The past meets the present in this week’s home entertainment offerings. Kicking things off, legendary diva Barbra Streisand and modern day mirthman Seth Rogen join forces as a mom and son in The Guilt Trip.
The accomplishments and activism of a groundbreaking gay film critic are spotlighted in the documentary, Vito, while a seminal gay rom-com, 1997’s Broadway Damage, receives a sterling Blu-ray release. And a Turkish Muslim man whose family is stuck in old school tradition falls for a very modern Belgian boy in Mixed Kebab.
Tasty!
($39.99 Blu-ray, $29.99 DVD; Paramount)
Seth Rogen and Barbra Streisand play Andy and Joyce, a mother and son who take a 3,000-mile cross-country road trip together. Hilarity, hijinks, and family bonding ensue. It’s great to see Streisand back in the driver’s seat (literally!), and Blu-ray extras include featurettes with the stars, deleted scenes, and more. Bonus: Streisand fans hungry for some old school realness can also savor the Blu-ray release of 1968’s Funny Girl this week.
($24.95 Blu-ray; Village Art Pictures)
The late 1990s saw a surge of queer rom-coms, of which Broadway Damage was a pleasurable part. In it, an aspiring actor, Marc, lusts for his hottie neighbor, David, which complicates the romantic hopes of Marc’s smitten roommate, Robert. Add a fag hag to the mix (played by Mara Hobel of Mommie Dearest!) and you have a gay indie classic that looks fabulous in remastered high-def!
($27.99 DVD; First Run Features)
Out and proud, articulate and charismatic, Vito Russo brought a queer eye to film criticism, and his reviews and trailblazing book, The Celluloid Closet, apprised and critiqued how LGBT lives were being depicted onscreen. Through a wealth of archival material and interviews, director Jeffrey Schwarz’s documentary revisits Russo’s accomplishments, his friendship with Lily Tomlin, his appearances on TV and in other media, and, fueled by the AIDS-related death of his partner and own infection with HIV, fiery activism with ACT-UP (which he co-founded). Perhaps appropriately enough, Vito is an essential, powerful piece of cinema.
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Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
($19.99 DVD; TLA)
A Turk living in Belgium, Bram has a secret… well, more than one. He deals drugs, which his conservative Muslim family wouldn’t approve of, and he’s got the hots for a blonde named Kevin. Can an arranged marriage at his father’s insistence be the push Bram needs to finally choose one side of the fence?
ALSO OUT ON DVD:
The Details
30 Rock: Season Seven
Funny Girl
Strictly Ballroom