Movies You Have to See

Howard took a call from “Star” magazine movie critic, Marshall Fine, who is one of the hosts for the “Hidden Treasures and Guilty Pleasures” film festival to be held at the Tarrytown Music Hall next month.

Marshall said the festival will feature little-known movies that the organizers think people should see. He added that more information about the event can be found at tarrytownmusichall.org.

Artie wanted to know if Marshall had heard anything about “Brokeback Mountain,” a movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger as two gay cowboys who face struggles in 1960s Wyoming. Artie mentioned that he saw a trailer for it recently and that it looked hilarious, (even though it wasn’t supposed to be funny). Marshall responded that not only did he see the movie, but that it was one of the best films of the year. He added “Brokeback Mountain” isn’t so much about being gay as it is about the hardships the characters endure having to keep their desires secret. Artie noted that in the trailer, Jake and Heath get physical with each other and that no matter how bad “Dirty Work” was, he and co-star, Norm MacDonald, never kissed.

Howard said he read a script a few years ago about a gay sports star being “outed” that was so good, he recommended it to Betty Thomas, (she directed “Private Parts”). Betty advised Howard that, regardless of the script, it would be virtually impossible to find stars willing to play homosexuals. Robin added that it would be just as difficult to find unknown actors to be in it because they would then be branded for the rest of their careers.

Dealing With Criticism

After “Dirty Work” was released, Artie remembered reading a review that really stuck with him. In the write up, the critic ignored Artie’s performance until the very end of the review. When he did mention Artie, though, he was less than complimentary. The first two words the writer used to describe Artie were “beefy” and “unfunny.” To add insult to injury, the reviewer commented that Artie had “all the charm of a date rapist.” Of course, this upset Artie’s mom. Luckily for Artie, Norm was there to calm her down. Norm explained to Artie’s mom that the review was actually a compliment, because a date rapist has much more charm than a regular rapist since he was able to get a girl to go out with him in the first place.