The kids are NOT alright in this week’s home entertainment selections.
A little gay boy is having a bad hair life in Bad Hair aka Pelo Malo, Nicole Kidman freaking out over her missing children in Strangerland (above), and teens are getting murdered in campy, retro genre mash-up Psycho Beach Party.
Now for the trailers and details!
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
($29.99 Blu-ray, $24.99 DVD: Filmrise)
This delightful Venezuelan coming-of-age film (original title Pelo Malo) from writer/director Mariana Rondon revolves around a 9-year-old growing up in the Caracas projects, Junior. The boy’s obsession with straightening his curly hair (ahem) and apparent crush on an older neighborhood boy makes his mother freak about the possibility that he might be a queer caterpillar waiting to turn into a flaming ol’ gay butterfly. By turns tender, funny, heartbreaking and eye-opening, this is also a window into a population and place rarely depicted on screen. Definitely a must-see.
($27.99 Blu-ray; Strand)
Writer and actor Charles Busch parodies and queers up genres, including 1960s beach flicks and 70s’ slasher films, in director Robert Lee King’s 2000 film version of his play. Lauren Ambrose stars as a girl who fears she may be committing murders during a series of blackouts, a dragged-out Busch plays the female police investigator, and Amy Adams appears to boot. Fun, campy stuff finally receiving a Blu-ray release! Extras include a commentary and music videos.
https://youtu.be/aQ_-Dld2tLg
Strangerland
($24.99 Blu-ray, $19.99 DVD; Alchemy)
Nicole Kidman continues her (fill-in-the-blank) streak with this Aussie indie about a couple (Kidman and Joseph Fiennes) thrown into a world of worry, anguish and existential crisis when their two adolescent children go missing in the Outback. Hugo Weaving is a bonus as a detective assigned to the case. Extras include a pair of making-of featurettes.
ALSO OUT:
5 to 7
Little Boy
Lambert & Stamp
Kangol
I really want to see *Bad Hair*. I hope Netflix has it or gets it.
Charles Busch’s *Psycho Beach Party* used to come on cable all the time about a year or two ago. It’s an amusing romp.