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Episode 65: Set It Off

 

Hi queeros! This month we're taking it back to 1996, to a movie that is not very gay but it does feature Queen Latifah in a queer role which is why we wanted to watch it! Tune in to hear Alicia and Sarah's thoughts about why this movie sad heist rather than fun heist, and how gay the character of Cleo is/is not?! In all seriousness, this film is not exactly fun to watch but remains timely (unfortunately) in its portrayal of police brutality and centers stories of working-class Black women, and is full of amazing performances (and some easter eggs) too. We have thoughts and feelings and also want to hear what you think!

 

Further reading:

Set It Off Wikipedia page

EW article

Vulture article

Episode 64: Dating Amber

 

Hello beautiful queers! This month we’ve got a treat for all you 90s gays and everyone else too. We watched the cute little beard movie Dating Amber, which is set in Ireland in 1995. Tune in to listen to Alicia and Sarah talk about complicated romantic-ish relationships, cute gay kids, peer bullying, gay bars, the military, and that adorable lesbian sunset montage. It’s a really fun ride this month, enjoy!!

 

Further reading:

Final Draft blog post: https://blog.finaldraft.com/copy-of-david-freyne-final-draft-dating-amber

 

The Queer Review Articles: https://thequeerreview.com/2020/11/10/exclusive-interview-filmmaker-david-freyne-on-his-queer-comedy-dating-amber/

https://thequeerreview.com/2020/11/10/exclusive-interview-dating-amber-star-lola-petticrew/

 

Moviehole interview: https://moviehole.net/interview-dating-amber-writer-director-david-freyne/

Episode 63: The World to Come

 

Hello lovely queers of the world! Happy pride month and all that. This month, Alicia and Sarah are talking about the Late 2020 Lesbian Period Drama (vol. 783 in the Lesbian Period Drama canon), The World to Come. It is winter in here, it's bleak! Get in but also stay away if you don't like Sadness! There are some redeeming qualities to this film for sure, but tune in to hear why it mainly threw us for a loop. Enjoy!

 

Further reading: 

The World to Come Wikipedia Page 

Mona Fastvold on Capturing Tragic Love in The World to Come, Collaborating with the LGBT Community, and Dancing to Vox Lux by Joshua Encinias

Interview: Mona Fastvold on Locating the Language of Love in “The World to Come” by Stephen Saito

Episode 62: The Half of It

 

Hello lovelies! It is us, your forever gay aunts! This month we are talking about the movie that got us all through that early lil bit of the pan pizza in May 2020, The Half of It! In case for some unfathomable reason you don't know about this adorable movie, it is the long-awaited sophomore venture from ultimate fave Alice Wu (check out our episode on her first film, 2004's Saving Face). The movie is almost about sophomores but is actually about seniors in high school in a fictional Washington state town (which is where we also live! Washington state, not a fictional town, unless you want to get metaphorical about Seattle being FAKE). It follows very sweet and smart and wonderful queer teen Ellie Chu in a story that, as we conclude, is a major glow-up for the Cyrano de Bergerac plot. Tune in to hear our thoughts, of which we have some!

 

Further reading:

Autostraddle review by Malinda Lo

Wikipedia page

Episode 61: Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie's Dead Aunt)

 

Howdy, beautiful listeners! We are back from a winter spent in survival mode, hbu? Shooting for the stars that we will be on a monthly recording schedule from here on out :) Today we start out with a lil update, including a discussion of our tagline and why we decided to change it. Then we get into the ~*cute*~ Australian film, Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie's Dead Aunt)! Which Sarah can only think of as Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie's GAY Aunt), but it's fine. We saw this one "at" the Seattle Queer Film Festival, but if you live in Aus or aren't an Elder like us and know your way around a VPN, you can stream it online. Regardless, this movie was like if The Prom was good, and it has a lot of queer shit going on in front of and behind the camera, so join us as we talk about it to each other and your ears. Love ya, take care of yourselves!

 

Further reading: 

SQFF film guide from 2020: https://threedollarbillcinema.org/filmguide

NME: https://www.nme.com/en_au/features/ellie-abbie-ellies-dead-aunt-director-monica-zanetti-on-breaking-down-casting-barriers-2819133

MIFF Q&A: https://miff.com.au/blog/view/6175/post-screening-qa-ellie-abbie

Binge (Australian streaming service), if ya savvy: https://binge.com.au/

Episode 60: Happiest Season

 

Hello gays! We are back with a brand-new episode of the highly anticipated (and now highly debated) movie, Happiest Season, directed by Clea DuVall (of But I'm a Cheerleader fame). There are things we loved and things we did not love about this movie--we talk about those things around Sarah stanning KStew. We're so happy to be back! Stay safe!

Episode 59: Wild Nights With Emily

 

Hey all you beautifuls! We hope you are weathering this really wild and not great time. We're here this week with a movie that's the good kind of wild, Wild Nights With Emily. If you're stuck at home, which at this point I'm pretty sure we all are, and you can stream stuff, watch this!! It's so good! And then listen to us gush about how the oddball workings of Madeleine Olnek's (of Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same fame) mind worked wonders on this story of Emily Dickinson's life. Stay safe, y'all.

 

Further reading:

Wild Nights With Emily Wikipedia page

Emily Dickinson Wikipedia page

Episode 58: Tell it to The Bees

 

Hi, 1950s lesbians! This movie is real bad but we watched it for you anyway! Taking place in postwar Britain and involving a lot of Lesbian Staring, a precocious skinny white kid, rape, racism, senseless magical realism, and weird CGI bees, this movie is not our favorite. But you can listen us get mad/laugh at it, and talk about how boring straights are! 

 

Further reading:

Tell it to The Bees Wikipedia page

Fiona Shaw's article on how they made her gay ending into a straight ending

Episode 57: Princess Cyd

 

Have you ever found yourself daydreaming about wandering around the lush north side of Chicago in summer while your writerly aunt hosts literary soirées and a cute andro barista dances with you on a rooftop? Well then this movie is for you. We're talking about cute queer summer flings and annoying teens on this episode, enjoy!

 

Further reading:

Princess Cyd Wikipedia page

Episode 56: Sighted Eyes, Feeling Heart

 

Helloooo literary lez's and otherwise identified queers! Have you read the book Looking for Lorraine by Imani Perry? Because you should. But you can also watch this pretty good, very PBS style doc about Lorraine Hansberry, aka one of the baddest/best humans ever to be too good for America. If you don't know, Hansberry wrote the 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun, which you probably read in high school, and was a huge hit and made into a movie. But tbh that was the least of her amazingness. She was a true queen. Also, she was queer af. Listen in to hear us talk about this movie, the book Looking for Lorraine (which is much gayer, and also one of Sarah's favorite books of all time), and how much we stan this communist activist legend. Enjoy!

 

Further reading:

Get the book Looking for Lorraine!!! 

Sighted Eyes Feeling Heart official website

Lorraine Hansberry Wikipedia page