RELIGION, SEX & A BITCH WITH STYLE

Trembling Before G-d, O Fantasma, Legally Blonde 2, and more

• Trembling Before G_d

Trembling Before G-d is an unprecedented feature documentary that shatters assumptions about faith, sexuality, and religious fundamentalism. Built around intimately told personal stories of Hasidic and Orthodox Jews who are gay and lesbian, the film portrays a group of people who face a profound dilemma—how to reconcile their passionate love for Judaism and the Divine with the drastic biblical prohibitions that forbid homosexuality. • As the film unfolds, we meet a range of individuals—some hidden, some out—from the world’s first openly gay Orthodox rabbi to closeted, married Hasidic gays and lesbians. Many have been tragically rejected and their pain is raw, yet with irony, humor, and resilience, they love, care, struggle, and argue with a tradition that is thousands of years old. • Vividly shot with a courageous few over five years in Brooklyn, Jerusalem, Los Angeles, London, Miami, and San Francisco, Trembling Before G-d is an international project with global implications that strikes at the meaning of spirituality and tradition in the world. • Included on this two-disc set: a look at the life-changing movement of the film around the world; interview with the director Sandi Simcha Dubowski; Tomboychik, the director’s short film; more with the first openly gay Orthodox rabbi; and much more. • From New Yorker Films (www.newyorkerfilms.com). —Suzie Lynde

• O Fantasma

Sérgio (Ricardo Meneses) spends his hours consumed by the loneliness of a cheap bed-and-break-fast, anonymous sex with men, and his job as a rubbish collector. Consumed by insatiable desire, he has long been stuck in a childhood shared by Lorde, the garbage dump dog, oblivious to the shadows that encircle him, such as the love that his female workmate Fátima (Beatriz Torcato) has for him, the strange vigilance of a local policeman, and his foreman’s (Eurico Vieira) ambiguous desire. • One night, he happens upon the “phantom” of his dreams, in the form of a macho motorcyclist (André Barbosa). Entranced, he begins a dangerous and erotic game of spying and preying upon the object of his obsession. As he realizes he is not in control of the game, he nevertheless continues, knowing full well he will lose. The very hands that wished to caress remain cuffed, addicted to rejection. The mask of his desire, the latex suit, becomes Sérgio’s final dwelling. He is alone, no longer of this world. • Joao Pedro Rodrigues’s sexually explicit, thought-provoking debut feature was named one of the top 10 films of the year by critic Alexander Horwath (Film Comment) and Brandon Judell (PopcornQ/PlanetOut.com). Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times said O Fantasma is “a film that is as audacious as it is compelling and as dark as it is erotic!” —Troy Carrington

• Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde

Silly? Well, yes. Bordering on ridiculous? Well, yes. But loads of fun? Hell, yes! • You won’t have to have seen Legally Blonde to appreciate this ultra-sweet sequel. Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) is the perky heroine of this outrageously gay film. “Gay” film? Well, yes and no. The director, Charles Herman-Wurmfeld, is gay, and though Elle is not gay, Bruiser is. Bruiser is Elle’s best friend ... of the canine variety. • Backtracking, Elle is getting married, and she realizes she wants Bruiser’s mom to attend the wedding (this is not Citizen Kane, OK?), but she doesn’t know the bitch’s whereabouts. She hires a private investigator, who locates the Chihuahua at an animal testing facility. The remainder of the film entails fashion-conscious Elle getting a bill passed that will stop animal testing for makeup. The journey is joyous, mainly because of Elle, who is adorned in designer outfits, almost all pink; even the lighting that highlights her blonde locks is pink! • “She almost magically finds she can relate to every single person on one level or another,” says Witherspoon of her character. “She doesn’t think she’s above or below anyone. She sees each person as an individual and finds the good in everyone.” • Sally Field, who costars as Congresswoman Victoria Rudd, is almost wasted in a part that could have been called in by any number of less competent actresses; however, it’s always a treat to see Field as a blonde. • So, put on your party pumps and enjoy the sisterhood social. From MGM Home Entertainment (www.mgm.com/dvd). —Blase DiStefano

• Hey, Happy!

Set in a Winnepeg of the imagination, Hey, Happy! is a queer contemporary fairy tale focusing on Sabu, a hot, sultry DJ, and his archival Spanky, a villainous hairdresser. Both are on manhunts to bed boys before the annual flooding of the town, which is viewed as the yearly apocalypse. While Sabu spends his time spinning discs and running an outdoor used-porn market, Spanky wanders the wasteland of his hometown with his posse of oversized chicks and their portable beauty salon. The two turn their adversarial worst when both shift their attention and affection toward Happy, a lovable simpleton who speaks with aliens. A truly bizarre love triangle ensues. The DVD contains a behind-the-scenes look on the set of the film; a commentary track by the film’s writer/director Noam Gonick; the short film 1919 by Gonick, about the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike seen through the window of a gay Chinese bathhouse/barber shop; and more. From Strand Releasing (www.strandreleasing.com). —SL

• Beyond Vanilla

Stimulating but not pornographic, and informative without being judgmental, Beyond Vanilla is an unforgettable and eye-opening journey to the wilder side of sex. The film presents its revelatory subject matter in a clear, intelligent, and interesting way. With interviews, demonstrations, and a good dose of how-to instructions, this documentary covers the gamut of fetishes and S&M practices. From bondage, flogging, and fisting to knife play, fire, and golden showers, director Claes Lilja takes the viewer beyond the stereotypical view of kinky sex. Sharing fantasies, experiences, and pleasures, the over-100-people interviewed in the film help blur boundaries and shed new light on sexuality and sexual practices. For the curious, the voyeur, or the enthusiast, Beyond Vanilla is a fascinating crossing into the world of high performance sexual athletes, where the boundaries of gay, straight, bi, or trans seem almost irrelevant. Lilja’s subjects are academics, doctors, lawyers, pornographers, porn stars, sex workers, and fulfilled freelance hedonists who offer an insider’s view of how to embrace extreme fantasies, helping to de-stigmatize a topic that many people are secretly interested in but are afraid to try. From Strand Releasing (www.strandreleasing.com). —TC

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