Outstanding documentary No Straight Lines from PBS’s Independent Lens profiles the past 40 years of Queer Comics from underground to mainstream. Directed by out lesbian filmmaker Vivian Kleinman and based on the book by producer/writer/professor Justin Hall. From PBS,
When Alison Bechdel received a coveted MacArthur Award for her best-selling graphic memoir Fun Home, it heralded the acceptance of LGBTQ+ comics in American culture. From DIY underground comix scene to mainstream acceptance, meet five smart and funny queer comic book artists whose uncensored commentary left no topic untouched and explored art as a tool for social change. Featuring Alison Bechdel, Jennifer Camper, Howard Cruse, Rupert Kinnard, Mary Wings, and other queer comics artists.
The Filmmakers
Vivian Kleiman
Director/Producer Vivian Kleiman is a Peabody Award-winning filmmaker and a Fleishhacker Eureka Fellowship artist. She was the story editor for Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men, and her work with landmark filmmaker Marlon Riggs includes Tongues Untied, among others. She taught at Stanford University’s Graduate Program in Documentary Film.Justin Hall
Producer Justin Hall edited the Lambda Award-winning, Eisner-nominated No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics and created the comics True Travel Tales, Hard to Swallow. Hall is chair of the MFA in Comics Program at California College of the Arts, the first Fulbright Scholar of comics, and has curated international exhibitions of comics art.
Really worth watching. When you worry that we haven’t made progress over the past 50 years, this puts it all into perspective. Yes, we’re facing book bans and all the horror of “Don’t Say Gay” in Florida and other ignorant states, but we will not be shoved back in the closet. These artists remind us all to use the tools at our disposal to fight back and demand a place at the table. Hey DeSantis – Joe McCarthy died over 60 years ago. Your hatred and bigotry are the last gasps of the patriarchy. Watch No Straight Lines and feel the power. 5 out of 5.
No Straight Lines currently streams on PBS.
Listen to Vivian Kleinman interview on Brad Shreve’s Queer We Are podcast.
Caught the gritty, gay indie Urbania from filmmakers Jon Matthews and Philippe Denham about a man who loses his boyfriend to a hate crime and seeks revenge. Based on the play, Urban Folk Tales by Daniel Reitz, the film takes its shape from all sorts of people telling urban legend stories throughout the piece as the protagonist Charlie reveals more and more about that fateful night. The couple’s played by Dan Futterman and Matt Keeslar. In 2000, gay parts were still being given to straight actors. They both do a good job. It’s just unfortunate that actor’s like Alan Cumming had to be relegated to a tiny part. The first half of the film drags in parts. I remembered loving it 20+ years ago when it was released. In 2023, it meandered a bit until the last act. It’s a good ending from an ok film. I was still so hungry for gay indies even back in 2000, I am sure I rated this higher. Looking at it today, it’s a 3.5. Definitely worth consideration. Hard to believe 2000 looks so long ago especially the fashion and the scenes of NYC.
I so wanted to adore Neptune Frost, billed as an afrofuturist, science fiction, romantic, musical film. There were some glorious elements to the film. The singing felt indiginous to Rwanda. Make-up and costumes popped seemingly out of nowhere and definitely brought a sci-fi aspect to the film. But the story confused and eventually bored me. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. It felt experimental in places and narrative in others. I wished it had picked a genre. Still I always applaud filmmakers who take risks and look forward to future projects from co-directors Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman. Damn I really wanted to love this one. 2 out of 5.
Based on the 2012 tinsel town tell-all, Full Service: My Adventures in Hollywood and the Secret Sex Lives of the Stars, Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2018) follows Scotty Bowers in his later years (90+) as he reminisces on his post-WWII life acting as a sort of sweet pimp to the stars. The book and documentary have a polarizing effect on the public. There are people who laugh at the absurdity of Scotty telling tales after all these stars are dead and gone. And there are other reasonable people who feel like it has to be true, simply because of the pressure the studio system put on its stars from the 40’s and beyond – they had to have some way of blowing off steam so to speak. Told with frankness and kindness, Scotty comes off as sort of a Mother Teresa of the Hollywood underground sex scene in the second half of the 20th Century. At first, I dismissed Scotty. Then I finally sat down and watched the documentary. There are so many threads of truth – Rock Hudson, Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant, I can’t help but think a lot of this must be true, even if it might also be embellished. The oddest part of the reveal was not the Hollywood name dropping. It was the idea that in his 60’s Scotty would marry a woman who had no idea of his past. He never told her about his past. And then when he publishes the book, she wants no part of it. She’s also obviously homophobic in one scene. Why would a man who is gay or fluid or bisexual marry someone who’s not accepting of LGBTQ folk? And why would Scotty keep that part of his life from her, if he indeed celebrated sexuality his entire adult life? He seems so gleeful about sex and his part in helping others, even as he remembers the best times of his life well into his 90’s. In some ways I suppose Scotty embraced the modern definition of the word queer long before this new generation. Whatever you believe or don’t believe, Scotty’s tale is a salacious, saucy story. Lots of fun. None of the sex stories made me cringe. His hoarding in multiple homes really made me cringe. But the truth to his sexcapades whether they are true, false, or what I believe – somewhere gloriously in-between do make you wonder about the rigidity of the Hollywood system, and the people who bought into it to work and become stars. Whatever you believe, there was a lot of hormones pinging. 3.5 out of 5.
Here we go. Summer’s blazing in the Northern Hemisphere. Time to crank up the a/c and watch some dreamy holiday movies and television episodes. In 2021, Reel Charlie added two new queer Christmas rom-coms to my list of favorites:
Don’t need to say much about the indie darling Summer 2022 rom-com Fire Island other than WATCH IT! It exceeded all of my expectations. I was hoping it was fun. Check. Sweet. Check. But then it just kept getting better. And better. It’s silly in places, stupid in a few as a nod to the Rom-Com genre. It’s also inclusive and poignant and romantic and full of hope. Writer star Joel Kim Booster hit it out of the park with this delightful distraction from our collapsing democracy. And boy do we need some breaks from that train wreck. Fire Island joins a very small list of sweet, happy, sexy, silly, romantic, hopeful gay male films who dared to take on the Rom-Com genre and turn it out. Simply amazing. 5 out of 5.
Mark Rappaport’s 1992 documentary, Rock Hudson’s Home Movies combines actor Eric Farr playing a fictionalized version of Hudson who died of AIDS seven years prior to the creation of this film, along with grainy VHS clips from Hudson’s film. The entire project focuses on the gay undertones to most of Rock’s roles. It’s a brilliant, experimental, and easily digestible indie film from the 
Reel Charlie 