Ride on the wild side

In newsstand news

I am a magazine fiend, but have to give an extra special shout-out to this sexy, stylish and sleek Vanity Fair cover. I love what they did with the type. Lurve it. Loave it. Hawt.







In DVD viewing news

Weeds
Season two of the pot-y mouthed show has the sly and confident energy of a series hitting its stride, especially disc 1. The black humor is so delicious and the creators have a knack of closing each episode with a clever bang. The musical choices, especially the episode closers, are as witty as the dialogue.

Shortbus
John Cameron Mitchell's latest offering is nowhere near as polished and exhilarating as his brilliant musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch (a must-watch, if you haven't already). In fact, Shortbus feels like a first-time filmmaker at work. Hyped for featuring real, and often quite creative, sex between its mostly inexperienced cast, it feels more like a piece of performance art than satisfying cinematic storytelling. Lead actress Soon-Yin Lee deserves kudos for sheer bravery, both in shouldering her role as emotional center for the film and for shouldering the shitstorm that led up to production. She was almost fired from her day job in Canadian broadcasting for being a part of the project, until celebrities started a letter-writing campaign on her behalf. Another stand-out is handsome, sad-eyed actor Paul Dawson who has Jim Morrison-like charisma. I predict great things for that boy, once he takes a few more acting lessons.

Watching the "making of" special feature after seeing the film gave me a greater appreciation of the inspiration behind it and the effort that went into it. Despite all the voyeuristic sex appeal, it really is a tale about seeking love and connection. The "making of" piece also offers an appealing glimpse into off-screen John Cameron Mitchell, who is all gentle-hearted generosity and quiet charm. If you plan to rent Shortbus, and I do think it's worth a look, I'd recommend viewing the "making of" bit first. After all, a little foreplay never hurt.