Movies That Made Us Gay

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191: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory with special guest Jared Anderson May 12, 2023

Show notes

"Hold your breath, make a wish, count to three", because we got to the 1971 classic Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory with our bestie Jared Anderson. Arguably one of the weirdest children's movies ever made, and one we still can't shake off. When Charlie Bucket gets the coveted Golden Ticket to tour a mysterious candy maker's factory insanity ensues when the ticket winners start getting taken out like the cast of Midsommer. This movie almost destroyed Scott and Jared's friendship, over a bitchy social media post, but we're here to talk it out with Pete moderating like couples counseling. We're here to talk out what makes this movie moving, strange, and very much a product of 1970s filmmaking. Overlooked at the time of its release Wonka ended up getting a devout cult following in the 1980s thanks to television airings and home video. We discuss what exactly makes this movie "gay" enough to choose it for the pod, all the rotten kids at the center of the Wonka's morality test, and what our feelings are on the contentious Tim Burton 2005 movie with Johnny Depp. When reflecting back on Willy Wonka we are still ask questions about this movie's weird, but delightful tone. Is Mrs. Bucket's somber song "Cheer up Charlie" the most fast forwarded moment of our childhood? And more importantly why exactly does Wonka have this psychelic tunnel in his Wondrous Boat Ride?

Thanks for listening and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts!

www.patreon.com/moviesthatmadeusgay

Facebook/Instagram: @moviesthatmadeusgay

Twitter: @MTMUGPod

Scott Youngbauer: Twitter @oscarscott / Instagram @scottyoungballer

Peter Lozano: Twitter/Instagram @peterlasagna

190. Party Monster with special guest Jesse Krempel May 05, 2023

Show notes

"Well, congratulations on getting out of the very dangerous world of haberdashery!" It's a Disco Bloodbath on the pod this week as we double featured both Party Monster movies with our friend Jesse Krempel host of the podcast Cult Cinema Circle. The documentary, or shall we say "Shockumentary" from 1998, and the 2003 film starring Macaulay Culkin, Seth Green, Chloë Sevigny, Wilmer Valderrama, and Dylan McDermott. Michael Alig's saga of the murder in clubland always fascinated us as young gays, and spoiler alert, at least one of the two entries holds up in its revisit. Long before World of Wonder took over the queer landscape with RuPaul's Drag Race, they made a documentary that looked at the events surrounding the murder of Andre "Angel" Melendez by club promoter and all around sh*t head Micahel Alig, with the help of Robert "Freeze" Riggs that landed them both in prison for 15 years. Former child actor superstar Mac Culkin came out of his 9 year retirement to play Alig in the 2003 indie dramatization of the events. With Seth Green playing the larger than life "celebutante" James St. James, Party Monster felt like event-queer-cinema in the early '00s when represention of gay characters in film was scarse. We reflect on how suprisingly poor the 2003 theatrical version revisits. The casting of Mac and Seth (two cis hetro men) aside, did we just overlook all its flaws when first watching because we were excited for this story being told in a major movie? Topics discussed include the colorful characters chronicled in the Shockumentary, the club kids taking over '90s daytime TV, and did 2000s indie darling Chloë Sevigny have better things she could have been doing than this thankless role? For better or for worse both Party Monsters are a unique snapshot of the club kid era of time gone by.

Thanks for listening and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts!

www.patreon.com/moviesthatmadeusgay

Facebook/Instagram: @moviesthatmadeusgay

Twitter: @MTMUGPod

Scott Youngbauer: Twitter @oscarscott / Instagram @scottyoungballer

Peter Lozano: Twitter/Instagram @peterlasagna

189. Mamma Mia! with special guest Jorge Molina Apr 28, 2023

Show notes

You know that thing, when you're getting married on the remote Mediterranean island you may or may not have grown up on and you invite three of your mom's former lovers on the off chance one of them will be your biological father so he can walk you down the aisle, and it's all set to the musical stylings of Scandinavian super group Abba? We watched Mamma Mia! (2008) with our friend Jorge Molina and we have no choice but to Stan our Mamma Meryl. This marks our FIFTH Meryl movie and boy did we pick a doozy. First off we get that some people just don't have the joy in their heart required to love a musical but this movie is just plain fun. Go into understanding you're getting 90 minutes of high camp, and let it wash over you like the briny waters of a Grecian beach. Adapted from the hit West End and Broadway musical, this movie has all the hallmarks of a queer hit: Meryl Streep singing her heart out, multiple dance breaks to disco music, a scene stealing Christine Baranski and arguably the hottest Skarsgård of them all - papa Stellan. We can forgive wonky timelines and questionable parenting techniques when the visuals scenery is this picturesque and the bops are flowing like ouzo. We'd give our left… arm to live rent free on a Greek island and fix up a dilapidated villa. It's our Under the Tuscan Sun fantasy! This movie musical went up as counter programming to the Dark Knight, and it still managed to make a mount Olympus size pile of cash. We talk about the absolutely bananas sequel (CHER!) that's probably even better than its predecessor, the lasting legacy this potato chip of a musical has had on queer culture and our teeny gay brains.

Thanks for listening and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts!

www.patreon.com/moviesthatmadeusgay

Facebook/Instagram: @moviesthatmadeusgay

Twitter: @MTMUGPod

Scott Youngbauer: Twitter @oscarscott / Instagram @scottyoungballer

Peter Lozano: Twitter/Instagram @peterlasagna

188. Bring It On with special guest Braden Davis Apr 21, 2023

Show notes

"This is not a democracy, it's a cheerocracy. I'm sorry but I'm overruling you." We watched Bring It On (2000) and you better believe it's already been broughten! Who could have predicted this bubbly cheerleader movie would stand the test of time, keep a grip on gay culture and spawn no less than SIX (direct to DVD) sequels? The fact that Bring It On knows exactly what kind of movie it is only adds to its charm. Do you remember where you were when you realized Torrance Shipman (Kirsten Dunst) and her fellow Toros attended "Meat Ranch" (Rancho Carne) High? Despite the sometmes over the top script and some dialog that didn't age that gracefully, the movie does tackle real issues like cultural appropriation and racial inequality. And despite the scripts liberal use of the f-slur (it was a different time!), we must say representation matters and seeing a (somewhat) out, gay high school male was a breath of fresh air way back in the year 2000. Our Kiki nails the comedy, as she already proved in Drop Dead Gorgeous and Dick (both 1999) and Jesse Bradford is almost too cute for words in his little band tee shirts. But the standout has and always will be Gabrielle Union as Isis, the Cheer Captain for the East Compton Clovers. She eats every scene she is in and when I tell you she has not aged a day! This movie may be pushing 23 years old but we still know all the words to every cheer and we are holding out for the Requel!

Thanks for listening and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts!

www.patreon.com/moviesthatmadeusgay

Facebook/Instagram: @moviesthatmadeusgay

Twitter: @MTMUGPod

Scott Youngbauer: Twitter @oscarscott / Instagram @scottyoungballer

Peter Lozano: Twitter/Instagram @peterlasagna

187. The Wiz with special guest Christian Turner Apr 14, 2023

Show notes

We ease on down the road this week and watched the Wiz (1978) with our friend Christian Turner. How exactly did heavy hitting director Sidney Lumet (12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon) manage to direct this Wizard of Oz reimagining with an all-black cast, based on the Tony winning musical, is beyond us but we're all here for it. We're also here to remind you of the banger songs on this soundtrack. Released to a mixed reception, it has since found a cult following with audiences thanks to its television showings through the decades since its release. We finally get to talk about the Supreme diva herself Diana Ross on the podcast, who stars as a Harlem school teacher who finds herself transported to a Land of Oz by the way of a dystopian New York City, where she befriends a Scarecrow made of trash (Michael Jackson), a Coney Island Tin Man (Nipsey Russell), and a disco cowardly lion (Ted Ross). At the time the most expensive movie musical ever made, we discuss the insanely talented cast. We talk how this movie revists into adulthood, and that it's screenplay was adapted by MTMUG patron saint himself Joel Schumacher, who helped make this musical into the coke fueled fever dream we know and love. Topics discussed are the Facts of Life episode where Tootie nearly misses her high school graduation to auditon for Dorothy, the weird self-help seminar tone of Schumacher's script, and how JJ from Good Times was almost the Scarcrow. "Don't you carry nothing that might be a load. Come on, ease on down, ease on down the road!"

Thanks for listening and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts!

www.patreon.com/moviesthatmadeusgay

Facebook/Instagram: @moviesthatmadeusgay

Twitter: @MTMUGPod

Scott Youngbauer: Twitter @oscarscott / Instagram @scottyoungballer

Peter Lozano: Twitter/Instagram @peterlasagna

186. Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) Directed by Joe Dante Apr 07, 2023

Show notes

I hope you remembered not to feed your mogwai after midnight, or get them wet, because we're talking about Gremlins 2: The New Batch this week! Joe Dante turned up the dial to 11 when he directed his follow up to the Amblin 80s classic film. Both are standbyes of our childhood, but there's something about the New Batch we're still fasinated with. We talk about every Gremlin type this movie introduce us to (Batman Gremlin, Midatlantic accent Gremlin, Phantom of the Opera Gremlin, Electric Gremlin, Spider Gremlin, Salad Gremlin, and return of Flasher Gremlin). And don't forget the drag icon herself, Greta. We still can't decide what category Greta is walking in, Body Beautiful or Face, but she brings it to you ever ball! Arguably one of the weridest studio blockbusters ever made Gremlins 2: The New Batch opperates on a level of camp that studio movies rarely ever explore.

Thanks for listening and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts!

www.patreon.com/moviesthatmadeusgay

Facebook/Instagram: @moviesthatmadeusgay

Twitter: @MTMUGPod

Scott Youngbauer: Twitter @oscarscott / Instagram @scottyoungballer

Peter Lozano: Twitter/Instagram @peterlasagna

185. She-Devil with H. Alan Scott aka Sadie Pines Mar 31, 2023

Show notes

"Mary Fisher lived in a palace by the sea." We watched She-Devil (1989) with the hilarious H. Alan Scott aka Sadie Pines and… is that a gummy bear in your hair? The masses may have been sleeping on this camp classic for the past 35 years but, as usual, the gays know whats up. She-Devil was Meryl Streep's first real entry into comedy and her portrayal of the Jackie Collins-esque Mary Fisher is pure camp. Roseanne Barr, fresh off the first season of her hit sitcom, is the titular She-Devil but time and attitudes have changed and her character Ruth Patchett is clearly the real hero. And was it just us, or was nerdy Ed Begley Jr. secretly hot? Something about that tall drink of water in a barely there pink bath towel definitely unlocked a core memory in our tiny queer brains. Throw in legendary Linda Hunt, and cameos from Robin Leech, Deborah Rush and the one and only Sally Jessy Raphael and you've got yourself a bonafide gay classic.

Thanks for listening and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts!

www.patreon.com/moviesthatmadeusgay

Facebook/Instagram: @moviesthatmadeusgay Twitter: @MTMUGPod

Scott Youngbauer: Twitter @oscarscott / Instagram @scottyoungballer

Peter Lozano: Twitter/Instagram @peterlasagna

184. Polyester with special guest Drew Droege Mar 24, 2023

Show notes

"I look into my future and all I see is a long, dark hallway... and no exits." We watched Polyester (1981) with the hilarious Drew Droege and we're ready to eat an entire cake in one sitting. The legendary John Waters takes us on a melodramatic trip through the suburbs by way of the famous "Women's Pictures" directed by Douglas Sirk. We take a peek behind the velvet curtains and French Provincial decor of the 'burbs with Divine, who gives a stellar performance as Francine Fishpaw, the put upon wife of a filandering pornographer, mother of juvenile delinquents and daughter of a social climbing snob. Francine's oversensitive nose plays a key role in her already fragile mental state and the gimmick of Odorama was developed for the original screenings. Where else but a John Waters picture could you get a scratch-and-sniff card with such fragrances as Roses, Flatulence, Gasoline and New car smell? Polyester may have been Waters' first foray into "mainstream cinema" but all his usuals are there; Mink Stole as the sass-mouth other woman, Edith Massey as Francine's nouveau riche former housekeeper, and Jean Hill as a tire biting gospel singer. We can't forget the absolute dreamboat Tab Hunter as sleazy lothario Todd Tomorrow. Polyester is as tacky as late '70s/early '80s houshold decor and we can't get enough of it. Watch out! It's the Baltimore Footstomper!!

Thanks for listening and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts!

www.patreon.com/moviesthatmadeusgay

Facebook/Instagram: @moviesthatmadeusgay Twitter: @MTMUGPod

Scott Youngbauer: Twitter @oscarscott / Instagram @scottyoungballer

Peter Lozano: Twitter/Instagram @peterlasagna

183. Flash Gordon with special guest Seán Ferrick Mar 17, 2023

Show notes

"Flash, Flash, I love you, but we only have fourteen hours to save the Earth!" We invited over Trek Culture's Seán Ferrickback on the podcast to watch the camp extraveganza Flash Gordon (1980). Like the renegade cousin strung out on psychedelics to George Lucas's more successful Star Wars Flash, Gordon is one of our favorite cult classics to come out of the early 1980s. Nobody knew how to put on a show like Italian movie mogul Dino De Laurentiis, and Flash Gordon has it all. Playgirl coverboy Sam J. Jones as our sincere beefcake protagonist, the wooden tour de force performance of Melody Anderson as Dale, Max von Sydow chewing the scenery as Emperor Ming the Merciless (culturally insenstive is an understatement here). All political correctness aside, Flash Gordon is still a good time. We talk about Timothy Dalton doing the most with the least amount of character of the bunch, Brian Blessed playing his performance to the back row with his army of harness clad Winged Hawk-Men. Not to mention the rocking score by Queen. This movie went onto be a huge inspiration to Seth McFarland, Taika Waititi, and Edgar Wright for it's insanly fun imagry. FLASH Ah-ah He'll Save Every One of Us!

Thanks for listening and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts!

www.patreon.com/moviesthatmadeusgay (http://www.patreon.com/moviesthatmadeusgay)

Facebook/Instagram: @moviesthatmadeusgay Twitter: @MTMUGPod

Scott Youngbauer: Twitter @oscarscott / Instagram @scottyoungballer

Peter Lozano: Twitter/Instagram @peterlasagna

182. Annie with special guest Brad Liberti Mar 10, 2023

Show notes

Leapin' Lizards! We watched Annie (1982) with our friend Brad Liberti and I think we're gonna like it here! Whether you like it or not, this movie holds a place in our collective consciousness. The story of the little orphan girl who made it out of the slums and into the mansion of a misanthropic oligarch is deeply entrenched in our early movie watching memories. Some of us fantasized about being Annie and going off to live in an estate the size of the Mall of America with a staff peppered with racial stereotypes. Others dreamt of making bathtub gin, while wearing costume jewelry and lingerie. Either way, this movie is iconic. The trio of Carol Burnett, Tim Curry and Bernadette Peters is what gay rights are made of. The opening number of Hard Knock Life featuring orphan girls flipping, stomping and bucking across Miss Hannigan's orphanage give us life (Matilda could never). And I don't care what your orientation is, who didn't fall in love with Ann Reinking as Daddy Warbucks' secretary/love interest Grace? Maybe the movie buried the lead and underplayed "Tomorrow" and maybe the movie differs a little too much from the stage production. This musical might be better in your memory as a child, but it still brings out a smile in the cynic in all of us.

Thanks for listening and don't forget to subscribe, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts! www.patreon.com/moviesthatmadeusgay (http://www.patreon.com/moviesthatmadeusgay) Facebook/Instagram: @moviesthatmadeusgay Twitter: @MTMUGPod Scott Youngbauer: Twitter @oscarscott / Instagram @scottyoungballer

Peter Lozano: Twitter/Instagram @peterlasagna

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