MOVIES ON DVD/VHS

Butch Shy and the Valentine Kid

A duo of dykes makes By Hook or by Crook a winner

I’m a gay male. Or at least I think I am. I was truly turned on by the handsome star (Silas Howard) of By Hook or by Crook, because he is one helluvan attractive guy … even though “he” is a female.

Shy (Howard) lives in a small town and thumbs her way to San Francisco, where she (as a he) saves Valentine (Harry Dodge) from being battered by hitting the attacker in the nuts. The two butch lesbians (Valentine is also a bit masculine, what with her beard and all) become platonic friends in their resulting petty criminal behavior.

Valentine’s mental instability makes for a somewhat somber individual, but a heaping of humorous lines injects some balance into her character. She is constantly searching for her birth mother, and it is this desperate quest that is at the core of her character. Before and after the arrival of Shy, Valentine has the loving support of her girlfriend (Stanya Kahn).

Shy’s character is built on what we might consider to be a lie, because she assumes the appearance of a man. However, she has an innate goodness, and her loyalty to Valentine is the stuff of friendship; Shy even becomes the key to the location of Valentine’s mom.

An appealing film to watch, By Hook or by Crook is a fascinating depiction of a slightly different and offbeat kind of lifestyle. To top off their acting chops, the dynamic duo (Dodge and Howard) also wrote and directed the film, with additional dialogue written by Kahn. Truly a “family” film.

Available on DVD and VHS from Wolfe Video by calling 1-800-GET-WOLFE or visiting www.wolfevideo.com. —Blase DiStefano

• Lan Yu

Lan Yu (Liu Ye) is a country boy, newly arrived in Beijing to study architecture. Desperately short of money, he is talked into prostituting himself. One evening, he is propositioned by Handong (Hu Jun), a successful playboy who takes Lan Yu home and gives him a life-changing sexual initiation that leads to an illicit relationship. Although Handong wants nothing more than a playmate, the vulnerable Lan Yu begins falling in love with him, prompting Handong to do everything in his power to deflect Lan Yu’s affections. Soon both men find themselves entangled in a self-destructive affair that ultimately leads them to risk everything they have.

Hailed by Newsweek as one of the best films of 2002, Lan Yu is based on the controversial, anonymously published Internet novel Beijing Story. Filmed entirely underground on location in China, Lan Yu was an official selection at the Cannes, Toronto, and Sundance film festivals.

From Strand Releasing (www.strandreleasing.com).

See Lan Yu at the Houston Gay & Lesbian Film Festival in June. —Troy Carrington

• Smokers Only

Smokers Only explores the sexy and alluring twilight underworld of Buenos Aires and its denizens through the eyes of Andres (Leonardo Brezicki), a young male hustler who flies through the city nights on rollerblades, and Reni (Cecilia Bengolea), a rebellious girl singer with a struggling band.

As the film opens, Reni spies on Andres as he turns tricks in an ATM booth. The unlikely pairing of Reni and Andres develops into an entangled, co-dependent friendship/physical relationship that knows no sexual boundaries. Andres compels Reni to work the streets with him, and Reni is willing to show her trust of Andres in a manner hitherto unknown to him.

From Strand Releasing (www.strandreleasing.com). –TC

TV ON DVD

• The Osbournes

The Osbournes has become a top-rated “reality show” phenomenon. Last fall Ozzy Osbourne, the original Madman of Rock, opened up his family life to the cameras, and the resulting television series has earned a huge fan following, including many gays.

The Osbournes—The First Season collects all the unforgettable personalities and day-to-day problems and pleasures that come from being a part of America’s most fun-to-watch first family. It stars legendary rocker Ozzy Osbourne, his wife Sharon and their kids Jack and Kelly, the latter reinventing what a young girl is allowed to look like and how she can behave. Kelly is the consummate fag hag, always out in L.A. at the boys’ bars. (In Next Magazine, she was asked who her favorite gay person is, and she answered, “I have the most gay friends. You should ask me who my favorite straight person is.”)

The Osbournes—The First Season is a 2-disc set that includes unseen bonus footage from the aired episodes, and many terrific DVD programs including set-top features and DVD-ROM features, with new cast interviews, commentary tracks, “Too Oz for TV” blooper reel, an Osbournes bingo game, and more. It is also available in an uncensored version, for even more hilarious wit and wisdom from Ozzy’s clan.

From Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. —TC

FEATURE FILM

• Down with Love

What is sure to be one of the most-talked about films of 2003, Down with Love is a sparkling homage to the classic “sex comedies” of the late ’50s/early ’60s.

Popping with high-gloss Technicolor images—dazzling outfits, ultra chic apartments, elegant supper clubs, New York City at night—Down with Love is a whirlwind comic valentine to the romantic classics starring Rock Hudson and Doris Day.

New York City, 1963: It’s a budding romance between womanizing journalist and playboy Catcher Block (Ewan McGregor) and author Barbara Cook (Renée Zellweger), whose revolutionary new book Down with Love is a pre-feminist manifesto on saying “no” to love and “yes” to career empowerment … and sex. Mistaken idenities, frantic roundelays, shocking revelations—and ever-changing perceptions about love and sex—are only a few of the surprises in store.

Down with Love also stars David Hyde Pierce (Frasier) in the role that was often played by Tony Randall (Hudson’s sidekick in Pillow Talk, Lover Come Back, and Send Me No Flowers). Randall even has a cameo.

—TC

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