MOVIES

Movies with a touch of gay
Lily Tomlin, Judi Dench, & Kate Winslet
by Blase DiStefano

ORANGE COUNTY is the story of what a high-school senior (Colin Hanks) goes through to get into Stanford University when his guidance counselor (Lily Tomlin) accidentally sends them the transcript of a complete loser. The Gay Touch (besides Tomlin): written by Mike White, the Buck of Chuck & Buck. (Starts January 11.)

• THE SHIPPING NEWS traces one man’s (Kevin Spacey) journey to self-discovery. After the death of his estranged wife (Cate Blanchett), his fortunes begin to change when his aunt (Judi Dench) convinces him to move. The Gay Touch: It’s a surprise. (Now playing.)

• IRIS. Judi Dench and Kate Winslet each portray the novelist Iris Murdoch in two distinct periods of her life. The Gay Touch: This is stretching it, but Kate Winslet played a lesbian in 1994’s Heavenly Creatures. (Scheduled for a January or February release.)

ON DVD:

• THE ANNIVERSARY PARTY. Be glad you didn’t attend this party, but also be glad you are now given a chance to see it. Joe (Alan Cumming) and Sally (Jennifer Jason Leigh) are hosts to a great ensemble cast including Kevin Kline, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jennifer Beals. The Gay Touch: Mention is made of Joe’s "sexual ambivalence." (Available for rental on VHS/DVD, and for sale on DVD for $24.98, on January 15.)