The annual Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, which took place from Oct. 4-12, brought about the aroma of salty popcorn and beer amongst proudly waving rainbow-colored flags to downtown Tampa and St. Petersburg, as 55 films were shown at the historic Tampa Theatre and Muvico Baywalk Theater. Most of the films focused on homosexual themes, while others explored different aspects of human sexuality including transgender issues and gender roles.
The film festival began in 1990 as a three-day extension of Tampa’s gay pride festivities. Today, the films, events and videos attract approximately 14,000 people, making it one of the country’s largest and longest-running independent gay film festivals.
“The atmosphere in the [Tampa] theatre was so lively and cheerful. It even poured out into the streets after the show ended,” said Dmitri George, a senior double major in communication and government and world affairs. “My girlfriend and I went to see a film for sociology class, and even though we aren’t a gay couple, we still felt welcome. Everyone was like a big, happy family.”
The predictable yet hilarious closing film, G.B.F., chronicles the story of Tanner (United States of Tara’s Michael J. Willett), the first openly gay person at North Gateway High School. The title stands for “Gay Best Friend,” the must-have accessory for any high school queen bee.
The three main prom queen contenders–the rich, blonde cheerleader, Fawcett (Pretty Little Liars’ Sasha Pieterse); the virgin Mormon, ‘Shley (Desperate Housewives’ Andrea Bowen) and the dramatic diva, Caprice (Precious’ Xosha Roquemore)–all want to get an edge up on the others by obtaining a fabulous G.B.F.
Brent (The Hard Times of R.J. Berger’s Paul Iacono), Tanner’s stereotypical flamboyant gay best friend, planned to come out to the school and have the potential queens all fight for his attention. Unfortunately, Tanner was exposed first via the “guydar” iPhone app. This causes a huge fallout between the friends that continues throughout the movie.
Consequently, the prospective queens fight for Tanner’s attention. In the process, Tanner, who doesn’t fit into any of the typical gay stereotypes, receives a fashionable makeover and quickly climbs the social pyramid to be the top prom king nominee. Things get complicated when an anti-gay campaign comes into the picture and alters everyone’s prom plans. G.B.F. culminates at the senior prom where you find out who takes the crown.
“It was really funny and had a great storyline. At some points the people around me were laughing so hard that I couldn’t even hear what the characters were saying,” said Isha McLennan, a sophomore advertising and public relations major. “It also had a great message. I went to a Mormon high school and there were only a few openly gay students. It was nice to see a majority of the people at their school embrace the boys so openly. I especially enjoyed watching [G.B.F.] at the Tampa Theatre. It’s a beautiful building.”
G.B.F. offers a different spin on the typical “teen comes out, high school career ruined” drama. It was well produced and directed by Darren Stein (Jawbreaker). This was the first film written by George Northy. The success of G.B.F. has opened new doors for Northy. He quit his advertising job and relocated to Los Angeles where he has been hired to write a show for MTV and another feature film.
In an interview with The News Tribune, Northy stated, “We really wanted it be a comedy, but it’s also a story about objectification – in every sense. While the plot is based on the girls’ objectification of the two gay boys, the two gay boys have their own way of objectifying the girls. The girls are treating them like status symbols, and the boys are treating them like ladders to climb the social structure.”
Critic’s Rating: 4 out of 5
Amanee Cabbagestalk can be reached at amanee.cabbagestalk@spartans.ut.edu