But I’m A Cheerleader (Lions Gate Films) : Peter (Bud Cort) and Nancy (Mink Stole), the parents of bubbly blonde cheerleader Megan (the wonderful Natasha Lyonne) have an intervention when they fear that their daughter might be straying from the righteous Christian path and heading toward a life as a lesbian in this John Waters-esque comedy of the absurd. Sure, her sexual fantasies are about her fellow cheerleaders and she has a Melissa Etheridge poster on her bedroom wall, but does that make her a lesbian? She is, as she points out, a cheerleader, after all. At True Directions, the candy-colored rehabilitation center where she is taken to be straightened out, she is under the watchful eye of Mary Brown (Cathy Moriarty) and Mike (RuPaul Charles, out of drag), and put through the ex-gay ministry’s five-step program. While there, she meets Graham (Clea DuVall, who is reminiscent of a young Ally Sheedy), and they fall in love. While this movie doesn’t live up to its comedic potential, there is something sweetly entertaining about it. Plus, viewers get to see RuPaul try and play it straight and the stunning Eddie Cibrian (as Mary Brown’s queer son Rock, you might know him from TV’s Third Watch) play it gay in tight-fitting tank tops and short shorts. On a scale of 1 to 10: 7
Groove (Sony Pictures Classics) : A group of friends, acquaintances and perfect strangers gather together in an abandoned warehouse in San Francisco to share the highs and lows of several hours at a rave. Colin (Denny Kirkwood) and his girlfriend Harmony (Mackenzie Firgens) convince Colin’s conservative brother David (Hamish Linklater) to accompany them to the grungy warehouse district. Once there, David meets Leyla (Lola Glaudini) and his attitude changes (of course, the drugs helped too). Colin surprises Harmony with an engagement ring, so the tone has been set for romance and celebration. In that same spirit, a gay male couple Aaron (Bradley Ross) and Neil (Jeff Witzke) plan to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the night they met by going to the rave. Unfortunately, a “disco nap” causes them to be late and the race is on for them to find the site before legendary DJ John Digweed steps up to the turntables. In the meantime, sexy and tattooed masseuse Anthony (Vince Riverside) massages Colin’s lips and tongue with his own bringing about the movie’s pivotal moment of conflict. Loud and throbbing, funny and flaky, chatty and vaguely psychedelic, Groove will most likely do for the rave scene what Thank God It’s Friday did for disco. On a scale of 1 to 10: 6.5
The Life and Times Of Hank Greenberg (Cowboy Booking International) : You don’t have to love baseball (heck, I don’t even like it) to appreciate the craft in filmmaker Aviva Kempner’s heartwarming documentary about the life and times of the man that some called “the baseball Moses.” Idolized and beloved by show business people (Walter Matthau and Michael Moriarty—the grandson of a baseball umpire), lawyers (Alan Dershowitz), rabbis, politicians, friends, fans, as well as his teammates, the 6’4″ movie-star handsome baseball player was a two-time MVP. Kempner’s vision of Greenberg is kept at an accessible and entertaining level through the interspersing of footage of the gifted athlete in action with various interviews, including some with Greenberg himself and with his three children—Stephen, Alva and Glenn. The historic significance of a Jewish baseball player playing at the height of his game just before and during World War II cannot be underestimated. The discrimination that Greenberg faced and the grace with which he overcame it stands as a model for what lesbian and gay athletes must deal with in their personal and professional lives. Kempner has hit a homerun with this portrait of baseball great Greenberg. On a scale of 1 to 10: 8.5
Scary Movie (Dimension Films) : Keenen Ivory Wayans directed this wicked funny and precise parody of teen slasher flicks such as Scream (and its sequels) and I Know What You Did Last Summer (and its sequel). Beginning with the Scream opening scene homage (with an unexpectedly funny Carmen Electra in the Drew Barrymore role) and continuing through all of the other well-executed movie references (such as The Sixth Sense, The Blair Witch Project, The Matrix, and even The Usual Suspects), the comically capable cast (including Wayans’ brothers Shawn and Marlon, and SNL’s Cheri Oteri) earns its laughs. This kind of consistently funny brand of comedy used to be the sole territory of Jerry and David Zucker and Jim Abrahams (of Airplane! and Naked Gun renown), however Wayans makes it his own, even finding a way to make Farrelly Brothers-style bodily function humor and physical gross-out comedy work while getting some uncomfortable laughs. The major gay subplot skirts homophobia, but never really insults or hurts. On a scale of 1 to 10: 7
Sunshine (Paramount Classics) : At three hours in length, this fictional family saga, which incorporates the last 100 years of Hungarian history, is not for the squirmy or the squeamish. As narrated by Ivan Sonnenschein (Ralph Fiennes), the three generations of this remarkable family, whose fortune was built on the secret recipe for an herbal tonic, unfolds with all the drama of a Shakespearean tragedy. Fiennes, who also plays both his grandfather (Ignatz) and his father (Adam), gives an extremely satisfying performance as all three men. Jennifer Ehle, as Valerie, the orphaned cousin who is raised as Ignatz and his brother Gustav’s (James Frain) sister, and eventually becomes Ignatz’s wife, gives an unforgettable performance that will remind many people of a young Meryl Streep. Ehle’s real-life mother, Rosemary Harris, plays Valerie in later life, and reminds viewers of what a great actress she is. The gloomy Sunshine touches on an incredible variety of subjects (including anti-Semitism, assimilation, nationalism, adultery, conspiracy, religion, loyalty, prejudice and competitiveness), and would have been more enjoyable if it was one-third shorter. By the end, nothing about this family, that barely survives more than their share 20th century misadventures, will surprise the viewer. On a scale of 1 to 10: 7