Gay Movies

OK - I have to ask: why are the majority of gay and lesbian flicks so crap?

I bring to mind, most memorably (although I have DESPERATELY tried to forget) "Claire of the Moon", which has to be by far THE MOST horrendous lesbian movie I have seen so far. Over-long and self-indulgent, not even the obligatory sex-scene (which came - no pun - in the last 10 minutes of the movie) was worth the torture of watching this film. My cats could have done a better acting job and would have skipped over the ENDLESS diatribes on gay life and gay rights and what makes a lesbian a lesbian... YAWN...

In my pursuit of the perfect lesbian flick (yeah -no pun, you get the picture) I have discovered that most of the films are out there not to tell a story, but to push ideals.

I am not knocking the idea of film changing people's views of lesbians, bisexuals, gay men and transexuals in any way, I only ask that when the writers and directors decide to do this that they follow a few simple rules:

1. Write something with a compelling and believable story line

2. Make sure that the people hired for the parts are actually capable of acting

3. The scriptwriter creates compelling and believable dialogue

4. The director has actually directed before and knows how to create a compelling and believable film

I do realise that LGBT film making isn't topical enough for mainstream players, although it's getting there. I have to confess that the ones I have seen and enjoyed are the ones that have obviously had a large enough budget to employ actors with names we recognise.

That said, I have listed my all time GOOD gay (admitedly I haven't seen too many gay male films) and lesbian films and TV series so far:

Bound

If These Walls Could Talk Two

Fingersmith

Tipping the Velvet

Sugar Rush

Boys Don't Cry

Brokeback Mountain

What makes these worth watching? Characters that you fall in love with, stories that are gripping and productions that are top-notch.

Gay and lesbian characters are becoming more visible in numerous TV series. We are 'people'. Taken to the extreme we have "The L Word" (I haven't seen yet) and "Will and Grace".

I have also noticed that lesbian celebrities (Ellen de Generes, Portia Di Rossi, Rosie O' Donnell...) are by far the more visible. Gone are the days when it was just good ole Martina, Melissa and kd that we all knew as lady-lovers.

But here is a strange Hollywood paradox: while it now seems to be popular to be lesbian (or at least have had a lesbian past/affair), you don't get to see too many lesbians in mainstream movies. Conversely, it is still taboo for a male actor to be 'out' yet gay male characters are frequently portrayed on screen (albeit in a very stereotypical manner.)

I am not suggesting that we don't exist simply because Hollywood says so. But come on - there has to be film out there with real Lezzers, portraying real lesbian situations.... no? Anyone? No?

Pah.... I'll write one myself.