SGL Café

Evan Ross & Victor Rasuk in "...Cracktown"

This flick looks hot to death. Addicts, prostitutes, life's underbelly - all right up my alley. Plus, Victor Rasuk of Saving Victor Vargas & Lords of Dogtown is enough to send me flying to the theater; but Evan Ross too. I'm so there.

Patrik-Ian Polk receives GLAAD honors!

After all the things I've said about GLAAD over the years - okay, maybe I didn't say them out loud - to see Noah's Arc - Jumping the Broom receive top movie honor truly warms my heart. Kudo's Patrik and the whole NA crew, for a well-deserved and long overdue accolade!

Milk epiphanies ...

I finally, at long last, got to see Sean Penn and James Franco in Milk last night. These are some of the things that became clear to me, feel free to add to this brief list: 1. How a celebrity, especially a black one, could remain in the closet after seeing Milk is beyond me. All the usual arguments echo hollow, and weak. Pick an argument, shout it out loud, and see how feeble it sounds when verbalized. I realize now that my stance for full marriage equality as opposed to the 2nd class status of Civil Unions has been right all along. 2. I'm a Know-It-All who doesn't know as much as he thinks. Yeah. I've always said that I know all their is to know about Harvey Milk and that time in our queer nation but I couldn't have been more wrong. I'm ashamed I waited this long to see this amazing film, one made at a time when its needed the most, a time that actually mirrors Milks fight for our most basic rights. Thirty years later, Anita Bryant's holier-than-thou contingent is just as determined that we return to the closets of our past -- and like Anita they STILL, ironically, love us (but now, throwing shoes is even funnier). 3. The Rainbow Flag sprang from Harvey and this movement. A know-it-all like myself should have uh, known, yet I was blissfully ignorant. Like many modern day homos, I didn't realize we had our own gay Betsy Ross (Gilbert Baker) stitching the very first one 'cause we're a nation and need a flag. Now that flag drapes the world. Almost breaks my heart that I didn't know how that came about. 4. I'm in love with James Franco. Well, more in love than I already was. That's really no epiphany. My heart has had a hard-on for Franco since he played James Dean with amazing accuracy. Now, I'm all his. Just say the word Franco, and I'm so there. Here he is as Dean filming Giant.

Photo du jour ~ Wilson Cruz

The Noah's Arc alum is one of my favorite OUT & PROUD actors -- His latest screen turn is in He's Just Not That Into You. Well... Dixon Gaines over at Queerty writes a hilariously scathing review of the flick and its portrayal and perpetuation of gay stereotypes. I haven't seen the flick, and after this review I'll wait to catch in on Netflix, but it seems that the Sex & The City spawned flick isn't showing a true appreciation for our big ol' gay dollars. Love you, Wilson. And all my embattled OUT performers of color more than I can say. Although its not your fault Boo, I'll have to catch this one later. We have to draw the line somewhere. How long can we be snippy sex-crazed caricatures with one hand, while asking for normalcy and respect with the other? ~~

On a Noah's Arc note: Black Gay Movie up for NAACP Image Awards This year could be yet another historic flashpoint for gay, black and black-gay entertainment should Noah’s Arc: Jumping The Broom manage to grab either Best Independent Motion Picture and Outstanding Writing for a Motion Picture that it is nominated for during the live telecast on the FOX Network Thursday, February 12, 2009. Mark your calendars, and better yet, catch up on all the drama by owning the entire series and the movie below ...

Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom ( review )

Noah's Arc the groundbreaking series by Patrik-Ian Polk

Noah's Arc Season Two

"Family" -- official trailer of new lesbian dramedy

Okay, this looks like a must see!

"Family" is the dramedy feature film centering on the lives of a group of closeted lesbian friends who make a pact to come out together within 30 days. written and directed by Faith Trimel it stars, Cherese, Leslie Gilliam, Fadhia Carmelle Marcelin, Mahogany Ratcliffe, Nikki Klecha, Mykee Selkin, Tarina Vershawn, Blanca Avalos

Evan Ross in 'Gardens of the Night'

In theaters Nov. 7th!!! I'm so there. ~ www.GardensOfTheNight.com Abducted by two men and forced into child prostitution when she was just eight years old, a homeless San Diego street teen is finally reunited with her family only to find that the traumas of the past may have scarred her for life. Leslie (Ryan Simkins) was walking to school when her neighbors Alex (Tom Arnold) and Frank (Kevin Zegers) pulled up alongside her and asked for help finding their missing dog. After scouring the neighborhood with the young girl to no avail, the men offer Leslie a ride to school so she won't be late for school. Along the way, the men tell Leslie that they work for her father. After school, Leslie is surprised to find the two men waiting to drive her home. Claiming that her parents have been called away on urgent business, Alex and Frank coerce Leslie into the car and give her a drink. Later, after dozing off in the backseat, Leslie awakens in a tiny bedroom with eight year-old Donnie. Like Leslie, Donnie (Evan Ross) had been drugged and kidnapped. Donnie is led to believe that his parents have sold him for drugs, while Leslie is told that her parents want nothing to do with her anymore. Now, as the two innocent children are forced into prostitution, they use their imaginations to escape into a wondrous world of light where anything is possible.... Also stars John Malkovich.

Press Release

Noah's Arc movie ~~ bad review / Real review

Update 10/26/08: Chicago Premiere video below I went to an advance screening of Noah's Arc ~ Jumping the Broom last monday. I wrote a review for Out IN Jersey and I wasn't gonna post it anywhere else. However, I saw a review today and I was livid. It was titled The Secret Lives of Gay Black Men. It derailed my day. I fired off a comment, which I've copied below. And below that, is my review of '...Jumping the Broom'. I implore everyone to go see it when it opens tomorrow. ~~ {reviewer -- Vaman Muppala's website} "I saw an advance screening in NYC and strongly disagee. Is there anything you actually liked about the film? Were you a Noah's Arc fan before? This review seems particularly heavy-handed, almost as if you skipped over all the beauty of the film in an angry search for flaws. I left the theatre elated, thoroughly delighted with the return of Noah and the gang, and saw none of the negative aspects you seemed to pinpoint (although personal taste can account for some of these things, the sheer perponderance smacks of something else). Even the title of this review 'The secret Lives of Gay Black Men' is extremely condescending, offensive, and tells me that this review was written by, most likely, an evangelical homophobe who had no intention of finding a positive aspect in the film. Shame on you! Unclench your mind a little before you review another film, the brain works a lot better that way." Patrik-Ian Polk’s Noah’s Arc -- Jumping The Broom In August ‘04 I first saw Noah’s Arc at a premiere screening in Brooklyn. In my review at the time, I wrote, “... I lost my entire mind. A show about us. At last!” From that moment on I lived and breathed Noah’s Arc − and when Logo Network picked up the series, we had watch parties for people who didn’t have Logo yet; raucous affairs like the gay Super Bowl. Then, after Logo left a 3rd season of this landmark series in limbo in favor of a movie, much speculation arose that the promised feature film would never see the light of day. Anger simmered. I personally had some choice words for Logo, which today I humbly eat -- because the First Family of black gay dramedy is back, funnier and more spectacular than ever! In ‘Jumping The Broom’, Wade, Noah, Alex, Ricky and Chance head east for the wedding of the century on Martha’s Vineyard. Yes, Wade has proposed to Noah and (paying poignant homage to the ancient slave custom) they’re jumping the broom at Wade’s family’s estate. While ‘mother’ Alex rushes frantically around preparing the perfect wedding, unfortunately − almost like at a Republican National Convention − chaos, lies and misdeeds lurk around every corner and threaten to ruin everything. After season two’s cliffhanger finale, Patrik-Ian Polk deftly places the audience back into their lives, two years further along Noah’s story arc, where the characters are all familiar but a lot more seasoned. Literally. The thirty minute television series didn’t allow the intimacy the movie delivered; I’ve never felt cozier with characters I thought I already knew. ‘Jumping The Broom’ will not be the final chapter in the lives of Noah and his boys. It can’t be. As they’ve grown into an inseparable family, they’ve become part of our lives as well. This installment was well worth the wait, the crown jewel of the Noah’s Arc franchise thus far, and will one day sit proudly in collections with seasons one and two on the series. Surely the franchise will grow. They’ve got so much more life to live and even kids to raise. We want to be there for every second of it, even when they deal with issues affecting older gay men and families. Because Noah’s Arc is our arc, our story, which is why we lean closer to the screen, and desperately need to know how the First Family turns out. ~~ Chicago Premiere!!

Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom ( review )

Noah's Arc the groundbreaking series by Patrik-Ian Polk

Noah's Arc Season Two

Blind Faith: Why won't Showtime release this 5 star, black gay cinema masterpiece?

Terry Howcott originally hipped me to this amazing film starring Charles Dutton, Courtney Vance, Kadeem Hardison, Lonette Mckee and directed by Ernest Dickerson. Below is part one. See the other parts here. Set in the late 50's, in a time when being gay was a sickness and being black almost a crime, it's one of the most powerful films I've have ever seen -- but with these stars, who would expect any less. Courtney Vance plays a lawyer defending his nephew wrongly accused of murdering a white boy. Charles Dutton plays the boys father who doesn't seem to want to unravel the growing mystery. Thing is, we shouldn't have to watch this amazing film on Youtube. I also just tried to purchase it from Amazon but its out of stock. Since it's a MUST for the collection, next stop Showtime Entertainment & Neufeld Rehme Productions. This Academy Award calibre film can not be allowed to fade into obscurity. ** Okay, I have a request in for clarification as to why this film, which Showtime itself describes as 'Acclaimed', is not available on DVD. ** Time to make some noise people. Contact Showtime and ask why Ernest Dickerson's acclaimed film, Blind Faith isn't being released. My bet is if they see it as a lucrative move, they'll release it in a heartbeat.

for the BIBLE tells me so: SGL Cafe review

This is an updated trailer of the award-winning documentary, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO. Through the experiences of five very normal, Christian, American families - we discover how people of faith handle the realization of having a gay child or family member. http://www.forthebibletellsmeso.org SGL Cafe's NetFlix review: 5 Stars!!!! One reviewer said this film won't change many minds. I disagree. Yes, the faithful can be closed off to reality (such is the nature of faith), but there are some who will come around. I gave this the highest rating for that reason and the hopes that some lives will be saved, however I personally find it all somewhat pointless and sad. Religion is just such a horrid construct and responsible for more death and suffering than all mans wars combined, that I find it disconcerting to watch this inclusion/exlusion black comedy unfold. I respect and honor Irene Monroe and the other gay clergy who've reconciled their sexuality with their faith and who help others to do the same. I just pine for a time when mankind realizes all these religions were founded by men who believed thunderstorms meant God was pissed.

Hancock: A word about self-loathing homos who laugh

We've become accustomed to being insulted.

Since school days when we wouldn't speak up for ourselves (at least on this issue), we learned to laugh along with our tormentors for fear of revealing who we really were. It was safe, even understandable back then. But we're grown ups now and many of us are still those same scared little teens, laughing at the fag jokes--'Hey, isn't the homo funny?'

I'm glad GLAAD is doing what its doing, and for that reason didn't add my little 8 dollars to the tsunami of cash this film brought in over the weekend. I'll eventually see it because, like most of you, I love Will Smith (and had been eagerly awaiting Hancock's arrival until I got that GLAAD release), but now I'll wait until I can put it in my NetFlix queue. Its a little thing, but it makes me feel better.

One more thing to think about, if Hancock had said --"Jew. Jew in red. Scandinavian Jew."-- there wouldn't be a Hancock. They would've come down on this movie like a 30-ton falling crane. Which proves some groups have balls. Some groups don't take any shit.

But, like I said, we've become accustomed to being insulted.