Gay. Ish.

Not long ago, gay movies were about gayness. In My Beautiful Launderette, two lovers struggled against anti-gay (and anti-Asian) forces in 1980s Britain. In Lilies, two lovers struggled against provincial het-chauvinism in rural Canada. There are a gazillion flicks like these, but their day is done. By the time Latter Days came out in 2003, it was no longer interesting enough to be merely gay — you had to be a gay Mormon. And if very-gay TLA Releasing’s mini film-fest at Gateway (1820 Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale) proves one thing, it’s that we’ve come so far and so fast that gayness in gay films is now totally incidental. The fest, running August 22 — 28, includes only one old-school gay-centric romp (3 Day Weekend, about a bunch of dudes banging each other in a house on the water). The other selections are astounding: a movie about a queer assassin falling in love with his erstwhile target (Bangkok Love Story), a movie about a queer killer out to raise the property values in his gayborhood (Boystown), a verite-ish take on nighttime Paris (I Dreamt Under The Water), a film about a straight Marine (Dog Tags), and a doc about a gay porn star who wound up marrying a chick. (This last would be Jack Wrangler. Remember him? Nobody ever made his namesake jeans look better). Progress? I’d say. Find tickets and individual show times at www.sunrisecinemas.com.
Aug. 22-16, 2008