Stepping out on a movie date this weekend? Netflix and chillin? Whatever your entertainment needs, we got your back (and hopefully your mind) with Queerty’s weekly “Culture Club” column with some of the highlights of new releases, streaming shows, classics worth revisiting, and what to drink while you watch. Enjoy!
The Step Out: Adam
Out-trans director Rhys Ernst brings lesbian author Ariel Schrag’s controversial novel to the big screen in his feature film debut. Adam follows the naive title character (Nick Alexander) who poses as a transgender man when he falls for the beautiful Gillian (Bobbi Salvor Menuez). Needless to say, the film version of Adam has already attracted calls for boycotts over its subject matter. We happened to attend the world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and can attest: Adam iexamines the issues surrounding transgender and queer identity, safe spaces, disclosure and attraction with surprising complexity. It also happens to be very entertaining, and as such, it deserves to be seen.
Opens in New York August 14 and in Los Angeles August 23 with a national rollout to follow.
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The Charged: End of the Century
We caught this Argentine film at Frameline43 where it also won the coveted Best First Feature Award. End of the Century follows a poet named Ocho, who spots the handsome Javi while traveling on vacation. A tense and erotic journey follows as Ocho weighs the choices he’s made in life against what could have been. Sensual and oddly moving, End of the Century raises questions about love in the Grindr age and will likely make viewers ponder their own choices in life.
In theatres in New York August 16. National rollout to follow.
The Soapy: The Heart is Never Wrong (El Corazón Nunca Se Equivoca)
We reported on this new series—the first-ever gay telenovela on Univision—back when the network made the big announcement The Heart is Never Wrong spins off from the popular soap My Husband Has More Family, which introduced the world to the adorable gay couple Aristóteles (Emilio Osorio) and “Temo” (Joaquin Bondoni). Now the two get their own series, following the tribulations of their young love…complete with some fairly frank sex scenes. Fans of queer romance should look no further!
Airs on Univision Tuesdays beginning August 13.
The Binge: Fosse/Verdon
The popular FX limited series just landed on Hulu for all your song & dance binging pleasure. Fosse/Verdon stars Oscar-winner Sam Rockwell as famed choreographer and director Bob Fosse, the man behind Cabaret, Sweet Charity and All That Jazz. Michelle Williams also stars as actress Gwen Verdon, Fosse’s longtime muse and sometime wife. The show picked up seven Emmy nominations last month, including for Best Actor and Best Actress which just adds seven more reasons to watch this chronicle of two of showbiz’s most talented icons.
Streams on Hulu.
The Addictive: Mindhunter Season 2
Out-gay actor Jonathan Groff returns for a second go-round in this psychological thriller, produced by Oscar-nominated director David Fincher. Season two picks up in 1979, with Groff’s FBI investigator Holden Ford tracking down a real-life child serial killer in Atlanta. As with Season 1, the blurred lines between fact and fiction only add to the suspense and utter creepiness of the series. Besides that, Groff delivers excellent work in the lead role, a character worlds away from Looking.
Streams on Netflix August 16.
The Sip: The Big Spender
In honor of one of Bob Fosse’s most impressive song & dance numbers ever (trust us, watch it if you haven’t), we suggest the Big Spender as this weeks sippage. Sweet but potent, it’ll have you doing high kicks too.
- 1 ounce tequila
- 1 ounce Liqueur Créole
- 1 ounce blood orange juice
- rosé champagne
Combine ingredients over ice in a glass. Stir well. Strain into a flute glass. Garnish with an orange peel for extra class.
john.k
I saw “Adam” at the GAZE film festival in Dublin. Nick Alexander plays his character with a mixture of naivety and sang-froid as he encounters what for him is the strangeness of the lesbian and trans world while spending his summer vacation (from high school) with his lesbian sister in New York.