Along with John and Magnus, come and Lay All Your Love on this classic and fun jukebox musical. From 1974 when the band ABBA entered our hearts via the Eurovision song contest to a film musical that invited you to envision yourself drinking and loving on the beaches of a private Grecian island - Mamma Mia is all you want and more. It's not even just about the story, it's about the culture and the time period and an unexpected celebration of joy and caring. It's a musical that knows exactly what ...
Aug 15, 2023•38 min•Season 2Ep. 16
If you thought John and Magnus were done with Fran Drescher after a Summer Short about The Nanny, you were sorely mistaken. The Queen of Flushing and of self actualized but still incredibly femme queens everywhere also had a rom com film work called Beautician and the Beast. And though it sounds like Beauty and the Beast, its more a fun homage to moonlighting type romances ala The King and I. Tune in as John and Magnus discuss why self actualized women make movie reviewers uncomfortable, how bei...
Aug 01, 2023•39 min•Season 2Ep. 15
While you're on vacation (at least in your mind) and looking for some lighter summer fare - consider this new entry from John and Magnus. Shorter episodes for summer to be shared about the beautiful and often lighter side of pop culture. They begin with an episode about love and growth and family. From 1993, the Nanny brought Fran Drescher into our homes and made everything just "Fine". From the theme song to the grand staircase to a show about love and family and everything inbetween with great...
Jul 18, 2023•38 min•Season 2Ep. 14
It is fitting that it takes a trilogy to talk about all the men of Marvel, both the villain and the hero. Leaving off on the rise of Holland Spiderman, there's tons more for Magnus and John to explore. Ideas such as why Ragnarok succeeded and how bringing Loki back into the MCU fold was a win (but also a distraction), how the queerbaiting hit its highest arc in arguably the worst MCU films (both of the Avengers war movies), and how -when Marvel wants to- They produce art like Black Panther and V...
Jul 04, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Season 2Ep. 13
When people think of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they often think of Phase One and beyond. And now with Tobey!Spiderman, the origin of Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark, a successful Fantastic Four film, and several other indie hits in the past - Magnus and John discuss the leading men of the Marvel Movies Studio Golden Era, as the movies came fast and the phases weren't quite yet blink and you'll miss it. Such like the way MGM in the 1940s produced their stars, John and Magnus discuss things lik...
Jun 20, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Season 2Ep. 12
We're wishing Magnus the happiest of birthday months in a way only we here at Everything is Gay (Even the Straight Stuff) can. With a quickfire retrospective of the hunks of the MCU (in at least two parts, we found out while recording episode 1). In this episode, we start in 1986 with the first official MCU movie (Howard the Duck) and quickly discover the first hunk is Stephen Dorrf's Deacon Frost in Blade (at least by John's account - and maybe Randy Meeks' artwork). Magnus and John spend time ...
Jun 06, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Season 2Ep. 11
Nothing really better encapsulates the idea of the horror musical better than Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Starting out as a sensationalist penny dreadful short story for the working class of 19th Century Britain to being the toast of 2023 Broadway, there's been very few years since it's new villainous life as a Sondheim black operetta in 1979 where it wasn't in some stage of being staged somewhere in the world in some capacity. And it shouldn't work. There's no happy ending. ...
May 23, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Season 2Ep. 10
2008 was as much a time of upheaval and change as anytime in American history. And usually these times of upheaval and change are accompanied by changes in prevalent art forms. So when Repo! the Genetic Opera followed in the footsteps of Hair (and Tommy) and the Rocky Horror Picture Show, it wasn't a big surprise - though with the creators' intent to not do traditional advertising, its own growth was much slower than perhaps it would've been beyond the traveling road shows. But Repo! the Genetic...
May 09, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Why Women Kill was tailor made for the start of the pandemic. A show about sensational idealism focused on sex and murder across three eras of Pasadena with three female leads? What's not to love while stuck in your house with a box of Cheezits? Add in powerhouse acting from Once Upon A Time's Ginnifer Goodwin, Lucy Liu (of Elementary fame since this show premiered on CBS), and Kirby Howell-Baptise fresh off a turn during the final seasons of The Good Place and there was definite magic in the st...
Apr 25, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Since April is John's birthday month, there was little discussion about the theme for April and more discussion about what would be talked about. And for John, one of the most important and formative movies of the 90s for him was 1998's Pleasantville. From the brain of Gary Ross, Pleasantville was a casting dream with theming both on the surface and deep beneath. It's a narrative about repression and finding yourself. It's a story about rebellion and the teenage years but also a story about the ...
Apr 11, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Season 2Ep. 7
This episode asks - if nothing here is real and nothing here is right- then why is everything so right? Because this 2001 musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer entitled "Once More With Feeling" is one of the most iconic and well produced episodes of television that has ever been and may never be eclipsed for its poignancy, heartbreak, musical score, character interaction, and one off villain. After John and Magnus acknowledge that you can't talk about Buffy without talking about the long s...
Mar 28, 2023•1 hr 18 min•Season 2Ep. 6
This tv telecast was no frail and fluffy beauty. This telecast was a thoughtful, whimsical reminder of where we've been and an aspirational hope for a multicultural future. Not just an event when it premiered to kick off the return of the Wonderful World of Disney, 1997's Cinderella was a passion project for all involved and it was clearly a moment of joy and affection and story that both influenced further iterations and left some past Cinderella tv telecasts in its shadows. John and Magnus are...
Mar 14, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Season 2Ep. 5
2007's Hot Fuzz is many things. It is neo-western. It is folk horror. It is buddy cop. But it is not a parody (according to the creators). What it really seems to be is an affectionate love letter and deconstruction of tropes just as its 2004 predecessor Shaun of the Dead was for zombie fans. John and Magnus talking about these two films in succession shows you both how closely linked they are and yet how fresh Hot Fuzz is and how much it stands on its own. So saddle up with your best deputy, he...
Feb 28, 2023•53 min•Season 2Ep. 4
What if a movie about zombies really isn't about the zombies at all? What if it is about coming of age, about Gen X and the idea of slackers? What if it is a treatise about loneliness and masculinity and learning how to communicate and put up barriers? That's what John and Magnus are proposing is the message of Shaun of the Dead (2004). It is a movie about zombies but it more has a Night of the Living Dead Romero vibe wherein the zombies are the story but they are also not quite the point. Can a...
Feb 14, 2023•1 hr 16 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Whether it's a 97 release or a 98 release (technically Boxing Day 1997 in the UK) Spice World is really not a film for everyone. Though initially it seems to just cater to those who love the pop and power ballad playfulness of Britain's seminal girl group (sorry Little Mix!), Spiceworld is a comment and critique on so many things. The music industry, feminism, the power of friendship, the power of film and media in general, and even the power of the flash back and flash forward. Spiceworld is a ...
Jan 31, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Season 2Ep. 2
It could've been a flop, but instead it was a transformative hit. Not your usual action movie from a franchise that's been running since 1979. It spent 11 years in pre-production, had to recast the iconic main star, and faced a world full of remakes, reboots, and reimaginings. So what made Mad Max: Fury Road an inspiring hit? What gave it the thoughtfulness and strength to make it stand out? It was a million different choices - from casting to editing to sound to location to transformative theme...
Jan 17, 2023•2 hr 27 min•Season 2Ep. 1
So what is The Santa Clause about? Is it the story of a divorced dad becoming Santa who just happened to be played by 90s grunting funny man Tim Allen? Is it a divorced kid's power fantasy where Charlie Calvin gets to be the son of Santa as a reward for putting up with divorce? Or is it a much deeper, sadder, stranger movie than anyone really sees? Yes, there's Bernard the elf who is superb. And a massively underutilized Judge Reinhold. And the fantastic world within a world hidden Christmas cit...
Dec 20, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 26
Bob's Burgers is the kind of pure Americana (even in cartoon form) that some aspire to. Between the earnest weirdness of the kids, the day to day mundanity of adulthood punctuated with brief bouts of running, and the mixing of blood and found family to create something unique- Bob's Burgers is a rare show that calls to many and does what few others can do. And nowhere is that more evident than in the winter holiday episodes. Specifically, John is highlighting his favorites - Last Gingerbread Hou...
Dec 06, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 25
You've seen the Kermit memes. You've probably watched the film. Now listen in as John and Magnus sip mugs of hot cocoa and bring the festive season to an open with a work of art that some deride as saccharine - which isn't as bad a word as people like to think it is - but others uplift as theatrical tradition, ghost story, and a movie with incredibly heart and intention. 1992's Muppet Christmas Carol is a fantastic piece of film musical history that was almost lost to time after a bad box office...
Nov 22, 2022•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Turning Red is a movie about love. But remarkably, it's not a movie about choosing to love romantically. It's a movie about loving yourself, loving your friends, and even loving your imperfect family. Despite how little the trailer shows of the actual gem and conversation of the movie itself, Turning Red will be the underrated gem of the Pixar universe in 20 years. If we're still doing internet videos at that time, that is. From first blushes of desire to first blushes of truth, Turning Red is a...
Nov 08, 2022•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 23
For those of a certain age, it's hard to imagine life without the Treehouse of Horror episodes from The Simpsons. For those who lived before the second season of the Simpsons, perhaps your Halloweens were still awesome but the way that the Simpsons Halloween Special (not yet named Treehouse of Horror) parodied, revamped, and wound your favorites to pitch perfect harrowing silliness made you rethink what you thought you knew about anthologies. Somehow both mainstream and something very unique and...
Oct 25, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 22
When Fairuza Bulk stepped into the role of Dorothy Gale, she was determined not to be Judy Garland but in a smaller package. And in a way, her charming, slightly alarming, and touched innocence make her the perfect Dorothy and later the perfect twisted Nancy for the Craft. And the world that Fairuza Dorothy constructs or visits in the way of Oz is just as off-putting yet alluring, mechanical and maniacal and vengeful and safe. Return to Oz is the best kind of fairy tale- edging up to that line o...
Oct 11, 2022•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 21
With Hocus Pocus 2 just barely on the horizon (with Daylight Savings Time accounted for), it's time for a retrospective of the camp classic Hocus Pocus. This 1993 witchy romp through Salem lives in its own bizarre bubble. Not a love letter to the genre like Shaun of the Dead nor a stoner comedy like Idle Hands, this hair raising tail is a pop infectious masterpiece of joy and darkness. And John and Magnus wouldn't have it any other way. Join them as they talk costume, location, the genius of Bil...
Sep 27, 2022•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 20
This episode is Rated B for 'Brave yet controversial'. John has a few things to say about the culture surrounding the 2011 ... reboot ... of the 1985 Michael J. Fox movie. It really is about how fandom approaches both the genre work and characters/actors of Teen Wolf. From treating Tyler Posey like a piece of meat to deconstructing the gaze of Teen Wolf- nothing about the urban horror/ghost story MTV show is off limits. Follow along as John and Magnus give some context to Teen Wolf's place in hi...
Sep 13, 2022•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 19
In 2017, the Pandora's Box of nostalgia laid bare before the world in the form of Power Rangers 2017. It wasn't a reimagining or a reawakening. It was a reboot meant to kick start a new cinematic franchise. It teased a classic Green Ranger (now female), a Zeo crystal (beneath the Krispy Kreme), and five somewhat familiar but also modern teens with attitude. What could've been just fine as a Breakfast Club by way of Transformers crashed and burned so hard on the side of the celluloid planet that ...
Aug 30, 2022•1 hr 17 min
What do gay visual novel video games offer us that non queer games don't? What makes them so special that when they spark the imagination, we fall in deep love with them so quickly? How do they compare to each other? What does Dream Daddy offer that we long for in Coming Out On Top or Robin Morningwood or Morningdew Farms and etc? Are Dead Dating and the new wave of genre twisting kink games like Mister Versatile from ypressgames in response to missing queer experiences or just the direction tha...
Aug 16, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 17
Come and exercise your rites and listen in as John and special cohost Jack talk about the power of the 1996 Craft, where Nancy, Bonnie, Rochelle, and Sarah raise themselves up and find themselves mostly cast down. From Los Angeles as a powerhouse setting to a magical alt rock musical catalogue- is The Craft the perfect movie for a 90s teen girl? What about a teen of today? The Craft is a special film- dark and a little gruesome but very intriguing. It leaves many questions such as: how did Neve ...
Aug 02, 2022•1 hr 12 min
There was no movie quite like Beetlejuice in 1988. No other humorous dark fantasy comedy like that and certainly nothing from the still then relatively unknown Tim Burton. From the hallmark twisted architecture to shots of whimsy and nostalgia to a tale of co-parenting that would've wilted with a less talented cast- is Beetlejuice the perfect film? Well, maybe not for everyone. But it is the perfect transition from the silly frights of childhood to the more heartbreaking woes of being an adult. ...
Jul 19, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 16
It took four episodes to get through the forest but Magnus and John have done it! Enchanted places, places without magic, Camelot, Neverland, and otherwheres have all led us to this. The final episode in the Once Upon A Time examination and discussion series. There's still plenty of highs to talk about (the concept of Emma's institutionalization in The Final Battle) and more than enough lows (why is Eloise?) from the End of Season Five to the end of the series but they manage it all. Whether you...
Jul 05, 2022•1 hr 18 min•Season 1Ep. 15
John and Magnus' deep dive into the Once Upon A Time series continue. Before diving into Season 4A - Frozen and Season 4B - The Queens of Evil (Rock on!), they discuss how medium and intimacy influences a brand (consider a comic series like Fables versus a tv scaled series like Once) and how influence and point of view create a very different story out of a similar sounding premise (again, Fables v. Once). Then dive into the icy frozen lake of the hurried first half of season 4 with influences f...
Jun 21, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 14
