Gal Pals Watch

Episode 104: Interview with WHAT A FEELING filmmaker Kat Rohrer for SQFF! Join Sarah and Alicia as they talk with filmmaker Kat Rohrer as they discuss Kat's film, which was chosen as a feature for the Seattle Queer Film Festival-- WHAT A FEELING! WHAT A FEELING follows two middle-aged women, Marie Theres (Caroline Peters) and Fa (Proschat Madani), who meet in a lesbian bar one fated evening after Marie Theres' husband breaks up with her. The film tackles issues such as immigration, class, sexuality, and what it means to never give up. Visit https://mubi.com/en/us/films/what-a-feeling for more information and how to find it at a film festival near you!

Episode 103: Gal Pals Watch - Interview with HEARTSTOPPER's Alice Oseman & Patrick Walters Happy Halloween listeners! Here is an extra-special minisode TREAT (no tricks here) for you! We had the absolute pleasure of chatting with author, writer, and executive producer Alice Oseman, and her co-executive producer Patrick Walters, about their Netflix adapation of Oseman's HEARTSTOPPER graphic novel series! We talk about LGBTQIA2S+ representation in the media, the beauty and challenges of turning a graphic novel into a TV show, and more!

Episode 102: Wynonna Earp: Vengeance Hello and welcome to spooky season on Gal Pals Watch! Sarah is a real wimp with scary movies but luckily for them their favorite show Wynonna Earp, which kind of counts as spooky, just released a new movie/special on Tubi. Join Alicia and Sarah as they visit and revisit, respectively, the creepy, cozy, strange, wonderful world of Purgatory :) Further reading: AV Club review by Lisa Weidenfeld Autostraddle's Valerie Anne and Nic recap

Episode 101: Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution Greetings, gays and theys! Today Alicia and Sarah talk about the very wonderful Netflix documentary about a Netflix special, Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution! This movie covers the making of the 2022 standup comedy special Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration, but it also goes deep into the queer comedy archives and interviews tons of comics and culture writers about the evolution and ups and downs of queer comedy in America since the 1920s. It is extremely entertaining and interesting! Have fun! Further reading: NYT Review by Chris Azzopardi Netflix background article by Cole Delbyck

Episode 100!!!! Alicia and special guest Erin (Alicia's better half) discuss a piece of wlw media near and dear to our hearts, Black Mirror's San Junipero! Tune in to listen to a discussion about this fantastic love story, our views on the afterlife, and how good at flirting Erin is.

Episode 99: It's Only Life After All Hiya gays! Happy Pride! Today Alicia and Sarah talk about the very great 2023 documentary film It's Only Life After All, about none other than musical icons The Indigo Girls. This doc is so full of interesting things! It's the first 2+ hour movie Sarah has enjoyed in years. Enjoy! Further reading: It's Only Life After All Wikipedia page NYT Review by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Episode 98: The Carmilla Movie Hi vampire gays! Today Alicia and Sarah are talking about the 2017 film The Carmilla Movie -- yes, the very one based off of the 2014-16 web series that is very much of its time! It's very queer, and kind of confusing, but who isn't, ya know? Enjoy! Further Reading: The Carmilla Movie Wikipedia page

Episode 97: Love Lies Bleeding Hi guess what! Today Alicia and Sarah are talking about Love Lies Bleeding! Sarah is very excited about it! There is a lot to say! Love you bye! Further Reading: Love Lies Bleeding Wikipedia Autostraddle Article NYT Article

Episode 96: Blue Jean Hi queeros! This month Alicia and Sarah are discussing the 2022 British film Blue Jean, which is, in fact, quite blue. Join us as we talk closeted anxiety, how unhinged it is to legislate against queer and trans people, extra bad stereotypes, and also how aesthetic this movie is.  Further Reading: Blue Jean Wikipedia page Chicago Reader Review Los Angeles Times Review Autostraddle Review

Episode 95: Breaking the Ice Hello lovely listeners! This month we are back with another International Film: 2022's Austrian sports romance/family drama Breaking the Ice. This one is hard to find and the subtitles leave a little to be desired, but it is a banger, and not just literally! Tune in to listen to Alicia and Sarah talk about how they liked watching hockey in this, and about toxic team dynamics, and also about Macklemore (iykyk). Enjoy! Further Reading: The Playlist review by Christian Gallichio Review by Tina Kakadelis

Episode 94: Love, Classified and interview with writer, Lynn Sternberger! Hello lovelies! This month Alicia and Sarah had the supreme honor of talking to Lynn Sternberger, a very fun and cool Hollywood Writer who wrote today's film! Love, Classified is a lezzy Hallmark movie that is definitely the best thing Hallmark has ever made (biased opinion). We talk to Lynn about the process of writing the movie, what inspired it, her work in TV writer's rooms, her fated relationship with Melora Harden, *some* Hallmark devotees being so terrible it's funny, and more. It's a great time! Enjoy! Further Reading: Follow Lynn on Instagram and Twitter, which we will not be calling by its other name Watch the movie on Hallmark 

Episode 93: Bottoms Happy new year, queeros! If you want some bonkers gay shit to shore you up for what is surely going to be a bonkers shit year, may we suggest the 2023 film Bottoms? You've probably at least heard of this one, so join Alicia and Sarah as they discuss this silly little weird gay fight club movie that stars faves Rachel Sonnet and Ayo Edebiri, and new fave Marshawn Lynch, the football player. Enjoy! Further reading: Bottoms Wikipedia page New Yorker review Autostraddle review 

Episode 92: Christmas at the RanchHappy holigays! This year the annual holiday movie adventure has led Alicia and Sarah to another movie from Tello's deep holiday romcom catalogue, Christmas at the Ranch. You probably know everything you need to know about the plot of this movie from the genre and title alone. We had some issues with this one, but like the movie itself, there's nothing too drastic or compelling. Enjoy your holiday fluff! Further Reading: Autostraddle review by Heather Hogan Tagg Magazine review by Becca Damante

Episode 91: Shiva Baby Hello lovely queers! Today Alicia and Sarah are talking about the wonderfully claustrophobic 2020 film Shiva Baby. The movie takes place in a tight 72 minutes over the course of one afternoon, mostly at, you guessed it, a shiva. It revolves around Hot Mess Hot Bi Girl Danielle, who gets wrapped up in a TON of drama involving her sugar daddy, her ex-girlfriend, her parents, and a screaming baby. This movie is great and we also just found out they are making it into an HBO series, so yay!   Further Reading: Shiva Baby Wikipedia page Vulture review by Helen Shaw NYT Review by Jason Bailey LA Times Review by Gary Goldstein Coastal House Media Interview with Ariel Marx Autostraddle review by Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner

Episode 90: Hello you beautiful gays! Join Sarah and Alicia for a very special live episode at the Seattle Queer Film Festival! We are discussing HEALED--a psychological thriller written by and starring Shantell Yasmine Abeydeera (Dating in Place), and co-starring Emily Goss (Dating in Place, Season of Love [which we covered in Episode 52]), and the SQFF 2023 Queer Luminary Award winner, Guinevere Turner (Watermelon Woman [Episode 33], Go Fish [Episode 46])! We also got to ask writer Shantell, 'Yaz', about her inspiration for the film, and a bit about the casting! This is definitely one you do not want to miss, so check out your local film festivals for this gem.

Episode 89: Nina's Heavenly Delights   Hello lovely queers! Welcome to this month's podcast, wherein Alicia introduces Sarah to one of her favorite Lesbian Films, Nina's Heavenly Delights. This 2006 romcom was done dirty by critics and even its own producers but it's kind of a joy to watch, for the most part. It's real cheesy in the best way, with family drama, a cooking competition that needs winning, a quintessential early aughts GBF, and a good amount of kissing! Enjoy!   Further reading: Nina's Heavenly Delights Wikipedia page Pratibha Parmar Eye for Film interview with Amber Wilkinson

Episode 88: Everything Everywhere All at Once Hi lovelies! Welcome to this month's episode, where Alicia and Sarah discuss the 2022 banger Everything Everywhere All at Once! This movie is hard to describe but you already know about it so it's fine. Join us as we talk about hot dog fingers, rocks with googly eyes, gender constructs, the everything bagel of depression, and the infinite limitations and possibilities of mothers and daughters. Enjoy!   Further reading: EEAAO Wikipedia page Autostraddle review by Drew Burnett Gregory Gay Times review by Hollie Wong

Episode 87: Passing Hey lovely queers! Today Alicia and Sarah are back together talking about 2021's Passing, the adaptation of Nella Larson's 1929 novel of the same name. There's so much going on in this movie, none of which is explicitly gay per se, but all of which is very immersive and will make you think about the ways in which white supremacy and the racist and colonial American project harms us all! While not exactly upbeat, it's also not tragedy porn, but a nuanced portrayal of longing and human behavior under oppressive racialized structures, and it is very good. Plus it has Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga. So you should watch it if you want!   Further reading: Autostraddle article by Carmen Phillips New York Times review by Manohla Dargis NPR interview with director Rebecca Hall Passing Wikipedia page (movie) Passing Wikipedia page (book) YouTube American Film Institute interview with Rebecca Hall

Episode 86: Lust Life Love and interview with Stephanie Sellars! Hello gaybies! In this episode, we jump into the NYC polyamorous scene with the film Lust Life Love. Alicia interviews the co-director, writer, producer, and lead in the film, Stephanie Sellars on her inspiration for the story, the queerness of polyamory, and her own media-inspired gay awakenings. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5tck8lmDpc Lust Life Love is available on several streaming services, including Amazon Prime, YouTube, Tubi, and more. www.lustlifelove.com

Episode 85: Foxfire Hey queer cuties! This week Alicia and Sarah are digging into one of the greatest queer movies of all time that is not (but kinda is) explicitly queer: 1996's Foxfire. This movie launched Angelina Jolie's (tragically not gay enough) career! And also has so many great people in it including the Jennys: Jenny Lewis and Jenny Shimizu! The latter of which we all remember as being one of Angelina Jolie's queer flames, because they met on this movie! And that's just one of the many layers on this girl-gang cake. Join us as we discuss all the ways in which we love this movie, both despite and because of how very 90s queer it is.   Further reading: Excellent 2023 Autostraddle interview with director Annette Haywood-Carter by Drew Burnett Gregory Foxfire Wikipedia page Willamette Week 25th anniversary article by Chance Solem-Pfeifer 2018 Autostraddle review by Sarah Fonseca "Hollywood Had Not Caught Up": On Foxfire with Annette Haywood Carter Screen Slate Article by Mackenzie Lukenbill The Outskirts: Foxfire article from Screen Slate by Cristina Cacioppo

Episode 84: Anne+ - The Film This month, we're headed to Amsterdam! In this sequel to a popular Dutch webseries of the same name, we follow Anne, a 20-something Dutch writer queer just trying to ~figure out her life~ as she cycles and walks the streets of a v picturesque city. We quite enjoyed this one and hope you do too!   Further reading: Autostraddle review by Heather Hogan Anne+ website But Why Tho review by Jason Flatt Valerie Bisscheroux website

Episode 83: D.E.B.S Hiya gays! This month we are digging into the cult classic 2004 cinematic masterpiece (arguable), D.E.B.S! This was a formative film for Alicia, and Sarah had never seen it before, but boy is it of its time. Tune in to hear Alica and Sarah relive the disturbing moment that was the aughts and its glorification of uber-thin bodies; discuss the unknown line between camp and the male gaze; laugh about being a gay slut; and reveal the connection between this movie and Kid Rock (neither aged well). Hope you love it!   Further reading: D.E.B.S Wikipedia page Roger Ebert review (lol) Washington Post Review 2003 D.E.B.S. Short Film

Episode 82: Skate Kitchen   Hi sweet queeros! This month Alicia and Sarah are talking about a movie near and dear to Sarah's heart (and now Alicia's too): 2018's vibe-fest Skate Kitchen. This film is based on a real life girls skate crew in New York City and the way they ~vibe~ with each other and their sport. Also some stuff happens with like, coming of age and parental relationships and friendships and almost-romance-but-not-really. It's really good! And it has a spinoff show on HBO called Betty, which Sarah keeps bringing up. Enjoy!   Further reading: Skate Kitchen Wikipedia page NYT review (even though we don't fucks with the NYT for a lot of things) Guardian review (lol) Independent Review (also lol) Skate Kitchen instagram 

Episode 81: Mars One Hi queeros! Welcome back to the pod! This month we are discussing the 2022 Brazilian film Mars One, which can be streamed on Netflix. It follows a Black family in the early days after Bolsonaro's election, which is the background noise to their daily lives. The parents work in the service industry, the tween brother is a soccer prodigy but is actually interested in joining the now-defunct Mars One mission to colonize Mars, and the daughter is in law school and also hecka queer and wants to move in with her girlfriend. Tune in to hear how much both Alicia and Sarah enjoyed this understated but very absorbing movie, which they recommend watching! Enjoy bbs!   Further reading: Mars One Wikipedia page IndieWire review by Jude Dry

Episode 80: Elisa & Marcela   Happy new year, lovely queers! To kick off the 2023 movie-watching season, this month Alicia and Sarah go back in time to turn-of-the-20th-century Spain, where these two teenage schoolgirls get really into towel play (i.e. they fall in love at school), and spend the rest of their lives either together or trying to be together. Elisa and Marcela's story is based on a true one which is pretty fascinating; they are known as the first same-sex marriage in Spain, 100 years before it became legal there. They achieved this by cross-dressing and lying to a priest, which is pretty punk rock for 1900s Catholic Europe, and very queer. This movie is kind of a downer, but we think it's worth watching anyway. Enjoy!   Further reading: Making Queer History page on the real Elisa and Marcela Elisa y Marcela Wikipedia page Variety review by Jay Weissberg

Episode 79: Under the Christmas Tree Happy holigays everyone! This year for our December episode we are talking about the very Lifetime Lifetime movie Under the Christmas Tree, which is the first Lifetime lesbian Christmas romcom (say it five times fast!). It stars queer lady darling Elise Bauman and Ricki Lake it takes place in Sarah's home state of Maine, which is kind of exciting and makes it so that we can clear up some misconceptions about, for example, how far Augusta is from Camden (spoiler: not far!!). This movie is really low-stakes and ridiculous and that is what's so fun about it. No thoughts, all vibes. Enjoy bbs!

Episode 78: Erin's Guide to Kissing Girls Hiiii lovely queers! Welcome to a very special episode of Gal Pals Watch: a live recording at the Seattle Queer Film Festival! We are talking about one of their 2022 youth features, the Canadian film Erin's Guide to Kissing Girls. Listen to Alicia and Sarah discuss positive and nuanced youth representation, how much Erin's clothes are fashun, and then the writer and director Julianna Notten joins us for a conversation about making the movie and some behind-the-scenes stories! It's a great time and we hope you enjoy :) Further Reading/Watching: Erin's Guide to Kissing Girls (short film) IMDB Page

Episode 77: My Name is Pauli Murray   Hi queeros! Welcome to an episode about a movie we love! It's a documentary about Pauli Murray, who was a truly amazing nonbinary lawyer, civil rights activist, priest, and all-around human being. You should watch this movie and learn even more reasons we owe Pauli every progressive legal precedent we hope we can keep!   Further reading: Pauli Murray Wikipedia page Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice

Episode 76: Crush   Hey queeros! Welcome back to our little lesbian-ish show, where this week Alicia and Sarah dig into a movie without much substance but a lot of charm -- Crush! This 2022 film is on Hulu and stars Rowan Blanchard and Auli'i Cravalho (who played Moana), and also Megan Mullally which is fun too. It's a ridiculous teen movie about art and romance and high school and sports and obvious mysteries, but you know what, the queers need that kind of fluff too. So join us as we discuss this silly little movie that ultimately was pretty fun. Ok thanks, love you bye!   Further reading: Indiewire review by Jude Dry  Variety review by Tomris Laffly Crush Wikipedia page

Episode 75: Nowhere Inn   Hey hi hello! Remember a while back when the gay girl internet got really excited for a second about Dakota Johnson playing a version of Kristin Stewart in a movie with and by Annie Clark/St. Vincent and Carrie Brownstein? This is that movie, and it's on Hulu! It is... weird! Join Alicia and Sarah as they try to work through their confusion and their feelings, which are mainly neutral, spoiler alert. Also, happy Pride to all who celebrate!   Further Reading: Nowhere Inn review in The Guardian by Phuong Le Pitchfork review by Eric Torres Nowhere Inn Wikipedia page

Episode 74: Baka Bukas Good day, fair queers! Today on the pod we're discussing a film out of the Phillipines, 2016's Baka Bukas! This is billed as a romantic drama, and that's pretty accurate. It follows two early-20s friends working in the entertainment industry in different roles, one of whom is out as lesbian to everyone but this friend. Who then becomes the love interest. As you do. There's a lot of stereotypes in here, including a vapid GBF and some fashun, but Alicia and Sarah think it's a solidly okay film, and have some stuff to say about it. So tune in and hear about one of the only mainstream gay movies to come out of the Phillippines and let us know your thoughts!   Further reading: Baka Bukas Wikipedia page Review from Beauty Within SAMANTHA LEE BRINGS QUEER REPRESENTATION TO FILIPINO FILM by Sara Tardiff in Nylon

Episode 73: The Fallout Hello queeros, this month Alicia and Sarah are delving into a movie that will hit you in the absolute feels, fyi. The movie is The Fallout, starring the dancing Sia girl (sorry, that was reductive) Maddie Ziegler and the most amazing Jenna Ortega, and a lot of other really great people, about how a few teens cope after a school shooting. This one is heavy y'all, but the movie itself is more character-study-as-microcosm-of-this-truly-horrible-world-we-live-in-for-real than trauma porn, which is something we both appreciate about it. It's actually really good except for the fact that it's too real. Anyway you can hear us talk about it and even cry if you wanna!! Love you and take care of yourselves!   Further reading: The Fallout Wikipedia page Review on Slate.com by Ilana Kaplan

Episode 72: So My Grandma's a Lesbian!   Hi loves! This month, after a brief hiatus due to cHaOs, we are back and discussing a movie that requires very little brainpower to sit through! Titled So My Grandma's a Lesbian exclamation point, this Spanish movie follows some sweet older women who love each other in a very healthy way, in contrast to the shitshow of their surroundings, which include many people who are younger than them and yet much more Homophobic TM and/or wayyy to concerned about their conservative in-laws, in the case of Eva, the granddaughter. Anyway! This movie isn't exactly good, but Alicia and Sarah agree it is not the worst and the landscape is very beautiful and we want to go to Canary Islands ASAP. Tune in to hear us talk about it!    Further reading: NME Review by Ella Kemp Roger's Movie Nation review by Roger Moore

Episode 71: Hello beautiful queeros and happy Valentine's Day! (we hate it, but we also love it) Unfortunately (for some of us, like Sarah) KStew is off the market, but that won't stop us from talking about her, and today we are discussing her latest gay Christmas movie, Spencer! It is not exactly an upbeat film, and is also not that gay, but it's gayer than you might think, both explicitly and subtextually (because KStew brings gay energy to everything she does, in a good way). Also, Diana is in some ways a gay icon. Anyway we had fun with this, and fun fact, Sarah went to a ~movie theater~ to see this, which was a big deal and they won't be going back anytime soon, but worth it. Ok, have a good love day, love all your people extra hard and enjoy this episode!   Further reading: Spencer Wikipedia page Spencer review in the NYT by A.O. Scott  Kristen Stewart's Princess Diaries by Kyle Buchanan in NYT The True Story Behind Spencer--And What It Can Tell Us About Princess Diana by Cady Lang in Time Magazine

Episode 70: The Party   Good evening, happy new year, and welcome to our Bougie and Pretentious evening soirée, with a side of gay. Tonight we will be discussing the 2017 Art Haus Film The Party. Topics include mortality, cocaine, cultural appropriation, academia, The Men, dated lesbian culture, Cherry Jones, Kristen Scott Thomas, murder, and plot twists! Pull up a reading chair and listen in, love ya!   Further reading: The Party Wikipedia page "Sally Potter: 'The Party is the opposite of Brexit'" https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/13/sally-potter-the-party-berlin-interview 

Episode 69: The Novice   Happy 69, queerz! This month we watch the new psychological sports thriller, The Novice, in which a college freshman is ~*very obsessed*~ with getting onto her school's varsity crew team. Some very disturbing obsessive thoughts and self harm in this one, so take care of yourselves if you watch it, but also it's pretty absorbing even if it's literally and figuratively dark as hell. There is a cute queer TA who we love (the main character is queer too btw), and Sarah recognizes the obsessive sports mindset a little too much and that is not great for them but oh well! Stay rad friends!   The Novice Autostraddle review by Drew Gregory

Sarah Neilson Tue, Nov 2, 9:26 AM (2 days ago)     to me           Episode 68: Addicted to Fresno   Helloooo lovely listeners! This month we're headed to Cali, but it's the part of Cali people like to dump on, aka Fresno! In this 2015 film, Natasha Lyonne and Aubrey Plaza are gay for each other but not enough. A bunch of other stuff happens including Sister Drama and Murder, but you'll have to listen (and watch the movie, you could do that too if you want) to find out what. Enjoy!   Further reading: Addicted to Fresno Wikipedia page Addicted to Fresno review in NYT by Neil Genzlinger  

Episode 67: A Date for Mad Mary   Hiya queeros! This month we are watching an actually pretty good movie! The 2016 Irish film A Date for Mad Mary is a surprisingly great example of nuanced and bittersweet storytelling based on a one-woman play, and it is way better than its title. Tune in to hear us talk about ambiguity, love, and ~personal growth~ involving dancing and learning to show up and move on. Happy listening y'all!   Further reading: A Date for Mad Mary Wikipedia page Variety review

Sarah Neilson 5:25 PM (2 hours ago)     to me           Episode 66: See You Then   Hey lovely queers! It's us, Alicia and Sarah! This month, we bought tickets to virtual screenings of some movies at LA's Outfest, and we love virtual screenings because we can "go to" tons of different festivals! This movie is one we saw via Outfest, and it stars Lynn Chen of Saving Face fame, which is tbh 99% of the reason we wanted to see it. This movie takes place over the course of one night (mostly) and involves a lot of ~*dramatic*~ dialogue which sometimes does not work for us, but we love to see a trans woman centered in a movie (not Lynn Chen - the other lead, Pooya Mohseni's Kris) even though lack of representation means that too much weight gets put on the few characters there are to be everything for everyone, etc etc we get into it! Tune in and hear us talk about Performance Art, Drama, Gender, Etc. Thanks for listening friends!   Alicia's Paid in Puke episode! See You Then IMDB Page See You Then official website

Episode 65: Set It Off   Hi queeros! This month we're taking it back to 1996, to a movie that is not very gay but it does feature Queen Latifah in a queer role which is why we wanted to watch it! Tune in to hear Alicia and Sarah's thoughts about why this movie sad heist rather than fun heist, and how gay the character of Cleo is/is not?! In all seriousness, this film is not exactly fun to watch but remains timely (unfortunately) in its portrayal of police brutality and centers stories of working-class Black women, and is full of amazing performances (and some easter eggs) too. We have thoughts and feelings and also want to hear what you think!   Further reading: Set It Off Wikipedia page EW article Vulture article

Episode 64: Dating Amber   Hello beautiful queers! This month we've got a treat for all you 90s gays and everyone else too. We watched the cute little beard movie Dating Amber, which is set in Ireland in 1995. Tune in to listen to Alicia and Sarah talk about complicated romantic-ish relationships, cute gay kids, peer bullying, gay bars, the military, and that adorable lesbian sunset montage. It's a really fun ride this month, enjoy!!   Further reading: Final Draft blog post: https://blog.finaldraft.com/copy-of-david-freyne-final-draft-dating-amber   The Queer Review Articles:  https://thequeerreview.com/2020/11/10/exclusive-interview-filmmaker-david-freyne-on-his-queer-comedy-dating-amber/ https://thequeerreview.com/2020/11/10/exclusive-interview-dating-amber-star-lola-petticrew/   Moviehole interview: https://moviehole.net/interview-dating-amber-writer-director-david-freyne/

Episode 63: The World to Come   Hello lovely queers of the world! Happy pride month and all that. This month, Alicia and Sarah are talking about the Late 2020 Lesbian Period Drama (vol. 783 in the Lesbian Period Drama canon), The World to Come. It is winter in here, it's bleak! Get in but also stay away if you don't like Sadness! There are some redeeming qualities to this film for sure, but tune in to hear why it mainly threw us for a loop. Enjoy!   Further reading:  The World to Come Wikipedia Page  Mona Fastvold on Capturing Tragic Love in The World to Come, Collaborating with the LGBT Community, and Dancing to Vox Lux by Joshua Encinias Interview: Mona Fastvold on Locating the Language of Love in “The World to Come” by Stephen Saito

Episode 62: The Half of It   Hello lovelies! It is us, your forever gay aunts! This month we are talking about the movie that got us all through that early lil bit of the pan pizza in May 2020, The Half of It! In case for some unfathomable reason you don't know about this adorable movie, it is the long-awaited sophomore venture from ultimate fave Alice Wu (check out our episode on her first film, 2004's Saving Face). The movie is almost about sophomores but is actually about seniors in high school in a fictional Washington state town (which is where we also live! Washington state, not a fictional town, unless you want to get metaphorical about Seattle being FAKE). It follows very sweet and smart and wonderful queer teen Ellie Chu in a story that, as we conclude, is a major glow-up for the Cyrano de Bergerac plot. Tune in to hear our thoughts, of which we have some!   Further reading: Autostraddle review by Malinda Lo Wikipedia page

Episode 61: Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie's Dead Aunt)   Howdy, beautiful listeners! We are back from a winter spent in survival mode, hbu? Shooting for the stars that we will be on a monthly recording schedule from here on out :) Today we start out with a lil update, including a discussion of our tagline and why we decided to change it. Then we get into the ~*cute*~ Australian film, Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie's Dead Aunt)! Which Sarah can only think of as Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie's GAY Aunt), but it's fine. We saw this one "at" the Seattle Queer Film Festival, but if you live in Aus or aren't an Elder like us and know your way around a VPN, you can stream it online. Regardless, this movie was like if The Prom was good, and it has a lot of queer shit going on in front of and behind the camera, so join us as we talk about it to each other and your ears. Love ya, take care of yourselves!   Further reading:  SQFF film guide from 2020: https://threedollarbillcinema.org/filmguide NME: https://www.nme.com/en_au/features/ellie-abbie-ellies-dead-aunt-director-monica-zanetti-on-breaking-down-casting-barriers-2819133 MIFF Q&A: https://miff.com.au/blog/view/6175/post-screening-qa-ellie-abbie Binge (Australian streaming service), if ya savvy: https://binge.com.au/ 

Episode 60: Happiest Season   Hello gays! We are back with a brand-new episode of the highly anticipated (and now highly debated) movie, Happiest Season, directed by Clea DuVall (of But I'm a Cheerleader fame). There are things we loved and things we did not love about this movie--we talk about those things around Sarah stanning KStew. We're so happy to be back! Stay safe!

Episode 59: Wild Nights With Emily   Hey all you beautifuls! We hope you are weathering this really wild and not great time. We're here this week with a movie that's the good kind of wild, Wild Nights With Emily. If you're stuck at home, which at this point I'm pretty sure we all are, and you can stream stuff, watch this!! It's so good! And then listen to us gush about how the oddball workings of Madeleine Olnek's (of Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same fame) mind worked wonders on this story of Emily Dickinson's life. Stay safe, y'all.   Further reading: Wild Nights With Emily Wikipedia page Emily Dickinson Wikipedia page

Episode 58: Tell it to The Bees   Hi, 1950s lesbians! This movie is real bad but we watched it for you anyway! Taking place in postwar Britain and involving a lot of Lesbian Staring, a precocious skinny white kid, rape, racism, senseless magical realism, and weird CGI bees, this movie is not our favorite. But you can listen us get mad/laugh at it, and talk about how boring straights are!    Further reading: Tell it to The Bees Wikipedia page Fiona Shaw's article on how they made her gay ending into a straight ending  

Episode 57: Princess Cyd   Have you ever found yourself daydreaming about wandering around the lush north side of Chicago in summer while your writerly aunt hosts literary soirées and a cute andro barista dances with you on a rooftop? Well then this movie is for you. We're talking about cute queer summer flings and annoying teens on this episode, enjoy!   Further reading: Princess Cyd Wikipedia page

Episode 56: Sighted Eyes, Feeling Heart   Helloooo literary lez's and otherwise identified queers! Have you read the book Looking for Lorraine by Imani Perry? Because you should. But you can also watch this pretty good, very PBS style doc about Lorraine Hansberry, aka one of the baddest/best humans ever to be too good for America. If you don't know, Hansberry wrote the 1959 play A Raisin in the Sun, which you probably read in high school, and was a huge hit and made into a movie. But tbh that was the least of her amazingness. She was a true queen. Also, she was queer af. Listen in to hear us talk about this movie, the book Looking for Lorraine (which is much gayer, and also one of Sarah's favorite books of all time), and how much we stan this communist activist legend. Enjoy!   Further reading: Get the book Looking for Lorraine!!!  Sighted Eyes Feeling Heart official website Lorraine Hansberry Wikipedia page

Episode 55: Rafiki   This week, we're headed to Nairobi, where two of the most lovable lesbian characters ever fall in love in a movie whose title translates to 'friend,' aka gal pal, obvs. We loved this movie, even though it has some serious homophobic violence, because it also has serious homophilic love. Enjoy, queeros!   Further reading: Rafiki Wikipedia page

Episode 54: The Girl King   We're going even farther back in time this week, queers! Last time, we went to the 1920s with Vita and Virginia. Now, we're going to the 1630s!! This movie made by a Finnish director, taking place in Sweden, and spoken in English for some reason, is about Christina, Queen of Sweden and First Names (that last part is not real). Queen Christina was A Gay but somehow got bought (not literally, but still) by the pope and is one of only two women buried next to a pope. Because patriarchy! And Catholicism! Same same. Christina is also remembered as the Virgin Queen which is bull.shit. because we all know virginity is a construct! Anyway, we liked this movie alright, so you can listen to us talk about it. Love ya, gay virgins!  Further reading: The Girl King Wikipedia Variety review by Dennis Harvey