A Piece of Pie: The Queer Film Podcast

This week we're taking an early look at an Oscar front-runner, Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog. Chris, from "When We Were Young" joins to discuss how the film examines toxic masculinity in classic Western stories, and how the film constantly seeks to upend the classic John Wayne stoic American hero trope. Meanwhile, host Brian was annoyed the film leans into negative queer stereotypes, including a secretly queer bully, and a murderously inclined Mother's Boy. Who's right and who's wrong? Give it a listen to find out! 

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To commemorate the release of an all-new Batman movie, we at Piece of Pie decided to take a look back! This time we’re discussing the gayest superhero films of all time; Batman Forever and Batman & Robin! But we couldn’t discuss those without setting our sights on the two Bat-flicks that preceded them, Tim Burton’s Batman, and Batman Returns. 

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Phillip Seymour Hoffman was one of the greatest actors of his generation, and he tragically left us far too soon in 2014. But his work lives on, and this week we're taking a look at his two lead queer roles. The idea of straight people playing queer is a controversial one, but Phillip Seymour Hoffman sets the bar with his performances in Flawless and Capote. Despite queer writer/director Joel Schumacher, Flawless doesn't seem to understand Hoffman's character and leans too heavily on Robert DeNiro's macho cop, Walter. In Capote he beautifully captures a queer icon, winning his only Oscar in the process. Join us as Lauren and Brian discuss representation and how if you're straight and want to play queer, do it as well as Phillip Seymour Hoffman. 

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To celebrate the holidays, Brian and Max slip on their cha-cha heels and take a look at John Waters’ Female Trouble! This queer classic spit in the face of mainstream culture and good taste in 1974,  but how does it hold up? Join us as we discuss the influence of Waters and his muse Divine, who gave us cinema’s queerest Christmas morning! 

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For this episode, we were joined by the hosts of the podcast "Gayest Episode Ever," Drew and Glen! Their podcast is devoted to queer-focused episodes of classic television, and we joined them to discuss Mad About  You, and they agreed to join us to discuss the Academy Award winning As Good as It Gets, both starring Helen Hunt. They join Max and Brian as we discuss this problematic heartwarmer, where a queer man's tragedy is just a straight man's inconvenience.




Be sure to check out this weeks episode of Gayest Episode Ever, featuring Brian and Max!

https://www.gayestepisodeever.com/episodes/mad-about-you-coming-out-episode

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Just in time for scary movie season, we are back with a look at two horror classics. In 1987, gay filmmaker Joel Schumacher redefined the vampire film with The Lost Boys, featuring a stellar soundtrack and a cast filled with hot young up-and-comers like Kiefer Sutherland and Jason Patric, placing them alongside theater and film veterans like Edward Hermann and Diane Wiest. The result was a phenomenon that built careers and changed Hollywood forever. In 1990, he followed it up with another Kiefer Sutherland vehicle, this time bringing along Julia Roberts, Oliver Platt and William Baldwin. This high-concept horror film was Flatliners, with the soon-to-be-superstars playing medical students who play God, and toy with death. To discuss these two seminal queer films, we looked to the filmmakers of Scream, Queen: My Nightmare on Elm Street, Roman Chimienti and Tyler Jensen. We were thrilled to welcome them to the podcast to discuss Joel Schumacher and his only two horror films. 

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This week we're joined by Chicago's own drag queen Coco Sho-Nell to discuss movies about beauty queens! 1999's Drop Dead Gorgeous has become a queer cult classic in the years since it's release, with it's biting social satire and broad caricatures mocking the culture of American capitalism and teen beauty pageants. For a pairing, we look to 2000's Miss Congeniality,  starring Sandra Bullock as a woman who goes undercover in a beauty pageant. Both films seek to skewer the culture that celebrates the objectification of women, but do they succeed? Are they biting social commentaries or do they use the pageants as a backdrop to a mediocre romcom? Join Brian and Coco as they debate this and much more!

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This week we're taking a look at two classic romantic comedies! Lauren joins Brian as they discuss When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in Seattle. Both were written by the legend Nora Ephron, with Sleepless her directorial debut. We discuss the legacies of Ephron and her work, a writer who did more for romantic comedies than any modern director. We examine what makes these films not just stand out, but hold-up over the years as shining examples of the genre.



If you're interested in ordering Lauren's new book, Two Winters, you can find it on Amazon here: https://tinyurl.com/2376amc2 or talk to your local bookseller! 

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We’re continuing our look back at the careers of Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson, as we pair up their two most emotional epics; Magnolia and Kill Bill. 

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