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bammer47
Reviews
East Side Story (2006)
Best LGBT-focused story in film we've seen in the past couple of years
My partner & I saw "East Side Story" at NYC's NewFest in June 2006.
The movie is a well constructed take-off on the Italian-Puerto Rican ethnic conflict in the musical "West Side Story". Instead of the historical focus on those two ethnic groups in NYC, ESS dramatizes the current fault line between middle class Latino residents in LA's Echo Park neighborhood and well-off gays & lesbians who are buying up their homes, gentrifying their area, and threatening to displace them. The specific characters and basic storyline are believable and the movie entertains you throughout the movie.
Of the 15 or so films we screened at that NYC LGBT festival last year & this month, "East Side Story" was by far our favorite (We also liked "Forgiving the Franklins", "Coffee Date", "Outing Riley" and "Bubble", a gripping but HEAVY film by the Israeli director of "Yossi & Jagger".).
Question: does anyone have an idea of when / if "East Side Story" will appear in (art) theaters OR be released on DVD? We'd really like to see it again and, if possible, purchase a copy.
If not, I'll contact the NewFest organizers to see if they can answer this question.
Eating Out (2004)
Perfect gay farce with hunky guys and some steamy scenes
I have a hard time understanding why gay male moviegoers would react so harshly to this film.
My partner & I first saw "Eating Out" at the NYC LGBT Film Festival two years ago. We immediately watched it again with a friend who enjoyed it as much as we did. A year ago, we saw the movie during its commercial run with a group of 6 gay men, all of whom enjoyed it AND then we bought the video once it was released. Finally, we showed "Eating Out" to a close friend just this afternoon & he shared our delight with the movie.
Anyone willing to overlook intermittently schlocky writing and awkward acting will find the story so sweet, the jokes so funny, the cast so appealing & sexy, the bodies so muscular & good looking, & one extended sex scene so erotic as to justify the time & money commitment. The full frontal nudity involving the two male leads is icing on the cake.
Watch the movie & let your only intention be a desire to be entertained. Don't compare it to "The Citizen Kane". Let your inner gay child enjoy! Hopefully, you'll feel the way we do about "Eating Out".