The following films of queer interest are playing at the Chicago International Film Festival in its final week: The Human Comedy: 10.17 – 7:15 @ Music Box The Iron Ladies: 10.17 – 9 p.m. @ Landmark Century Truly Human: 10.16 – 6:30 p.m. @ Landmark Century / 10.17 – 7:00 p.m. @ Landmark Century
In theaters –
Bandits (MGM/Hyde Park Entertainment) : What appears to be one “last big heist” gone awry turns out to be something else entirely in this old-fashioned Hollywood comedy that serves as a comeback for director Barry Levinson and actor Billy Bob Thornton. After an unplanned prison break, hyper-hypochondriac Terry Collins (Thornton) and fellow-escapee Joe Blake (Bruce Willis) find themselves on the lam with no money and nowhere to go. The resourceful Blake stages an impromptu bank robbery, with Collins as an accomplice. Soon the duo has earned themselves a reputation and a following that goes beyond just law enforcement officials. When an off-kilter and unhappily married woman named Kate (Cate Blanchett) enters the picture, she drives a wedge between the bank-robbing buddies and the canvas begins to slowly unravel. A comical and sexy supporting performance by Troy Garrity (son of Jane Fonda and Tom Hayden) as Terry’s special effects-obsessed stunt-man-wannabe cousin Harvey adds to the fun. Blanchett is a natural comedian and Thornton gives his best performance since Sling Blade. On a scale of 1 to 10: 7.5
Mulholland Drive (Universal) : Before it veers off the road and becomes a lurid and lascivious (David) Lynchian lesbian sex fantasy, Mulholland Drive is a bizarre and refreshing tribute to and parody of film noir and the young innocent’s arrival in Hollywood. Lampooning Hollywood (actors and actresses, directors, movie studios) is a little like biting the hand that feeds, but it must have tasted awfully good. In addition to all of the fresh faces on-screen—Justin Theroux as filmmaker Adam, Naomi Watts as just-off-the-bus Betty, and Laura Harring as the mysterious mystery woman Rita—writer/director Lynch serves up a heaping portion of Ann Miller as, alternately, Betty’s landlady and Adam’s mother, looking like she’s ready for her close-up. Just when you think that the mysteries of Mulholland Drive have been solved, Lynch throws in a lesbian landslide and opens a Pandora’s Box that may leave you more puzzled than pleased. On a scale of 1 to 10: 7.5
On TV (www.sundancechannel.com) : A Union In Wait: Susan Parker and Wendy Scott are a lesbian couple who had been together in a loving relationship for 16 years when they decided to have a holy union ceremony at the Baptist church in North Carolina to which they belonged. This personal and revealing documentary, directed by Ryan Butler, about the controversy that erupted over their plans for a commitment ceremony is a fascinating look into the explosive debate over same-sex unions. The documentary ends with Susan and Wendy’s long-awaited ceremony at the Wake Forest Baptist Church and will delight anyone who loves to cry at weddings. On scale of 1 to 10: 7.