Click here to send us a message! This week we're taking a look at two classic romantic comedies! Lauren joins Brian as they discuss When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in Seattle. Both were written by the legend Nora Ephron, with Sleepless her directorial debut. We discuss the legacies of Ephron and her work, a writer who did more for romantic comedies than any modern director. We examine what makes these films not just stand out, but hold-up over the years as shining examples of the genre. If...
Sep 02, 2021•1 hr 37 min•Season 4Ep. 81
Click here to send us a message! We’re continuing our look back at the careers of Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson, as we pair up their two most emotional epics; Magnolia and Kill Bill.
Aug 19, 2021•1 hr 10 min•Season 4Ep. 80
Click here to send us a message! This week we’re putting on our film nerd caps and re-examining the legendary Alfred Hitchcock. With both Rope and Strangers on a Train ol’ Hitch trots out killer queers in high society out to commit the perfect murder. Under the rules of the infamous “Hayes Code,” these films couldn’t portray homosexuals explicitly, and Alfred Hitchcock seemed to take that as a challenge, crafting two films that show more than they tell. But did he help create stereotypes that st...
Aug 05, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Season 4Ep. 78
Click here to send us a message! For this episode we're taking another look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and this time we have a special guest. The Marvel comic-book series, "The United States of Captain America" introduces us to Aaron Fischer. and we're proud to have writer Josh Trujillo as a guest to talk to us about the creation of the first queer Captain America, as well as take a look back at the last six months in the MCU, as we discuss the Disney+ shows, Black Widow and speculate on ...
Jul 22, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 4Ep. 77
Click here to send us a message! We're abandoning all pretensions for this episode, as we cover two beloved shlock-fests, 2003's Identity and the 2019 head-scratcher Serenity , starring Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway. We won't get into the strange twists of these films here in the description, but know that they were paired together because of those twists. In each case, its the third-act reveal that seems to be their reason d'être, with the screenwriter's seemingly working backwards from...
Jul 15, 2021•1 hr 27 min•Season 4Ep. 77
Click here to send us a message! We’re wrapping up Pride Month 2021 with a look back at two films that are now seen as precursors to the New Queer Cinema. Today, Gus Van Sant and Todd Haynes are Oscar-nominated filmmakers, but Mala Noche and Poison were their first theatrical releases. How did these once-and-future auteurs introduce themselves to the world? Join us as Brian, Matthew and Max take a look back at these debut films to find out!...
Jun 24, 2021•58 min•Season 4Ep. 76
Click here to send us a message! Continuing our celebration of queer cinema for Pride 2021, we're turning our attention to some controversial films. Both Cruising (1980) and Basic Instinct (1992) take the Killer Queer stereotypes to stylish if problematic heights. Each was protested heavily throughout production, with queer activists not just disrupting filming, but at the multiplex, with signs giving away the ending in an effort to cut into profits. But, all these years later and they've earned...
Jun 17, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Season 4Ep. 75
Click here to send us a message! We're continuing our look back at formative gay films from the late-90's, as we look back at Trick and The Broken Hearts Club. Each film has developed a following, with The Broken Hearts Club boasting a cast of then unknowns like Zach Braff, Billy Porter and Timothy Olyphant as a group of gay coworkers at a West Hollywood restaurant. Trick stars JP Pitoc and Christian Campbell as two gay men just looking to hookup. They were big at the time, and remain beloved, b...
Jun 10, 2021•55 min•Season 4Ep. 74
Click here to send us a message! For Pride 2021, Brian and Max are revisiting the seminal queer films of their teenage years, better known as the 1990’s. We’re starting off with The Opposite of Sex, paired with the cheerful But I’m a Cheerleader. In Opposite of Sex a teenaged Christina Ricci walks into a gay man’s life and blows it up by sleeping with his boyfriend. But I’m a Cheerleader takes a broad, John Waters-aping swing at not just homosexuality but religion, the suburbs and gender norms. ...
Jun 03, 2021•56 min•Season 4Ep. 73
Click here to send us a message! It's our fourth annual Oscar episode! We started this podcast discussing the 2018 Oscars so every year we make sure to watch as many nominees as possible to properly cover Hollywood's most glamorous night. This time Brian, Max and Matthew hopped on Zoom to talk predictions before the big show, and came back after to discuss the results. A few things caught us by surprise, of course, but isn't that supposed to be part of the fun?...
Apr 26, 2021•1 hr 2 min•Season 4Ep. 72
Click here to send us a message! For the first time ever, we're covering a film and it's sequel. The Ridley Scott classic Blade Runner redefined science fiction films forever, but how does it hold up today? Join us as we pair it with the 2017 sequel starring Ryan Gosling. James and Max join this week to discuss both films, the influence of Phillip K. Dick and the sex appeal of a young Harrison Ford....
Apr 15, 2021•56 min•Season 3Ep. 71
Click here to send us a message! For the first time ever, we scrapped a planned pairing because one of the movies gave us enough to talk about. An Academy Award nominee for Best Picture, Actress Carey Mulligan, and writer/director Emerald Fennell, this subversive revenge fantasy gave us a lot to talk about. TW: Our discussion delves into sexual assault; listener discretion advised.
Apr 01, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Season 3Ep. 70
Click here to send us a message! We’re celebrating our 69th episode with the least sexy film of all time, the cult classic Showgirls ! Is it a cutting satire, the ultimate in camp cinema or does it belong in the trash? Our contributors take a look back to 1996, the Clinton era, queer coded thrillers, white trash screenwriters and Dutch auteurs!
Mar 19, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Season 3Ep. 69
Click here to send us a message! After a few episodes in a row featuring queer adjacent stories made for straight audiences, we’re taking a look back at the New Queer Cinema. In the early 90’s, filmmakers like Gus Van Sant and Greg Araki reclaimed the road movie for queer audiences. These two tales of narcoleptic hustlers and murderers on the run tapped into a queer culture ignored and left for dead by their government. They take very different stylistic approaches, with wildly varying budgets, ...
Mar 04, 2021•59 min•Season 3Ep. 68
Click here to send us a message! We’re continuing our look back at 90’s queer films made for straight audiences with My Best Friend’s Wedding and The Object of My Affection! Both of these films feature early portrayals of the gay best friend trope, setting queer male characters as romantic leads for...straight women. While that’s one reading of My Best Friend’s Wedding, the Object of My Affection actually doubles down and gives the pair an almost-sex scene! Join us as we talk about casting repre...
Feb 12, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Season 3Ep. 67
Click here to send us a message! This week we're finally covering two of the 1990's most iconic gay films; The Birdcage and In & Out. Arriving in the middle of the Clinton era, they feature mostly straight actors in queer roles (Nathan Lane didn't come out until 1999) . Made largely by straight people for straight people, these films nevertheless touched a nerve to a generation still coming to terms with their sexuality. Join us while we talk about our experiences using these films as cover ...
Jan 28, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Season 3Ep. 66
Click here to send us a message! For the second edition of our Quentin Tarantino/Paul Thomas Anderson pairings we’re discussing their second films Pulp Fiction and Boogie Nights !
Jan 14, 2021•1 hr 15 min•Season 3Ep. 65
Click here to send us a message! In our final episode of 2020, we take a look at Happiest Season, Hulu's new queer holiday movie! Directed by a lesbian icon and featuring the queerest ensemble this side of a Ryan Murphy project, the new film is one of Hulu's most popular movies. So we reached out and got our contributors to weigh-in on the new queer hit. And since it's the last episode in this very weird year, we also discussed our favorite 2020 finds, the movies or TV shows we finally got aroun...
Dec 25, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 64
Click here to send us a message! We’re leaving the planet this week and taking Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey with us! We’re covering the 1997 classic Contact with Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. Each movie sends their protagonist to outer space to ask life’s most important questions, but which one does it better? We discuss IMAX's inevitable transition from 3d documentaries to Christopher Nolan films; Robert Zemeckis' trailblazing career and Matthew McConaughey's questionable talent....
Nov 13, 2020•1 hr 19 min•Season 3Ep. 63
Click here to send us a message! With just a few days left in October, we take a look at two horror-adjacent queer films. Closet Monster takes coming out cliches and familiar character arcs and gives them a dash of Cronenberg, a sprinkle of Lynch and a pinch of Donnie Darko to tell its coming out story, but does it work? Meanwhile You’re Killing Me casts viral LA comedy stars as friends who welcome a mysterious new boyfriend into their circle, just as some of them begin disappearing. We take a l...
Oct 30, 2020•52 min•Season 3Ep. 62
Click here to send us a message! Even though 2020 has been plenty terrifying, we’re getting into the Halloween spirit! We’re joined by Lauren to discuss women in horror with the badass adventurers of The Descent and the teenage succubus of Jennifer’s Body! Did we overlook Megan Fox? Does adding a male character make matters better or worse? We tackle these questions, plus reminisce about Adam Brody, dismiss Chris Pratt and much more!...
Oct 22, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Season 3Ep. 61
Click here to send us a message! We covered the original queer classic, The Boys in the Band , back in June in celebration of pride. This month, Netflix released a remake starring the cast of the Tony winning revival and produced by Ryan Murphy. So this week, in celebration of its release, Max and Rob dropped in to watch the remake. Starring Zachary Quinto and Jim Parsons, the drama has some big shoes to fill. Does it? Or does it feel more like a community theater production of your favorite sho...
Oct 07, 2020•32 min•Season 3Ep. 60
Click here to send us a message! Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson are two of their generation's most celebrated filmmakers. But, everyone starts somewhere and The Queer Film Podcast is taking a look back at two auteur's debut films. Academy Awards and Palme d'Ors were in both men's future, but they announced themselves to the world in the 1990's with two movies about criminals with daddy issues. This multi-part series will compare and contrast our favorite filmmakers' rise from Sundanc...
Sep 25, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 59
Click here to send us a message! This week we're finally covering two of queer cinema's most famous road trips; To Wong Foo and Priscilla Queen of the Desert! (We know these aren't the full titles of these films, but brevity is everything when you have a character count.) One film beautifully showcases the Australian outback, features Oscar winning costume designs and three characters with secrets and their own hero's journey. The other stars Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipes! How do these films ...
Aug 27, 2020•1 hr 22 min•Season 3Ep. 58
Click here to send us a message! We’re back! After a month off, we’re joined by activist Len DeWilde, who brings with him the transgender German rom-com you didn’t know existed, Romeos , and we pair it with Pedro Almodóvar’s The Skin I Live In. One is a harmless coming out story, the other is about an evil scientist and a sadistic quest for revenge. We play Almodovar drinking games, discuss trans representation in modern media, bland white leads and Antonio Banderas!...
Aug 13, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Season 3Ep. 57
Click here to send us a message! We're wrapping up Pride 2020 with a long look back, way back, to the sixteenth century with Mary, Queen of Scots. The film features great performances from Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie and some great beards from David Tennant and Guy Pierce. We pair it with the The Favourite, starring Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone and Best Actress winner Olivia Coleman. Two revisionist modern takes on the politics of being royalty, but do they work? Or are they bogged down by virtu...
Jul 02, 2020•1 hr 21 min•Season 3Ep. 56
Click here to send us a message! Continuing our celebration of Pride Month, this week we take a look at a couple of 1980's classics, each starring the one and only Dolly Parton. Brian is joined by his friend and Dolly Parton expert, Zack Hudson. In addition to sharing a star in Dolly, the films share a director, Colin Higgins. He was an out gay man, making an unapologetically feminist film with three of the early 80's biggest stars, and he followed it up with the musical The Best Little Whorehou...
Jun 18, 2020•53 min•Season 3Ep. 55
Click here to send us a message! Pride events are canceled all over the world; but pride can never truly be canceled. To celebrate our community, we're covering queer films all month long. We start with the Oscar winning documentary, The Times of Harvey Milk and pair it with the 2008 biopic starring Sean Penn. The documentary helped introduce the world to the first openly gay city councilman, who was assassinated after just eleven months in office. Max joins this week as we wrestle with the prob...
Jun 11, 2020•44 min•Season 3Ep. 54
Click here to send us a message! We’re heading to Broadway this week, as we cover two queer classics based on plays. First, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton team up to host the worst dinner party of all time in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Not to be outdone, the unabashedly gay leads of The Boys in the Band throw a birthday party for one of their friends, and learn a few secrets while they’re at it. Two iconic films, but have they aged well, or are were they eerily prescient? Rob and Max j...
May 28, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 53
Click here to send us a message! This week, Max and Matt join Brian to discuss films about queer filmmakers! Ed Wood tells the tale of the titular director, giving us Tim Burton's finest film and Johnny Depp's best performance, tracing Wood's struggle to make it in Hollywood alongside his queer family. On the other hand, we have queer filmmaker Bill Condon telling the story of the last days of James Whale's life. Ian McKellan was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of Whale's final days, bu...
May 15, 2020•1 hr•Season 3Ep. 52
