DVDiva

‘The Big Gay Musical’
(Embrem)

A musical within a movie, “The Big Gay Musical” (Embrem) takes us behind the scenes of the off-Broadway show “Adam & Steve … Just the Way God Made Them,” as well as behind the scenes of some of the cast members’ lives. Paul (Daniel Robinson), who plays Adam, is a seasoned theater performer who also works at a cabaret bar called Mostly Sondheim. Inexperienced Eddie (Joel Dudding) is so excited about being in his first New York production that he calls his fundamentalist religious parents to share his happiness, only to have it dashed when they tell him they plan on coming to town for opening night. The problem is that Eddie’s not out to them.

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“Whip It”

Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut (Fox Searchlight) is better than you might expect, although far from perfect.

Mild-mannered high school student, Oink Joint waitress and non-traditional teen pageant contestant Bliss (Ellen Page) is forever butting heads with her former beauty queen mother Brooke (Marcia Gay Harden). But a shopping excursion to Austin, Texas, has an unexpected outcome in Bliss’ life. A brief encounter with the members of a roller derby team gets her attention and before you know it she’s sneaking out of the house with best friend Pash (Alia Shawkat) to attend a match.

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DVD reviews

“Little Ashes” (E1/Regent)

A breeze was blowing through Spain in 1922, signaling the socio-political changes to come. At the student residence in Madrid, poet Federico Garcia Lorca (Javier Beltrán) and future filmmaker Luis Buñuel (Matthew McNulty) befriend eccentric new arrival Salvador Dali (Robert Pattinson). “Little Ashes” is Paul Morrison’s cinematic depiction of their tempestuous association.

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What’s up? Docs!

‘She’s a Boy I Knew’
(Outcast/Shapeshifter)

Although she was aware of her gender identity issues from the age of 4, it wasn’t until 2000, at the age of 28, that filmmaker Gwen Haworth came out to her family and friends and began the transition from Steve to Gwen. For “She’s a Boy I Knew,” Haworth interviewed the six closest people in her life in the hopes that they would share their feeling about her transition and the impact that it had on them. The resulting interview segments are bluntly honest but always presented with love.

Gwen’s ex-wife Malgosia, best friend Roari, sisters Nichole and Kim, and parents Thomas and Colleen all have their say. Their unflinching insights, many of which are expressed in emotional and heartbreaking monologues, are unquestionably as informative for the filmmaker as they are for the viewer.

‘A Finished Life’
(First Run Features/Greenie Films)

In 2006, after living with HIV for 24 years, 48-year-old Gregg Gour (rhymes with pour not sour) made plans to end his life.

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