cherry on top.

Chubby?!

Rant time: I just saw an ad for "gay chubby dating". Is that a term of affection now? If someone called me chubby I would be rather put-upon. And while I'm all for "to each his own" I don't quite understand that. If you like their personality cause they've had to face adversity cause of their size, then fine. Still weird but we'll roll with it. But it's not healthy, so why should we encourage it? Americans are so fucking baffling sometimes.