Eight films comprise the two-disc collection, or as they are known by their singular titles Big Lesbian Love Collector’s Set and Big Gay Love Collector’s Set. Being a gentleman, let’s take a ladies first approach, as we break down these favorite films for the sapphic set.
These four distinct looks at love kick off with The Four-Faced Liar, which does not revolve around two gals with multiple personalities who meet and complications ensue. Rather, it is a reference to a clock that has four faces and displays as many incorrect times (each one wrong) at its namesake bar. When newly moved-in together couple Greg (Daniel Carlisle) and Molly (Emily Peck) meet Trip (Todd Kubrak) and his lesbian pal Bridget (Marja Lewis Ryan), a steamy affair begins between Molly and Bridget.
My Normal centers around Natalie (Nicole LaLiberte), a young New Yorker who is trying to achieve a rather unusual balance that she attempts to strike between her dreams of becoming a filmmaker, her current gig as a dominatrix and sustaining a new relationship.
And Then Came Lola stars Ashleigh Sumner as the titular character who is on the verge. No, not of a nervous breakdown, albeit she is a tad on the distracted side, but the precipice that she is standing on has to do with her burgeoning career as a photographer and her relationship. If she doesn’t make it to a meeting on time, she could lose the whole kitty and kaboodle.
Itty Bitty Titty Committee is from director Jamie Babbit who brought LGBT audiences But I’m A Cheerleader, and while that film was a comedic look at the coming out process, Itty, is a decidedly more dramatic take on finding your true voice. Especially when All-American girl Anna (Melonie Diaz) takes up with a radical feminist group to help her unearth hers.
Before your minds end up in the gutter, by title’s sake alone, that the companion piece to the aforementioned collection has something to do with being a size queen that is not the case.
Big Gay Love Collector’s Set also highlights the gaieties of life, granted from a male point-of-view.
Were The World Mine falls under the category of being a romantic musical fantasy film, in which the subject matter of gay empowerment gets a helping hand from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Timothy (Tanner Cohen) is your atypical gay teen, who has a crush on the captain of the rugby team at his all-boys school, and is involved in the school’s production of the literary classic. When Timothy is cast as Puck, he happens upon a love potion that sends the town into a tizzy, as they strut a mile in his shoes.
The subject of closets is at the heart of East Side Story. Diego (René Alvarado) works at his family’s restaurant, under the watchful eye of his grandmother (Irene DeBari), who may want to get her vision checked, as he is carrying on a clandestine affair with Pablo (David Berón), a fellow closet dweller. Stifled by his East LA lifestyle, or rather lack of the lifestyle he wants to live, Diego makes plans to open his own restaurant, hopefully with his love life out in the open.
Recently single gay Parisian Jérôme Beaunez (Eric Debets) says Hollywood, je t’aime when he books a trip to sunny SoCal to skirt a lonely Christmas. While he proclaims his love for the City of Angels, he gives serious consideration to a lifelong dream of becoming an actor, and faster than he can say, “All right Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up,” he sets out to make his dreams a reality.
The elusive Mr. Right makes an appearance in the film of the same name, as intertwined tales of looking for love in London make up the bulk of this romantic comedy. At the heart of the film is Louise (Georgia Zaris), a fruit fly of the highest magnitude and her group of gays, and her introduction of her latest contender for the title of Mr. Right that sends her close-knit friends into a tizzy. Now available.
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Natalia Kills
Perfectionist
For her first full-length CD, Natalia Kills, lives up to her CD title of being a Perfectionist, as she has enlisted Black Eyed Peas go-to producer will.i.am, and a slew of other behind-the-scenes producers, who have worked with the likes of Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and Mary J. Blige.
The end result is a great introduction to this emerging artist, as with the first track on the CD, “Wonderland,” she may not “Believe in Fairy Tales” but she does subscribe to making the most out of the material she’s working with.
The will.i.am single, “Free,” could be an unearthed Peas track at the very beginning of the song; but it’s quickly evident that Natalia owns it in a different way than Fergie Ferg would.
Similarly, “Break You Hard” has an eerily familiar sound to it as well; you could swear it’s Lady Gaga upon first hearing it.
“Mirrors” is the stand out single of the bunch, having already achieved status on the Billboard club charts, and is perfectly suited for getting the dance floor packed.
All in all, Perfectionist is a solid effort, and will appease dance music fans, and those that like their pop music with a hint of darker fare. Now available.
