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GayCityNews.com | April 7 - April 20, 2022
LGBTQ Streaming: What to Watch in April
BY GARY M. KRAMER
April is showering home viewers
with some terrific streaming
options. From the eagerly
anticipated second season of
“Bridgerton” to one of the late Cloris
Leachman’s last roles, here is a rundown
of what to watch.
“Bridgerton”
Available now on Netflix, Season Two
of this hit series opens with the new
season of balls and “diamonds,” as well
as plenty of gossip and intrigue. The
feminist Eloise Bridgerton (Claudia
Jessie) is having her debut and seeking
a husband — against her will of
course. Viscount Anthony Bridgerton
(out gay Jonathan Bailey) is the most
eligible bachelor, but he is struggling
to find anyone suitable until he meets
Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley), a new
arrival who bewitches him. The costumes
are still colorful, and yes, that
is Madonna’s “Material Girl” playing
at one of the glamorous balls. “Bridgerton”
still retains its charm, even if
Breaking Glass Pictures
“Jump Darling” delves into the life of drag queen Russell
(Thomas Duplessie).
breakout star Regé-Jean Page from
Season One has left the show.
“Jump, Darling”
Available now, “Jump Darling” is
writer/director Phil Connell’s sensitive
tale of Russell (Thomas Duplessie), a
drag queen who escapes to his grandmother
Margaret’s (Cloris Leachman)
country house after breaking up with
his boyfriend Justin (Andrew Bushell).
Margaret and Russell develop a rhythm
in their lives together. He finds work at
a local gay bar and helps Margaret live
at home — not in the eldercare facility
her daughter insists on. Duplessie’s
drag performances are a highlight and
his budding romance with Zachary
(Kwaku Adu-Poku) is sweet, but most
viewers will appreciate the late Leachman’s
delicate and sometimes foulmouthed
performance here.
“100 Years of Men in Love:
The Accidental Collection”
This charming documentary, now
available on HERE TV, features a selection
of the 3,200 vintage photographs
of male-male couples that Hugh Nini
and Neal Treadwell have amassed over
time. The images were published in
their 2020 book, “Loving.” The photos,
which were likely made between 1850-
1950 (some are tintypes; many are
undated) are lovely portraits of male
intimacy. While there are only a handful
of images of Black or interracial
couples — a sign of the times — the
portraits offer voyeurs the opportunity
to think about what the lives of these
men from the past weere like.
The photographs are well curated,
and writer/director David Millbern
peppers each section with quotes
about love from gay writers. “100 Years
of Men in Love” is a valentine to queer
romance and same-sex desire.
“From the Journals
of Jean Seberg”
Available on Kino Now, “From the
Journals of Jean Seberg” is out gay
filmmaker Mark Rappaport’s savvy
1995 documentary about Seberg’s illfated
career. Picked from thousands
of hopefuls to play the coveted screen
role of Joan of Arc in Otto Preminger’s
1957 film, “Saint Joan,” Seberg is
literally and figuratively burned in
the process. The film is a fascinating
case study that contrasts the late
actress with icons ranging from Jane
Fonda and Vanessa Redgrave to Clint
Eastwood to provide critical thinking
about how badly Hollywood treats
women.
BY STEVE ERICKSON
Gay journalist and filmmaker
David France’s magnum
opus “How to Survive
a Plague,” a documentary
about AIDS activism, was released in
2012, 16 years after the introduction
of effective treatments. (He published
a more comprehensive book with the
same name in 2016.) The story of HIV is
not over yet, but the chapter described
in “How to Survive a Plague” is. France
has returned with a spiritual sequel,
“How to Survive a Pandemic.”
It does not attempt to cover the entirety
of COVID’s worldwide impact.
Even just two years into the pandemic,
that would require a very lengthy
docu-series. Here, France zooms in
on COVID vaccines. “How To Survive
a Pandemic” is divided into two parts,
with contrasting tones. The first part
celebrates science and even government
bureaucracy, striking an optimistic
mood as they race to complete
a COVID vaccine within a year. We’re
not far from the wonky heroes of TV
shows like “Parks and Recreation”
and “The West Wing.” But once the
vaccines have been released into the
world, the second part is much more
downbeat, demonstrating how the virus
reinforced inequities between rich
and poor countries (and within the US,
between whites and people of color).
Reporter Jon Cohen becomes a
stand-in for France, especially in the
first part. The director began shooting
this project in March 2020, as soon as
COVID started shutting down ordinary
life around the world. HBO’s budget
allowed him to travel to Brazil, India,
South Africa and Switzerland. (He previously
made “Welcome to Chechnya,”
a documentary about the persecution
of gay men in that region.) Last year,
HBO aired Nanfu Wang’s “In the Same
Breath,” which chronicled the Chinese
and American government’s failed attempts
to control the virus from December
2019 to March 2020.
“How to Survive a Pandemic” reports
the profits Moderna and Pfizer made
from vaccines they patented and own
the rights to. Three of Moderna’s executives
became billionaires on the back
of their vaccine; the CEO’s personal
fortune skyrocketed to $4 billion.
We’ve learned to live with 1,000 COVID
deaths/day in America as a fact of life, as
op-ed columnists lecture their readers
about how they’re so over taking the virus
as a threat. “How to Survive a Pandemic”
balances its dual task, singing the
praises of the scientists who developed
the vaccines while attacking the corporations
making money from it, well.
HBO
“How To Survive a Pandemic” is divided into two parts, with contrasting tones.
Arts & Entertainment
Gay Filmmaker’s COVID Documentary Denounces Greed
/GayCityNews.com
