DECEMBER 19,2008
A
any remaining
good will from.
Sin City and
300, Frank Mill-
■er uses his visual
style mixed with
CGI to very
minor good ef­
fect, but the
story, dialogue
and especially
Tom Cruise is flaming in gay director Bryan Singer's Valkyrie.
acting are an
embarrassment.
Perhaps the worst Christmas present ever offered
Aesthetically and culturally, The Times of Harvey
by a film studio, The Spirit should return to the
Milk is a fine example of documentary craft, offering
grave quickly, and audiences should seek out the
a fascinating glimpse of the real “Mayor of Castro
real comics to find true entertainment. D-
Street” while Sean Penn gives us his rendition in
—Andy Mangels
Gus Van Sant’s acclaimed Milk. (One wonders
whether Penn t<x)k advantage of the documentary's
The Times of Harvey Milk
ample opportunities to study Milk’s voice, body lan­
A present-day viewing of Robert Epstein’s Oscar-
guage and mannerisms when preparing for his role.)
winning 1984 documentary The Times of Harvey Milk
Historically and politically speaking, it’s an effective
is an affecting yet disorienting experience. The film
tribute to pioneers like Milk, who stuck his neck out
confirms that the milieu it diKuments—San Fran­ when homosexuality was considered incontestably
cisco during the post-Stonewall years of the 1970s
unspeakable. As uphill as the struggle might still feel
as it evolved into a gay mecca, with City Supervisor
and as widespread as ignorance might still seem, it’s
Harvey Milk consistently at the center—was one of encouraging to see an acknowledgment that there
rapid evolution of queer liberation into a movement
were those who worked unimaginably hard and took
to be taken seriously. But it also reveals how fragile
real risks—even to the point of paying with their
the momentum of our movement was and still is.
lives—to bring queer issues into the public arena in
As described by colleagues interviewed for the
the first place.
film (and as shown in its bountiful, well-curated
Screens 7 p.m. Jan. 7, 2009, at Whitsell Audi­
archive footage), Milk was a figure with just the
torium. B+
right charm-to-aggression ratio to attain his un­
—Christopher McQuain
likely level of political power and public endear­
ment. Although he was ultimately martyred by
Yes Man
the senseless assassination detailed in the film’s fi­
Jim Carrey, looking like a dried-up coke­
nal part, he could not have made the contribution
head (what has he been doing since Eter­
he did by taking up the role of noble martyr (of nal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’), stars as a
which queerdom had already had far too many).
bank loan officer who spends his days crush­
Instead, he used his cleverness, political savvy
ing people’s hopes. One night a friend coerces
and ability to work a crowd—all tools necessary
him to attend a self-help seminar hosted by a
to make it in the world of politics—on behalf of guru (Terence Stamp, who can look imperious
a movement that was the underdog of the under­ even in a spangly caftan) preaching the value
dogs. Milk’s inexhaustible passion and openness,
of saying “yes” to every opportunity that life
as grandstanding and schmaltzy as it could be,
offers. This has predictably hilarious results
is amazing when contrasted with what the film’s
for his job and his personal life, as he pursues
interviews and archive footage also remind us
a sassy rock starlet (ably portrayed by Zooey
of: Homosexuality was feared, despised and po­
Deschanel). A perfectly entertaining romantic
litically exploitable then to a degree that, while
comedy for those who have already forgotten
Liar Liar. B-
reminiscent of the recent political landscape, also
—Tony LeTigre ©
puts it into some perspective.
37
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