Gay TV, Movies, and Books

[Joie J.]

It's not exactly a "gay film" but it hits home and hits hard. We've all been there, at least maybe most of us.

 

 

[Zombie]

2 hours ago, Joie J. said:

Their love making seemed heavily scripted and clinical

‘Intimacy Coordinators’….?

[Zombie]

2 hours ago, Joie J. said:

It's not exactly a "gay film" but it hits home and hits hard. We've all been there, at least maybe most of us.

sorry, I can’t watch films with this trope. I just can’t 

[Joie J.]

7 hours ago, Zombie said:

‘Intimacy Coordinators’….?

No, more like director. Intimacy coordinator makes the work comfortable for the actors. They work on director's vision.

My issue is that those scenes felt 1. redundant and 2. fake. 

There are films where no nudity or physical intimacy were show and yet they were, I don't know, warmer.

I guess there weren't much tension either, between Andrew and Paul's characters I mean.

In conclusion; director Andrew Haigh should have worked a little more on Harry's character and his story arch.

[Joie J.]

7 hours ago, Zombie said:

sorry, I can’t watch films with this trope. I just can’t 

I think I have made some mistake. I wanted to upload Close (2022) and in your quote of me, it's showing something different. Here's the one I wanted you all to see. 👇

Let me know if you still won't see this film. If not, then why not? Because it's the "tragic gay" genre?

[Zombie]

6 hours ago, Joie J. said:

I wanted to upload Close (2022) and in your quote of me, it's showing something different

I created a new thread and reported this problem in the ‘Help’ forum (‘Embedded YouTube changed’) last November but at that time no-one else had reported the same problem, so it was suggested it might be a YT playlist issue.

It would be good if you could add a comment to that thread (link below) about the YT that displayed on your device (I used the ‘Quote’ button) because there may be an issue with the forum software / YT interface  
 

 

Edited February 2 by Zombie

[W_L]

17 hours ago, Zombie said:

‘Intimacy Coordinators’….?

Aren't those just fluffers  

Straight or Gay, it's not always a given someone will perform in front of a camera

[Zombie]

interesting that Michael Cimino (Victor) and George Sear (Benji) decided they didn’t need or want an Intimacy Coordinator 

[Krista]

On 2/2/2024 at 12:50 PM, Zombie said:

interesting that Michael Cimino (Victor) and George Sear (Benji) decided they didn’t need or want an Intimacy Coordinator 

To be honest, I don't know why they would need one? I'm not remembering anything that would have required it. Usually that situation only becomes an issue when the actors are involved in filming scenes that requires full nudity that cannot be hidden or edited heavily. Especially if they're in a position where the parts would touch in a simulated way, example: naked skin to skin grinding.   

---

On another note - I have recently fallen into the mood where I just want to watch films with a homosexual theme. I've watched five recently, only two of which I actually liked.

Hidden Away and the second being, Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the Universe. Both depict younger characters than what I would usually watch, but they came to me recommended via Prime's algorithm so I was like.. fine. So, it surprised me that those two are the films that I liked. A+D Discover --- is based on books, now that I've watched the film I will have to read them, I guess. 

The other three, two I was on the fence about: Lonesome - which I thought didn't have any real direction to it. The main character carried the film, but I for the life of me can't understand the motivations he had at the end. I don't think the guy he ended up with was worth chasing to be honest. Anyway, it just seemed like two... messed up people found one another and were okay that they are both messed up. Where there should have been growth, there was very little.

Floating Skyscrapers - Fell into the most used gay film trope of all time, one that I am completely exhausted with. I won't say it now, but I'll give anyone three guesses. I bet you'll only need the one.

And lastly, the worst film I think I've seen in a really, really long time. I wasted time and money renting the damn thing. 'Something like Summer,' terrible. It should be free it is just so bad. Actually, one should be paid to get through it, I would rather clean toilets.  

 

[Page Scrawler]

Thanks to Instagram's algorithm, I've learned of an upcoming film called Young Hearts, directed by Anthony Schatteman.

Here's the summary from IMDB: "Elias (14) feels attracted to his new neighbour Alexander (14). Soon he realizes that he's truly in love for the first time. The interactions with his friends and family bring more questions than answers. Confused by his burgeoning feelings, Elias tries to sort out his inner chaos to prove that he is worth Alexander's heart."

Based on that description, and from what I've seen on the official Instagram page, it looks like the conflict will be closer to "Man vs Self", rather than "Man vs Society". But nothing too angsty, like Close; the story will be overall more positive and cheerful. 

 

Edited February 10 by Page Scrawler

[Joie J.]

6 hours ago, Krista said:

Hidden Away and the second being, Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the Universe.

Yeah, both of them are good. A&D is also a cool book. You can go for the book, it will take only a couple of sittings.

You can also give a try to I Carry You With Me (2020)

6 hours ago, Krista said:

And lastly, the worst film I think I've seen in a really, really long time. I wasted time and money renting the damn thing. 'Something like Summer,' terrible. It should be free it is just so bad. Actually, one should be paid to get through it, I would rather clean toilets

I also share the same emotional baggage for watching it with too much excitement. 😅

[Zuri]

On 5/25/2023 at 9:10 PM, LJCC said:

I saw a commercial of this and I was like, they better not be daft about their gossips. This is like love island gay edition all over again.

I mean, isn't that what all dating shows are nowadays? Scripted reality, but make it horny?

On 10/10/2023 at 3:50 AM, Krista said:

Love, Simon

I mean, wasn't Love, Victor deemed to family-unfriendly because it being queer so it had to be moved from the main channel?

On 10/19/2023 at 9:51 PM, Joie J. said:

Smiley (2022)

I tried watching it and first thought, they did an interesting take on gays, and then they go to the storage room to … fuck? I mean, is that all, gay characters can do? Wasn't one of them so desperate to fall in love?

On 10/26/2023 at 3:11 AM, Krista said:

Big Bang Theory

Yes, I know, it's just a sitcom, but boy they messed up ace representation by just … healing Sheldon? I mean, this could have been turned in a stunning example of a show being able to do both funny AND serious topics, but no, they need heterosexual love interests for ALL of them.

On 10/26/2023 at 8:17 PM, Joie J. said:

On 10/26/2023 at 4:55 PM, W_L said:

Netflix Special

It's in my binge list. I will watch it next year. Got no time for a series this year.

I LOVED that show. It's incredible that the protagonist's actor is also the writer of the show, and it is based on his own experiences. They tackled so many important topics in there, and quite sensitively, most of the time.

On 2/1/2024 at 10:48 PM, Zombie said:

On 2/1/2024 at 8:40 PM, Joie J. said:

Their love making seemed heavily scripted and clinical

‘Intimacy Coordinators’….?

I'm happy, this is becoming more and more common. Not just because actors need to feel safe, shooting these scenes, but I also hope, this will lead to a more realistic portrayal than laying under a blanket and doing an abstract, romanticized version of it.

On 2/2/2024 at 4:10 PM, W_L said:

Aren't those just fluffers  

You are thinking of porn and erections here. Sure, these are also sex scenes, but that's where the similarities end.

On 2/10/2024 at 5:36 AM, Krista said:

Usually that situation only becomes an issue when the actors are involved in filming scenes that requires full nudity that cannot be hidden or edited heavily.

Even though, there have been full-front nudity in movie history, there are two things that are strictly forbidden in non-porn movies:

• showing real erections on screen (always fake penises in these scenes)
• having actors touch other actors' private parts

And yes, there might be scenes where actors are almost naked and there are tricks required to make them appear naked. But intimacy is so much more than hiding private parts while showing as much skin as possible. Just think of all kinds of foreplay that could make you feel uncomfortable doing, when the other person is not your partner or date.

Here are some recommendations on my own:

It's not a new movie, but for those interested in as biopic-y one: Prayers for Bobby

Another history piece (including Dolores Jane Umbridge actress Imelda Staunton😞 Pride

And we can't leave high school movies out entirely: Geography Club (Also, see my comparison of novel vs movie, if you like)

There are also quite interesting web series out there:

If you love a good anthology series that also has very diverse characters and topics, Falling for Angels might be just for you:

If you are more of the funny type, maybe #NoHomo is more to your liking:

But you might not like contemporary comedy? Well, then Victorian, perhaps?

>> More recommendations <<

Edited March 18 by Zuri

[Krista]

1 hour ago, Zuri said:

I mean, wasn't Love, Victor deemed to family-unfriendly because it being queer so it had to be moved from the main channel?

Yes, I believe it was. I never understood why, I think most of what they got up to was heavy kissing, with a little butt groping? Then under the cover stuff, that didn't amount to anything. If it went farther than that, I do not know, as I didn't finish the series. I found it rather boring. I also felt moving it was a complete ploy at making Disney's decision to buy Hulu more market ready, as that was the first Disney funded project to debut after that acquisition. They have since moved it to both platforms, I think. Either that, or Disney didn't really know what was being produced/written and assumed Love, Victor would be more adult themed than it was. I am not certain on either, but the first one is probably the more likely reason, even though they did say it was too adult for Disney.

Quote

Yes, I know, it's just a sitcom, but boy they messed up ace representation by just … healing Sheldon? I mean, this could have been turned in a stunning example of a show being able to do both funny AND serious topics, but no, they need heterosexual love interests for ALL of them.

Sheldon didn't have any homosexual tendencies? He was depicted to being more Asexual with little to no romantic interests. He grew to tolerate Amy, then fell in love, but he never once showed any interest in the same sex. None of them did, as the other three were awkward around women, but still desired them.

I would find it queerbaiting for one or more of them to come out, really. I do not like shows with established writing and character development to take a hard swerve just to include something. With The Big Bang Theory, there wasn't anything there. What was there was done as laugh fodder and not supported by character development. All four of them were written as being heterosexual males and it was okay for them to be that way.

It is the same for Glee's Brittney and Santana, prior writing shown both of them to be heterosexual female characters. They both had boyfriends/male flings, they were both outwardly attracted to the opposite sex. Neither of them showed any inclination they were mutually attracted to one another. Then it just happened, it happened in a span of a handful of scenes with zero foreshadowing. The show had numerous other representations it could have built the inclusivity factors on, but they chose to force that relationship to tick that box.

Writers who do not hold solid to the characters they begin the journey with, do a disservice to their art. If you want your character to 'be' something, work on 'making' them that way from the start. 

I was also more or less joking about Love, Victor, because overall I felt the entire series too tame and one-note. Maybe if they had Intimacy coaching, the two would look more natural with one another... or have more passion? I didn't feel like they were all that committed to it, but this is all from memory as I watched it when it first debuted and felt it severely lacking. 

Now contributing to the topic more: I watched Summer of '85 and Newcastle the other day.

I found Summer of '85 to be a worthwhile watch. It was different, there was an odd depth to the main character. The plot was more unique than most, I haven't done much research on it, but if it is based on a book I may read the source material. The acting was decent as well. Spoiler below: 

Spoiler

It does fall into the... now that we're happy and in love, I'm now bored with how things are trope. It was annoying to watch, but it eventually resolved better. 

Newcastle, either hasn't aged well.. or it was never any good. Being an older film, I just felt it was a bit of a cluster of different plots trying to marry into one film. It was a sports film, a tragedy/drama, and attempted to be a coming of age film. It just didn't do those three elements well separately, so when it all came together, it just didn't work for me. 

I've hit a bit of a drought with Gay themed films, unfortunately. With more months ticking by and not sign of Prisma Season 2, I may have to finally make an effort with shows/films I have little to no interest in. Like Young Royals, I have been told season 3 was better than the start of Season 2, where it lost my attention. 

The snobbery continues with me, I guess. 

Edited March 18 by Krista

[Zuri]

31 minutes ago, Krista said:

I think most of what they got up to was heavy kissing, with a little butt groping? Then under the cover stuff, that didn't amount to anything.

Probably double standards for heterosexual content vs queer one, because Heterosexuals having to have sex or shoving their sexual orientation into everyone's face can't be bad for children, can it? 😉

31 minutes ago, Krista said:

Either that, or Disney didn't really know what was being produced/written and assumed Love, Victor would be more adult themed than it was. I am not certain on either, but the first one is probably the more likely reason, even though they did say it was too adult for Disney.

I mean, Disney is not unknown for mere queerbating to keep both their conservative and progressive viewers. The company might be celebrated for taking a stand against Ron DeSantis, but they don't do that entirely voluntarily, and they've been reluctant to give queer representation some space in their works for quite a while.

31 minutes ago, Krista said:

Sheldon didn't have any homosexual tendencies? He was depicted to being more Asexual with little to no romantic interests. He grew to tolerate Amy, then fell in love, but he never once showed any interest in the same sex. None of them did, as the other three were awkward around women, but still desired them.

I didn't mean that Sheldon was gay but ace. He clearly expressed that to Amy. This view can come from his neurodivergent(?) nature, but still nothing that would have needed fixing nor would be convincing when seemingly "fixed".

Maybe, I should have used the term "allonormative" (maybe even ableist, depending on Sheldon being neurodivergent) instead.

While Jim Parsons is gay, of course, that doesn't mean that every character has to be gay, but c'mon, the way he portrayed Sheldon …

31 minutes ago, Krista said:

I would find it queerbaiting for one or more of them to come out, really. I do not like shows with established writing and character development to take a hard swerve just to include something.

I do get your point here. I hated it, when in Warehouse 13, Myka, who clearly had a thing for H. G. Wells and vice verse, was revealed to be straight and in love with her co-worker Pete all along all with a sudden IN THE FINALE. But at least, they had Steve as a queer character.

On 11/19/2023 at 7:41 PM, Joie J. said:

A short film is also a film so I guess it counts...

Yeah, there are some pretty decent queer short films on YouTube:

 

Edited March 18 by Zuri
reply to another sub topic

[Zombie]

11 hours ago, Krista said:

Then under the cover stuff, that didn't amount to anything. If it went farther than that, I do not know, as I didn't finish the series.

maybe you missed these bits  

the best bit being when mom comes home early, just when they’re, er, coming together, so to speak

 

[LJCC]

24 minutes ago, Zombie said:

maybe you missed these bits  

the best bit being when mom comes home early, just when they’re, er, coming together, so to speak

 

Then the mom says, "Victor, you're gay?"
Victor says, "No shit mom he's literally inside me. Duh!"

[Krista]

🙈 Definitely didn't get that far into the show. Lol. Oh well, I will continue to miss out. 

[Joie J.]

This one may shatter your heart into pieces!

[Zuri]

On 3/18/2024 at 3:33 AM, Zuri said:

And we can't leave high school movies out entirely: Geography Club (Also, see my comparison of novel vs movie, if you like)

Of course, I also recommend, checking out the novel if you're into it.

On 3/18/2024 at 5:20 AM, Zuri said:

Yeah, there are some pretty decent queer short films on YouTube:

 

Edited July 6 by Zuri
remove duplicated link

[W_L]

Starting on a new Gay Historical Fantasy book, (I wasn't the first one to come up with this particular concept for gay fiction)

The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang, where two gay lovers are reincarnated through three lifetimes from Ancient China to 17th century China to Modern US.

Reincarnation + Gay Historical Fantasy + a lot gay erotic scenes (I didn't go as heavy as this author in Of Pride and Power, based on what I've read so far)

Since I am writing in the same genre right now with my setting in England versus Asia, it's a good thing to see what a published writer did successfully and what didn't work for me. For instance, romance-wise, his deuteragonists were more hot-sexy than mine continuously. On the other hand, I think the actual plot and history weren't built up enough; it's why I chose to create an entirely different timeline rather than stage things in history. "Based on" versus "Inspired on" concept is important to writer mentalities in this type of genre. 

 

Edited March 31 by W_L

[Page Scrawler]

 

[Krista]

Fireworks had me in its corner until the last second of the film. Also, the mother/son dancing scene was completely cringe inducing. I had to skip it, as it kept getting worse. I think that was the point of the dance, as the mother character is a bit toxic, but the son initiated the dance and it was his behavior that made it weird. Maybe it was the age of the character and the combination of her toxic behavior as well. Either way, the scene was difficult to watch. 

Overall the film is nice, I liked it. And, I know the ending is loosely based or dedicated to a true event. But, the film itself is based on entirely fictional characters. The time period for this film also pointed towards the ending, but for every... ending like that, there were so many more that weren't. I felt if the film was going to dedicate something to a real life event, then the filmmaker should have done the research for it and evolved the film into a retelling, as close as they can get it. Instead, we were taken on a mostly enjoyable ride, until the latter half when it all goes to shit. I just think, the way that it was done in the most small and split-second way, it would have been a better film if it ended open and subdued, like it 'almost' did.

Either way, it got me and the wildthing talking about it one night, so maybe that's the point of the ending other than the loose dedication that preceded the end credits.

[W_L]

And then there's "Baby Reindeer"....Oh boy, Netflix has a complicated miniseries with a realistic damaged bisexual guy. It's not clear cut and pure as a lot of modern LGBT fiction try to be, but it's probably the dark reality that a lot of people avoid describing. 

At the heart of the miniseries, it's a failure of actualization and acceptance. These are two things that haunt people with histories of abuse. In the series, it led Donny down a cycle of victimization. He couldn't accept the shame of being raped by a guy he idolized, perhaps loved, but he was too ashamed to admit it. He needed the attention of a dangerous woman, who threatened him and alienated him from others. Maybe, there's a bit of self-loathing embedded in his need to keep "Martha" around to hurt him. He couldn't accept the love of a trans person who he genuinely had reciprocal feelings. In the end, his life is sad and there are no easy answers to the problems a lot of LGBT people face with that kind of background. 

I wouldn't recommend the series for anyone not in the right mental state or trying to find closure if they've suffered from sexual abuse. You won't find any answers here just a reflection of a person drowning in life.

That's my thoughts on Netflix's latest hit series that has drawn over a million viewers. 

[Krista]

So, Season 2 of Prisma debuted on Amazon Prime, but only in Italy. I have waited patiently (don't let wildthing spread lies, I am patient) for this second season for ages. It is being shopped for international distribution through a German company. I have checked at least once a week for it to be available somewhere. 

If you have access to it right now, please tell me that it is worth the wait... I am suffering.

Also, the only thing I've watched in ages has been season 3 of Bridgerton. I should have known that eventually the writing would cause the trainwreck that would take my interest away. It was just a guilty little pleasure for me as it was, as I like a period piece every now and then. Season 3 was a cluster duck  of small stories that took away from the two main themes of the season. It was also split up into two parts, which I feel made it worse. There was a sex scene that made no sense, it broke the timeline, as it seemed to span days, as the scenes it kept interrupting took place in daytime, and at night? lol... it was so odd. Literally, there was a mini-social media trend where people thought they had accidentally hit the reverse/rewind button on their remotes. I don't know how editing went with that to begin with. It was also a MMF threesome, so I guess we're just going to start openly baiting audiences with stuff that doesn't go anywhere, while writing in Gay themes where we never wanted it in the first place as in Francesca's storyline in Season 4, if the writers decide to go there. I hate poor plotting in writing. 

-- And I am well aware where I posted this, I don't know if there are any Bridgerton fans on here.. but season 3 was painful, where it should have been a nice and easy season based on source material. 

Say Yes, I made the attempt to watch a month ago, as I knew it was going to be awful after I read the description. It is about a woman dying of cancer attempting to convince her husband to fall in love with, and begin a relationship with her twin brother. Like sexuality and consent didn't exist in this woman's brain. As she was relentless, even sending her twin brother into the bathroom to seduce her husband while he tried to enjoy himself a bubble bath. The poor husband was reduced to watching gay pornographic material to see what the fuss was about... and she encouraged him when she caught him. The husband and brother also had sex right after she died... so there's that. Literally right after they called family and friends to announce her passing, it was terrible. The casting was also weird, as they were supposed to be twins, but they didn't look racially similar. 

What makes this worse is there is a Sequel, which I will not watch.

Whomever decided this was a good idea, obviously doesn't understand a thing about sexuality. A happily heterosexual man is not going to date a man just because his dying wife wants to manifest it into being. If anything, the response should have driven them apart in a time in her life where she would have needed him and his support the most. 

Mysteries of Pittsburg is still as artsy and boring as I remember it.

Edited July 2 by Krista

[Page Scrawler]

On 2/10/2024 at 5:39 AM, Page Scrawler said:

Thanks to Instagram's algorithm, I've learned of an upcoming film called Young Hearts, directed by Anthony Schatteman.

An update about this film: It will be made available in North America through Strand Releasing, sometime in September or October.