The Fort Lauderdale segment of the 2015 MiFo LGBT Film Festival (the Miami portion takes place in April), held over the course of two weekends, October 9-11 and October 16-18, showcases more than 50 films. The following Screen Savor column features reviews of select films from the festival’s vast programming schedule. For the complete listing of screenings and festival events, visit http://www.mifofilm.com/.
Fourth Man Out is turning out to be a popular title at LGBT film fests. It helps that the lead cast includes hot guys such as out actor Evan Todd as Adam, Parker Young as Chris, and Chord Overstreet (less hot under a beard) as Nick. The script has plenty of funny and touching scenes, although it’s a little hard to believe the people living in the Albany region of upstate New York would have difficulty dealing with a gay friend or neighbor.
At 24, car mechanic Adam (Todd) has yet to come out to his best friends Chris (Young), Nick (Overstreet) and Ortu (Jon Gabrus, who plays the character as an unfortunate amalgam of Jack Black and Josh Gad). Once you see the guys in action – using “gay” as a homophobic epithet, for example – you may better understand his hesitation. Nevertheless, Adam has decided it’s time to come out.
Needless to say, it doesn’t go well. Somehow the guys find it within themselves to rise to the occasion, with Chris taking the lead. After all, he and Adam have been friends since childhood. It also helps that Chris’ fuck-buddy Jessica (Jordan Lane Price) and Rachel (Jennifer Damiano), a woman Chris meets in a bar, provide the necessary support.
Fourth Man Out is as much about Adam’s coming out process as it is about the way the people in Adam’s life play a part in that new development. Adam’s coming out to his parents, including mother Karen (Kate Flannery), and a stoner co-worker at the garage where he works, add levels of comedy to the story. So do the scenes in which Adam attempts to meet other gay men via a dating app.
When the unexpected conflict of a perceived attraction between Adam and Chris arises (and who could blame Adam?), Fourth Man Out takes a dramatic turn. But you know right from the start that a happily-ever-after ending is in the offing (or should that be outing?). [Opening night feature – Oct. 9, 8 p.m. at The NSU Art Museum.]
There’s a lot of stuff in writer/director Suzanne Guacci’s Stuff (Aspire). Married lesbian moms Deb (Yvonne Jung) and Trish (Karen Sillas) are going through a rough patch in their relationship. Stay-at-home mom Deb takes care of the house and daughters Sam (Brianna Scudiero) and Suzie (Maya Guacci). Dentist mom Trish is the bread-winner. Both women are stressed out by their responsibilities, but that’s the least of their stuff.
Five years after her beloved father’s passing, Trish still hasn’t properly dealt with her grief. Even worse, her cold and stubborn mother Ginger (Phyllis Somerville) is holding Trish back by simply refusing to have a headstone placed on the grave. There is also a lot of Trish’s father’s stuff – clothing, belongings, paperwork – still cluttering Ginger’s house, but it’s just more stuff for her to avoid.
Meanwhile, Deb strikes up a friendship with Jamie (Traci Dinwiddie), the tattooed apprentice tattoo artist mom of Joey (Vincent P. Colon), an autistic boy in Sam’s pre-school class, which stirs all sorts of stuff within her. Jamie has her own stuff, including Brian (Joseph A. Halsey), the trashy father of Joey, who is out of his latest rehab stint and wants more contact with his son.
Of course, there’s stuff with the kids, including Suzie’s determination to get a part in the school play. Not quite stuffed to the gills, Stuff does want you to keep track of a lot of stuff, but it does so without belaboring the point. [Oct. 11, 5 p.m. at Classic Gateway Theatre.]
A bit of a strange selection as LGBT film festivals go, Coming In (WB/Summerstorm) is a German language rom-com about a gay hairdresser and trendsetter who discovers that he is in love with a woman. Directed and co-written by gay filmmaker Marco Kreutzpaintner, Coming In is as romantic as it is comedic.
Tom (Kostja Ullmann) has the most successful men’s hair salon in Berlin. His gorgeous boyfriend Robert (Ken Duken) helps him run his business and keeps it a profit making entity. Tom is also highly respected in the gay community, not just for his business success but for his philanthropic work for gay youth, as well.
The launch of a new line of hair care products for men takes Tom to Berlin’s Neukölln borough where he meets Heidi (Aylin Tezel, a ringer for Sarah Silverman). Heidi’s Bel Hair salon is a far-cry from Tom’s sophisticated and chic place of business. Making matters worse is a photographer who snaps a picture of Heidi kissing Tom, leading to questions about his sexuality.
In an effort to make things right, Tom secretly helps Heidi out at her shop. Of course, that only confounds the situation. After spending a lot of time together, an attraction develops into something more than just a phase. Funny and sexy, is a rom-com that has earned the designation. [October 11, 7:30 p.m. at Cinema Paradiso in Fort Lauderdale.]
In what could be a setup to a joke, a gay couple, a lesbian couple and a straight couple go to Fire Island for a weekend in late September in That’s Not Us. Jackie’s (Nicole Pursell) aunt Linda has offered her and her girlfriend Alex (Sarah Wharton) use of her house. They are joined by Alex’s BFF James (Mark Berger) and James’ boyfriend Spencer (David Rysdahl), as well as Alex’s sister Liz (Elizabeth Gray) and her boyfriend Dougie (Tommy Nelms).
In what is something of a familiar device, all six characters will learn something new about themselves and each other over the course of the weekend. For example, Spencer has been accepted to grad school in Chicago, which means that he will have to leave New York and James in order to attend. We watch Spencer struggle with what has become something of a mixed blessing for him. In the case of Jackie and Alex, the dreaded lesbian bed death has set in and the rainbow dildo that Alex packed in her suitcase only serves to remind them of that fact. Interestingly, Dougie’s secret – he can’t ride a bike! – is the least traumatizing, although he does end up with a broken wrist when Liz tries to teach him how to ride.
Add in Spencer’s persistent mother who won’t stop calling him while he’s on the island, a neighbor with a lost dog, and a case of mistaken house identity, and you have plenty of opportunities for conflict and comedy. That’s Not Us is a sweet, if forgettable, movie. [Oct. 16, 9:15 p.m. at Gateway Theatre in Fort Lauderdale.]
The extremely intimate Like You Mean It (Breaking Glass) starring, written and directed by Philipp Karner is an emotional journey through the end of a gay relationship. Struggling actor Mark (Karner) and musician Jonah (Denver Milord) have dinner with straight and engaged couple Nicole (Gillian Shure) and Craig (Adrian Quinonez) during which the soon-to-be-wed duo announces that they are taking a brief hiatus from each other in advance of their big day.
This news seems to trigger something in Mark who is already struggling with a number of issues. His acting career has stalled. His sister in Austria keeps leaving him voice mail messages that he chooses to ignore. He goes off of his anti-depressants. Last, but not least, he feels himself growing apart from Jonah.
Mark, who takes solace in the solitude of car washes and the memories of when he and Jonah first met, agrees to make some changes. He makes an appointment for him and Jonah with a couple’s counselor and he agrees to go back on his meds. But the future is already written and what unfolds is the further deterioration of the relationship.
This is not an easy movie to watch and it is heartbreaking almost right from the start. Nevertheless, Kanner’s well-written screenplay and his performance, combined with that of Milord’s, make Like You Mean It mean something. [Oct. 16, 9:45 p.m. at Cinema Paradiso in Fort Lauderdale.]
Docs about porn stars (That Man: Peter Berlin and Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon) and porn filmmakers (I Always Said Yes: The Many Lives of Wakefield Poole) are all the rage. Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story (Naked Sword), the cleverly titled doc about the late gay porn entrepreneur Chuck Holmes, co-founder of Falcon Studios, is as sexy as it is informative.
Indiana-native Holmes, considered to be the gay Hugh Hefner, understood what Middle America was missing. A collector of 8mm porn loops, Holmes came out fast in San Francisco. The landmark 1969 Supreme Court obscenity ruling paved the way the birth of the mail order porn industry. Holmes found good gay filmmakers, as well as better models and locations, allowing the genre to evolve from badly produced loops to full-length features, while celebrating the new gay freedoms of a post-Stonewall world at the same time. The home video revolution only increased Holmes’ success, while AIDS crisis had serious consequences.
Writer/director Michael Stabile’s feature-length doc debut is a respectful and respectable portrait of Holmes. Stabile’s interview subjects, including porn legend Jeff Stryker, Jake Shears, Chi Chi LaRue, John Waters, Steve Scarborough (Falcon VP from 1986-93), actors Tom Chase, Jim Bentley and Steve Cruz, John Rutherford (Falcon VP from 1993-2002) and many others go a long way in illuminating the story of Holmes and Falcon. [October 17, 5 p.m. at Cinema Paradiso.]
Those People (Little Big Horn), the feature film debut by out director and co-screenwriter Joey Kuhn, feels like one of those LGBT film festival flicks that could easily have crossover appeal for a wider ranging audience. That’s mainly because almost everyone, gay or straight, can relate to the story of one person being in love with someone who is too self-absorbed to notice or care.
Spanning a three-month period, from September through December, the people in Those People include Charlie (Jonathan Gordon), a gay MFA student in painting with “Jewish stomach” issues, and his childhood best friend Sebastian (Jason Ralph), a spoiled gay Upper East Side rich kid, whose family name has been destroyed by his imprisoned financial swindler father. There is also Ursula (Britt Lower), who is an underling at Vogue and a part-time waitress, straight bartender Wyatt (Chris Conroy) and London (Meghann Fahey), who used to be employed by Sebastian’s father.
A night out at a piano bar for Charlie’s birthday results in a flirtation between Charlie and experienced piano man Tim (Haaz Sleiman), who also happens to be an accomplished chamber musician. A street confrontation with paparazzi also hastens Sebastian’s downward spiral. Caught between his unrequited love for Sebastian and the promise of a new and thrilling romance with Tim, Charlie is forced to make difficult decisions about himself and his future.
Those People has a lot going for it, including strong performances from lead actors Gordon, Ralph and Sleiman and a solid supporting cast. Kuhn also proves his mettle as a writer and director, one who shows great promise. [Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m. at Cinema Paradiso in Fort Lauderdale.]