Hot Entertainment Picks for September 2011
CINEMA: The Help
In the heart of every gay man is a sassy black woman. (Or was it the other way around?) Either way, if you’re in need of Southern sass, The Help is a movie that has enough to make a pie. There’s big hair everywhere and a cigarette in every hand - and in the workplace too.
The Help shows an intimate look at the color divide in the Southern household right before the civil rights era erupted. We see black maids working amongst whites in what on the surface looks harmonious, yet very much two separate worlds under one roof. And we all know maids tell the best stories.
A young white post-grad named Skeeter (Emma Stone) asks the black maids of Jackson, Mississippi for their stories. She starts with housemaid Aibileen (Viola Davis) who doesn’t like to say much, but she does write well. Their secret project brings in a host of maids who have a lot to say about working for uppity white women. They get much heat from Hilly Holbrook (Bryce Dallas Howard), a witchy socialite in gloves and high heels, who fights to preserve Southern decorum at all costs.
The female cast brings a new substance to an untold part of American domestic life, but at the same time tells a heartfelt story of bonding and subtle disobedience. The movie’s more emotional moments happen when the color line is crossed between the maid and the children they raise. Get some napkins out, or take your favorite shoulder to cry on. But have a slice of pie when it’s all done. The Help is now at Santikos Bijou Theater.
VIDEO: Latter Days
I’ve always liked well-behaved young men. I guess that’s why I find Mormon missionaries so cute - with their little black ties and tucked in white shirts, keeping fit by riding their bikes all day. Mormons have been everywhere lately - from Broadway, to the Republican Party, to teen vampire writers. Either by coincidence or because of the Mormon craze, TLA Releasing has announced they’re re-distributing the 2003 movie Latter Days for Blu-Ray DVD. Latter Days is the first gay-themed movie to tackle the Church of Latter Day Saints and their view on homosexuality. Director C. Jay Cox paraded his movie to gay film festivals across the country, with some angry Mormons protesting behind.
Latter Days follows a young Mormon missionary, Aaron, who deals with his forbidden love for his openly gay next-door neighbor Christian. The plot is a little cliché in some spots, but Latter Days is still an important gay cinema investment. The fact that TLA is re-releasing the movie on Blu-Ray DVD is proof that the movie still has an audience. The DVD can be purchased at www.TLAReleasing.com.
MUSIC: Foster the People, Torches
It boggles my mind when I go to the bar and people play the same pop songs on the jukebox that we hear all day looped on the radio. (You know which songs!) This summer, I went hunting for a change. I found the music video for the song “Pumped Up Kicks” from the new indie digital band called Foster the People. It had such a catchy chorus and sounded so upbeat that it took me 6 or 7 plays to find out the song is about hipsters shooting hipsters.
That alone intrigued me to download their new album Torches. Foster the People infuses an array of steady House beats that any indie fiend will appreciate, but still keeps a pop sound that is good enough for the jukebox. And for the record, this is one cute all-male trio behind the keyboards.
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