GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

February 12, 2010

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www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com

A worthy popcorn film

Three friends meet in a warm, fun story centered on a steam room

by Anthony Glassman

Take one iconic black actress, mix in a bit of The Breakfast Club, toss in Aquaman and a handful of lesbian sex, and what do you have?

According to director Kyle Schickner, you have Wolfe's latest DVD, Steam.

The recipe above might need some explanation. Steam centers around three women in turmoil who meet up in the steam room of their local fitness

television show Smallville), the ex claims that she's just a whore and petitions for sole custody of the kid, despite having taken up with a muchyounger person himself.

Oh, and Chelsea Handler plays Laurie's best friend Jackie, who is both insanely jealous of her pal while pushing her into his arms.

Finally, and most importantly, there's Elizabeth, whose domineering father refuses to let her stand on her own two feet. He expects her to be at church with himself and the missus every Sunday, and is really not quite so sure her moving to campus was a great idea.

Elizabeth, however, knows it was the perfect thing to do when she meets Niala (Reshma Shetty, who graduated

boi flicks. Yes, Elizabeth, Niala and all of her friends are, to say the least, "lipstick," but at least they're women.

The film does seems to suffer from something, perhaps a clash of acting styles. Elizabeth's father is played by Lane Davies, an esteemed soap opera actor. Unfortunately, he always seems a little too emotive, as if he's about to declare that Elizabeth is secretly her own evil twin.

Ruby Dee is magnificent, but she has the air of the stage actor about her, which works well with Dick Anthony Williams as August (he was nominated for two Tony Awards in the 1970s), but she seems perhaps a touch too subdued next to some of the other actors.

Some of Ally Sheedy's lines sound like they were dubbed in afterwards, as if she was too quiet when they were first recorded. It's mildly distracting in a few scenes, but less distracting than her first kiss with Roy, when Alan Ritchson grins as if all his adolescent masturbatory fantasies about her character in The Breakfast Club had just

Jackie and Laurie

Elizabeth and Niala

center to let the cares of their lives just drip away with the sweat and grime.

The trio are Doris, played by Ruby Dee, still quite spry at 83 when the movie was filmed; Laurie (Ally Sheedy. the burn-out from The Breakfast Club), and college student Elizabeth (Kate Siegel).

Doris misses her now-deceased husband, but her grief is interrupted by a well-meaning pastor (Charles Robinson from the sitcom Night Court) and two of his parishioners. While shopping for walnuts, she meets August, who methodically wins his way into her heart.

Laurie is raising her son TJ while constantly being undermined by her hypocritical ex-husband, who left her for a much younger woman. When she starts dating TJ's soccer coach, played by Alan Ritchson (Aquaman on the

from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music), a sultry bisexual activist working on a needle-exchange program for IV drug users.

Of course, all three relationships go through their ups and downs. August hasn't told his overbearing and insufferable son about Doris, and when he lies about who she is, the son believes she's after his father's money.

Elizabeth can't cancel her Thanksgiving plans with her parents to go to a party with Niala, so the Indian beauty hooks up with some hunk at the party, which Elizabeth discovers the next morning.

And Laurie isn't quite sure what to make of it when her boyfriend Roy goes to bully the ex-husband, just to give him a taste of his own medicine. She winds up having to bail him out jail, which does not please her.

Overall, it's a cute film, and a nice change of pace in an industry that gives us either insanely mainstream lesbian representations or 10,000 indie gay-

Shooters pool standings

Elizabeth and Niala

come true. Either that, or like he's about to take a huge bite out of her face . . .

Ah, but these are quibbles. It's a fun, warm-hearted film, with likable heroes and malicious antagonists. It's a popcorn film, and a worthy one at that.

Cleveland-These are the standings for the Shooters Pool League at the end of the games on February 1.

This is the seventh season of an annual pool league which shoots on Monday nights from October through April. Although it is a semicompetitive league, all skill levels may compete as matches are based on individual handicaps. A team is made up of 4 to 7 players. Play begins at 7:30 pm at the home team's bar, where four matches are played each week consisting of as many games as necessary for one player to win as many games as their handicap.

For more information, contact the league by calling Dave at 440-871-4699 or buteohawk1@att.net.

Matches

Games

Place, Team

Won

Lost

Won

Lost

Win Pct.

1. Tool Shed

2. Cocktails

3. Lincoln Park Pub

4. Twist II

5. Club Cleveland

6. Bottoms Up

7. Daddy Wu's

8. Twist I

9. Daddy's

10. Leather Stallion

11. Union Station

12. Muggs

2 2 2 2 2 223

171

67%

160

66%

554 21

115

100

53%

91 98

48%

135

121

53%

126 119

51%

121 115

51%

92 119

44%

90 125

42%

95 116

45%

134

40%

133

32%

Upcoming matches

Monday, February 15 Twist II at Tool Shed Cocktails at Union Station Club Cleveland at Muggs Leather Stallion at Twist I Lincoln Park Pub at Daddy's Daddy Wu's at Bottoms Up

Monday, February 22

Union Station at Daddy Wu's Bottoms Up at Leather Stallion Twist I at Muggs

Lincoln Park Pub at Twist II

Daddy's at Club Cleveland Tool Shed at Cocktails