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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 19, 2004)
ju s t ou t » n o w B fn h ftr 1 3 . 2 Ü Ü 4 In great company My fav orite film of 2 0 0 4 —and possibly all tim e—inspires change A Am ericaN m ost beloved version o f the yuletide classic X* , T^SSst^ "'¿v iS' 4 'm S * , > ' ' ' rt IN ITS SECOND SEASON AT ~ 3 KELLER AUDITORIUM <3 a DECEMBER 10-24, 2004 & 16 perform ances with the O BT O rchestra* Niel DePonte Music Director/ Conductor « * — •PLUS 2 PERFORM AN CES T O RECO RD ED MUSIC AT REDUCED RATES TICKETS $12-$92 Call 503.2.BALLET or Toll Free 888.9BAIXET Tickets abo available through Ticketmaster 593*790i*T 8 or at the PCPA box office. Discount* for group« of 10 or more at 50S.227.0977, ext. 207. OREGON BALLET THEATRE I c h r is t o r h c r s t o w e l l , a r t is t ic d ir e c t o r S lA N IlM U V . 2006 CHICAGO GAY GAMES 2006 baseball basketball ballroom dance bridge cycling darts diving golf iceskating martial arts physique pool volleyball rugby swimming soccer track & field wrestling info@teamoregon 2 0 0 6 .org 2006 M ONREAL O U T GAMES 2006 few days ago I saw the best modem film I’ve ever experienced. That’s not a statement 1 make lightly— just ask anyone how I obsess over Heathers, my previous favorite. Elsewhere in my Top 20 you’d probably find The Silence o f the Lambs, Donnie Darko, Buffalo 66, The Dangerous Lives o f Altar Boys, Basquiat, Evita, The People vs. Larry Flynt, You Can Count on Me, The House o f Yes, Little Dieter Needs to Fly, Pecker, Edge o f Seventeen, Last Night, Human Traffic, Raising Victor Vargas, Almost Famous, The Barbarian Invasions, Sideways, Spider-Man 2 and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Bkmde. So I hope it’s safe to say that I have decent taste. I’ll even defend LB2— Elle’s congres sional testimony made me cry! These are the films that speak to me, hut none has shouted louder than In G(xxl Company, which was written, directed and produced by Paul Weitz, co director of American Pie and About a Boy. It won’t open in Portland until Jan. 14, so you’ll have to wait until early next year to read the full review. For now, I’ll just say the film has a message that should resonate with everyone: Figure out what’s meaningful to you, and go after it. he other day I found a Texas quarter in my pticker, and it pissed me off. I don’t want to he reminded that we share a country with these states that don’t give a shit about us. Sparked by In G ood Company, a halogen bulb lit up my brain when I got home from the screening. I found a constructive, positive way to vent my frustration: I’m gonna launch a campaign to convince progressives to donate these quarters to the most deserving House candidate in each red state. This wiil not only allow blue states to express their contempt/ compassion for red states, hut we’ll raise awareness and win a few seats in 2006 while we’re at it. Considering I’ve been a journalist since my sophomore year of high school in 1987, I’m a pretty seasoned interviewer. So I decided to sit down and grill myself about our great idea. T Q : What made you decide to do this? A : Well, I was having a really hard time accepting the tmth that, despite a solid record of lies and failures, President Bush was “re” elected because Americans are more concerned, as Jon Stewart put it, about the “threat” of homosexual monogamy than they are about their own lives! Either that, or the election was rigged. Either way, it’s extremely depressing. So now I’m the W hite House’s worst enemy: I’m gay, I’m not ashamed, and I’m MAD. I know there are people out there who still confuse that with “militant,” whatever that means— especially when applied to a pacifist. Q : But don’t you recognize that homo sexuality violates millions of voters’ religious beliefs? A: O f course. For the past four months I’ve worked down the hall from the No on 36 headquarters, so when I saw a “One Man, One Woman” bumper sticker in the office parking lot, I left this note on the windshield: “I respect your freedom of religion. [That’s one of the reasons I’m a “card-carrying” member of the ACLU, whatever that means.] But you need to respect MY freedom of privacy. MY relationship has no effect on YOUR relation ship. And if you’re so concerned about the sanctity of the institu tion, then outlaw 55-hour marriages by brainless pop tarts— and boycott Fox’s M am ed by America while you’re at it.” Look, Jim, 1 went to a Christian kindergarten, I went to a Methodist sum mer camp, I went to a Church of Christ univer sity— Pepperdine, which now laughably employs Ken Starr as law schcxil dean yet still expects me to subsidize his salary by begging for alumni handouts! This year I told them to fuck off because they just nixed a club— proposed by a gay Republican freshman— called “Students Against Homophobia” because it conflicted with their “Christian values,” whatever that means. Again, I’m having a really hard time understanding why they think Christ would support homophobia. I now consider myself a spiritual atheist. The only prophet I need is Madonna. Q : Why do you hate the president? A: I don’t hate the president. He hates me. He hates everything he can’t relate to— racial, sexual and gender minorities; the ptxir; the foreign; THE PLANET. So instead of creating more conflict in the world, I chtxise to chan nel his incompetence into my passion: Thank you, George. As James L. Brcxiks wrote in As G ood as It Gets, you make me want to he a better man. Q : What would you say to someone who doesn’t share your enthusiasm? A: Think again. I wish more people would ask themselves in every situation, “What is the right thing to do, as opposed to the convenient thing to do?” We are so lucky to have an inner voice that consistently answers this question for us, hut we rarely listen to it. Whether it’s speeding or overeating or sticking with a soul-sucking job, we are blessed with abundant choices in this axintry— we can either take the easy route, or we can take action to make ourselves arid our neighbors happier, whether it’s observing the speed limit or watch ing cxtr weight or changing careers. We can start paying attention to the world around us, or we can keep sitting on cxtr asses at home worrying about the irrelevant lives of reality television stars— including one in particular who really needs to come out of the Clay-set. JH JlM R adosta needs your feedback. Write to jim@justout.com.
