Frameline Preview

I’ve managed to preview three films that Frameline, the Bay Area’s main LGBT film festival, will be screening in the coming weeks. Here’s what I thought of them, from the best to the worst.

A- Howl, Castro, Sunday, June 27, 7:30 (closing night). What did you expect–a conventional biopic? Would that do justice to the Allen Ginsberg epic poem with which the film shares its name? Like the poem, Howl is challenging, cutting-edge, and unconventional. By weaving together an extended interview with Ginsberg (James Franco), scenes from publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s obscenity trial, and an illustrated reading of the titular poem, Howl gives an overview of Ginsberg’s early life, celebrates the work itself, and cherishes the freedom that made the poem possible. I’ve never read Ginsberg’s poem; this film makes me want to.

B The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister, Castro, Thursday, 7:00 (opening night). Basically a lesbian Merchant-Ivory picture set in early 19th-century England, this film dramatizes the  actual diaries of the real Anne Lister. As close to out of the closet as one could be in 1815, Anne suffers heartbreak when the love of her life marries an old man for his money, destroying her dream of a secret marriage. Writer Jane English and director James Kent show grace and economy in the telling her story, which they fill with top hats, bustles, corsets, very proper diction, and great British actors behaving in civilized and polite ways while barely keeping their passions in check. Not an earth-shattering piece of art, but very good. Frameline’s opening night show.

C- We Have to Stop Now; Elmwood, Wednesday, June 23, 7:00; Victoria Theatre, Friday, June 25, 9:30. Talented performers and a funny concept don’t make a good comedy. That requires a strong script, as well. We Have to Stop Now– apparently a movie made up of bits and pieces of a TV show—lacks just that. The concept: Just as an extremely unhappily married couple, both therapists, agree to divorce, their book on maintaining a happy marriage hits the bestseller lists. Now they have to stay together for the book’s sake. (The fact that it’s a same-sex marriage is almost incidental.) Unfortunately, Ann Noble’s script manages to miss almost every opportunity to milk that rich vein for either humor or insight. The movie has a a few scattered laughs, some of them pretty big, and most of them involving their hilariously incompetent marriage counselor (Suzanne Westenhoefer). Stars Jill Bennett and Cathy DeBuono also display comic talent (they’re also easy on the eyes), but they don’t have enough to work with. The result is uneven, bland, and even at 79 minutes, too long.