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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (May 2, 2003)
^ FILM .......... .......... | t —l[4ÿ V Mutantphobia! X2 pits the homo superiors against the ’phobes by A ndy M a n gels A s a father looks on speechless at his son who has just come out, the concerned moth er leans over and asks the dreaded question: "Honey, have you ever tried not being a mutant V' Welcome back to the world of the X-Men, in which mutants are feared, perse cuted and legis Ian McKellen is downright villainous in X 2 : X-Men United lated against. But as X2: X-Men United shows, it’s not a good idea T he first film dealt much more overtly to try to bash those who can bash back. with the parallels between gays and mutants, The first X-Men film in 2000 introduced but X2 is still pretty gayesque, both in the viewers to the comic book-based milieu classi script and among the actors and production team. fied as homo superior. Most o f them look like normal human beings, but they have extra McKellen is gay, while Cumming is bisexual powers that set them apart; some of them use and Romijn-Stamos recently admitted to previ their powers for good, while others, of course, ous relationships with women. Behind the use them to advance more sinister agendas. scenes, director Bryan Singer has long been Whereas X-Men dealt with a mutantphobic speculated as gay in the press (an issue he U.S. senator trying to pass legislation to regis chooses not to address), while editor/composer ter all mutants, X2 showcases a more dire John Ottman is openly gay. threat when Gen. William Stryker (Brian Cox) Beyond its ties to the gay community, is makes a military strike against the private X2 a worthy sequel? Yes, indeed. Perhaps citadel for mutant teens: Professor Charles because he’s unfettered with having to fully Xaviers Academy for Gifted Students. explain the concept of mutants as in the first The various members o f the X-Men team film, Singer is able to open up the playing scramble to protect themselves, regroup and field and delve into both more action and stop Stryker’s evil plan. Hunky wild man more characterization. Wolverine (the delectable Hugh Jackman) and A s the Superman and Superman II films three mutant teens are in one group, but one are both considered classic examples of how of the teens (Shawn Ashmore as Ice Man) to do a comic book film and its sequel doesn’t find much solace from his family after “right,” the mantle now goes to X-Men and he “comes out” to them about being a mutant. X2. Moviegoers should love seeing the char Villains M agneto (Sir Ian M cKellen) and acters strap on their black leather once again, and queer viewers will get a surrogate shape-changer Mystique (Rebecca Romijn- thrill from seeing a few mutantphobes get Stam os) must join with Storm (H alle Berry), ting their due. J H Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and newcomer Nightcrawler (Alan Cum m ing) to infiltrate A ndy M angels is the author of the new hook Stryker’s Alaskan ha.se. Meanwhile, Cyclops Animation on DVD: The Ultimate Guide. (James Marsden) and Professor Xavier Bom with no earlobes, he is considered, (Patrick Stewart) are being mind-controlled I technically, a mutant. to stop their colleagues. T he P erfect S on Wolfe Video T he dreary “AIDS drama” of the late 1980s and ’90s resurfaces with The Perfect Son. Leonard Farlinger directed this first feature supposedly to honor his brother who died of AIDS, but his sibling may be rolling in his grave at this anemic, retrograde film. Conservative, closeted gay lawyer Ryan (Colm Feore) meets up with his estranged brother, hunky junkie Theo (David Cubitt), fresh out of rehab. Theo learns of Ryan’s promiscuous homosexuality and allegedly declining health due to AIDS. (I say allegedly because, despite the film’s insistence on Ryan’s illness and his histrionics, he’s the picture of rosy health, jogging on the beach, sprinting up and down stairs. In other scenes, he balefully drags an IV around and pukes his guts out, all the while looking gym-trim.) The film is much more interested in the rise of Theo from clueless wreck to devoted boyfriend, expectant father and, presumably, inheritor of Ryan’s substantial estate. Ryan performs the traditional queer role of self- sacrificing vehicle for a straight man’s personal growth, thoughtfully taking his bow and leav ing the stage at just the right moment. The DVD includes a commentary by Far linger and Feore, a separate musical score and a behind-the-scenes featurette. — Gary M orris K eep the R iver on Y our R ight New Video Group *he subtitle of Keep the River on Your Right is “A Mod em Cannibal Tale,” but per haps “Cannibal Queen” might have been more appropriate. Not that the star and subject, gay painter and anthropologist 35 There was no shortage of boyfriends in the 1950s Peruvian jungle, according to Tobias Schneebaum in Keep the River on Your Right m I k W Coffee hou$e * More than a coflee house, an oasis of experience gifts • live music • organic coffee The Pink Place 7 «th a NE Gluau 503 - 262-7613 w w w touchstonecoH eehouse com se 6th ash All vegetarian. All Ihc line. T H E P U R P L E P A R L O R 35 #) N M lSSlSSippt (at Fiemont) § § f 730a-230pTue-Fn. 8a-3pSat-Sun • miMunfipt ntnu 1 caf* 503-281-3560 www purpleparlorcom J& M cafe w iA iw .h a v e n c o ffe e .c o m Tobias Schneebaum, is really a cannibal. During a foray into Peru during the 1950s, he did sample a morsel of human flesh after a murderous raid by the tribe with whom he was living. (And no, it didn't taste like chick en; it was more like pork, according to Schneebaum.) This intermittently intriguing, sometimes tedious documentary shows the artist and globetrotter, now in his late 70s, returning to the scenes of his “crime": Papua New Guinea— where he lived with, was adopted by and had boyfriends among the natives— and Peru, where the infamous event occurred. Schneebaum is a charismatic personality— an unapologetic eccentric whose reunion with old friends and lovers after four decades is quite moving. Scandalous clips show him on ’60s talk television explaining his adventures to shocked host and guests. There are amusing scenes where the impish Schneebaum lectures boatfuls of bourgeois travelers on tribal art and customs; during a slide show he pointedly indicates, “These men are lovers, these men are lovers, these men are lovers." Still, the documentary is ultimately as lan guid and aimless as Schneebaum’s quest for “something” that is never really defined. Extras on the DVD include photo galleries, samples of the subject’s excellent art and biographies of the participants. — g m jm tues sat 5 930 230 0463 ______________________________
