“Such Good People,” a contemporary screwball comedy directed and produced by Stewart Wade, made its world premiere at the 2014 Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.  Michael Urie of “Ugly Betty” and Randy Harrison of “Queer As Folk” portray a gay couple who discover a secret room filled with cash while house-sitting for wealthy friends.   When their friends die while out of the country doing missionary work to the children of Bhutan, the two characters want what everyone wants: success, family and a fabulous house in LA.  But first they’ve got to work through many issues: greed, jealousy, real estate, sibling rivalry, greyhounds, labradoodles, porpoises, a million dollars and the aforementioned orphans of Bhutan. Thursday, August 28 @ 8 pm.

“Cupcakes,” co-written and directed by Israel’s Eytan Fox (”Walk on Water” and “Yossi & Jagger) is a hilarious parody of a Eurovision TV show.  A group of friends in Tel Aviv get together to watch Universong, a TV show that awards prizes for the best original song.  Yael is a former beauty queen/corporate lawyer; Dana is a stressed-out aide to a cabinet minister; Anat has a successful bakery but an unsuccessful marriage; Keren is a shy blogger; Efrat is a frustrated singer- songwriter; and Ofer is a nursery-school teacher who is upset that his boyfriend is still in the closet and won’t publicly acknowledge their romance.  They are less than impressed by the official Israeli entry and spontaneously create and record their own song on a mobile phone. Little do they know, their performance is seen by the ‘UniverSong’ judges and soon they are reluctantly thrown into the spotlight as Israel’s next official entry.  They embark on a flamboyant journey that brings about hilarious end results as they go head to head with the Russian entry in the ‘UniverSong’ final.  “Cupcakes” has a feel-good soundtrack provided by Babydaddy from the Scissor Sisters, adding to this uplifting tale of music, friendship and romance. Thursday, September 18 @ 8 pm.

Thanks to HRC, the Community Partner for Tickets are $10 for Members, $12 for Non-Members and $7 for students with a valid ID on day of show.

The Ft. Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Film Festival is committed to bringing the best in LGBT cinema to Fort Lauderdale and the Broward County community.   The 6^th Annual Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival will take place Friday October 10 through Sunday October 12 and Thursday October 16 through Sunday October 19, 2014.The Classic Gateway Theatre is located at 1820 E Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304.

While “G.B.F.” is essentially the lovechild of “Juno,” “Saved,” and “Mean Girls,” it exceeded my expectations in a big way. I knew going into the theatre that “G.B.F.” is a comedy designed for teens. Now, that’s not to say that the jokes won’t fly with an older crowd, but the overwhelming usage of “totes” and “amazeballs” may be particularly grating if you’re over the age of 20. However, keep in mind that it’s intentional. The entire film is comedy gold, mixing tongue-in-cheek humor with outlandish one-liners in an interesting and refreshing storyline. After being accidentally outed, lead male Tanner is chased by every popular girl in high school to secure the ultimate “accessory” – a G.B.F., or gay best friend.

The key here is that Tanner is not the sidekick, or the best friend: he is the central character. We see him go from being a nerdy comic book geek to a full-fledged popular boy, or a “plastic” for all you “Mean Girls” fans out there. Is the story similar to “Mean Girls?” Absolutely. But what makes the film stand out, is Tanner himself. Tanner experiences the discomfort of being outed as well as the process of self-discovery in a world where everyone is suddenly watching him. To a certain extent, many people within the LGBT community can relate, so about ten minutes in, the age barrier is shattered.

There is some sexual tension between Tanner and his closeted best friend Brent, and a good portion of the film centers on their relationship, trying to find the balance between friendship and romance. The chemistry between the two is hilarious, awkward and satisfying all at once. Brent’s mother, played by Megan Mullaly, had major comedic relief duty, but luckily, it didn’t feel forced. She wants Brent to come out to her so badly that she can’t help but make inappropriate, awkward sex jokes to get a reaction out of him. “Who’s got the poppers?” she asks in one scene.

The film, while juvenile and silly, was surprisingly quirky and funny, ala Diablo Cody’s screenplay for Juno. It features a great cast, with hilarious performances by Natasha Lyonne, Rebecca Gayheart, Evanna Lynch (best known for her role as Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter films), and even a small role from singer JoJo.

For an independent comedy, “G.B.F.” is as good as they come. It leaves viewers with a smile on their face and a completely new vocabulary. What more can you ask for?

After 9/11, if you hadn’t known Mark, you knew of him. He was one of us. Perhaps it’s that vague connection that may have made “The Rugby Player,” Scott Gracheff’s documentary about Mark and his mother, Alice Hoagland, such an emotional film for me.

But then, anything having to do with 9/11 is still emotional for me. After the screening, I told Scott that “The Rugby Player” was the second saddest film I had ever seen, after “Tokyo Story.” Scott said he thought his film was more “uplifting.” It seems a contradiction, but he was right. A documentary about Mark Bingham just has to be uplifting because, by all accounts and in every scene, Mark is a force for everything that is good in life— at all times being positive and determined to be happy.

Mark lived his life with such an appetite, it’s almost as if he knew his time was limited. It surprised no one that Mark would step up to the plate to confront the terrorists who had hijacked his plane on 9/11 and eventually stop the plane from crashing into Washington, DC, their apparent destination.

“The Rugby Player” tells you everything you would want to know about Mark Bingham, and some things you don’t want to know. In the midst of this grand life is Mark’s mother, who is another inspiring story in her own right. In her determination to pursue Mark’s interest in gay rights, she has become the great ally we now know and love.

If there is any criticism of the film, it is that the pace is a bit monotonous. But it is this engrossing aspect that makes the film ultimately so moving. Because, as the story progresses, you begin to realize the enormity of the loss.

This convoluted movie deals with two under-developed Australian boys (Mike and William) who fall in love, come to terms with their sexuality, and then complete an English assignment in which they must make the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet contemporary. Their version of the Shakespearean play revolves around The Wolfman and Frankenstein’s monster falling in love. William (the new student and more introspective boy) says, “Maybe The Wolfman wants to show Frankenstein his change so they can grow closer,”—a line that is by far the only original thing about the movie.

For one, mentioning Romeo and Juliet in a love story is a cliché. That assignment for an English class is also an cliché. As already stated, a coming-out story without any twist comes off clichéd. Seeing these two kiss in a swimming pool and then grow angry with each other rehashes concepts dealt with more profoundly in shows like Ugly Betty or even General Hospital.

To make matters worse, the pacing is stilted. The boys’ love for each other does not grow slowly or quickly but slowly then quickly then slowly then quickly. When William freaks out after the aforementioned swimming pool kiss, it takes him all but thirty minutes to admit he liked it, and then all of a sudden they’re dating. Character motivation and psychological development seem taken from a What Happens to Gay Kids Book for Dummies.

An ending twist involving the destiny of William is the ultimate audience insult. Without any type of strong motivation and at a seemingly peaceful moment in his life, William makes an ill-advised fateful decision meant to elicit tears from the audience (though I didn’t hear a single sniffle). Emotional manipulation and slip-shod plotting destroy an unoriginal film that had no reason being made in the first place.