On YouTube you can watch videos of Seattle metro busses sliding down John Street with terrified passengers on board. You can also find videos of folks accidentally igniting their back porches in deep-fried turkey mishaps. And finally, who can forget the local news channel’s montage of Black Friday shopping mall rampages? I’m surprised anyone’s survived Thanksgiving weekend with so many dangers out there. Here are some safer options.
Tangled, directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, starring Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi. Disney’s animated adaptation of the Rapunzel story follows on the modest success of last year’s Princess and the Frog. The studio has chosen to stick (for now) with the fairy tale format, but they’ve abandoned the former film’s hand-drawn animation in favor of CGI. They’ve also given the story a modern updating. Rapunzel no longer waits for her Prince Charming to save her, she has agency in her salvation and a bit of Hannah Montana sass too. The result is that Rapunzel, voiced by Mandy Moore, is not a diva, but a plucky and rebellious teenager. This contrasts with PatF’s Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose), who strove more for glamour and sophistication, as much as one can while kissing a frog. On one hand the gay in me is sad to see the Disney heroine evolve from the ultra-glamorous Snow White, certainly inspired by the femme fatales of 1930s Hollywood, to today’s Miley Cyrus inspired Rapunzel, I also find this evolution allows female characters to compete with male co-stars in action and comedy. Does the death of glamour mean the birth of sexual equality? Perhaps not, but it’s another step in the direction away from the formalities and conventions that keep women subservient to men, trap gay men and lesbians in the closet and make conversations about sex education taboo. That’s a tall order for what’s essentially a kids film, but children are the future, and they seem to be doing all right.
Burlesque, directed by Steve Antin, starring Cher, Christina Aguilera and Alan Cumming. Speaking of the death of glamour, this film is a desperate last breath in glamour’s death throws. Cher and Kristen Bell shine in fancy wigs and vampy make-up, but it can’t save this Christina Aguilera vanity project as it parades every last movie musical cliché. See full review here and definitely check out Bad Movie Art’s comprehensive critical analysis here.
Love and Other Drugs, directed by Edward Zwick, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway. This film banks on the on-screen chemistry of co-stars Gyllenhaal and Hathaway and the movie goers’ intent to see them as disrobed as possible. The fact that it has an R rating is promising, both for those looking for flashes of Hathaway boob and Gyllenhaal butt, but also for those who are interested in smart adult material. Frequently compared to last year’s Up In the Air, this film is an understated adult comedy about the pharmaceutical industry, a format that typically wins Academy Award nods. We’ll soon find out if it’s a worthy Academy Award contender or shameless Oscar bait.
Seattle screenings this week
The Muppet Movie (1979) Miss Piggy shines in this enduring classic in a role that defined the “diva” to me and many other gay children. She’s like Midler and Streisand rolled into one. Kermit, Fozzy and Animal also star. The Egyptian Friday & Saturday at midnight.
Kings of Pastry (2009) The esteemed documentarians behind Don’t Look Back (1967) and the War Room (1993) created a sweet film about pasty chefs competing for the Meilleur Oeuvrier de France. You won’t find Rachel Ray or Sandra Lee in this bunch of hyper masculine French chefs perfecting the art of the cream puff. Northwest Film Forum Friday – Thursday at 7 & 9pm.
KINGS OF PASTRY Theatrical Trailer from Pennebaker Hegedus Films on Vimeo.
Northwest Film Forum presents Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) as part of its Required Viewing Class. Considered to be the grandmother of modern horror, Psycho drove into the American consciousness the nightmare of a homicidal maniac. It’s a dream from which we can’t wake up. No matter how hard we wish for it, Janet Leigh will never drive past the Bates Motel to meet her fate in some other, less horrific, way. No other Hitchcock film has so fundamentally traumatized the American psyche. Friday – Wednesday at 7:15 and 9pm.
Reel Grrls presents awesome movies directed by women with this month’s selection Titus (1999), directed by Julie Taymor, based on the play “Titus Andronicus” by Bill Shakespeare. Taymor doesn’t shy away from sex and violence in her creative cyberpunk adaptation. The presentation will be hosted by the Stranger’s Lindy West.
Pacific Science Center’s IMAX Theater presents Beavers (1988). Beavers is a perennial classic at the Pacific Science Center, if you’ve never seen it, the holiday season is the perfect opportunity. Have you ever heard the mating song of the beaver? Have you ever seen beavers dance? When they’re done dancing they have a baby beaver, which is the cutest thing on the planet. Beavers will seriously charm the socks right off you. Friday – Thursday at 11:30am from now until the end of time.
Ryan Hicks is Sponsorship Manager for Three Dollar Bill Cinema, a film fan and contributor to Seattle Gay Scene.
