‘The Houseboy’

$19.99

TLA Releasing

The Houseboy is a sensitive, yet painful portrayal of Ricky (Nick May), who is the third man out in a polyamorous relationship with two thirty-something boyfriends.

Upon hearing the news that he may be replaced by “a new toy for Christmas,” Ricky becomes despondent, and plans on committing suicide on Christmas Eve.

After being left alone to housesit for the couple, Ricky’s life shame spirals out of control, fueled by hookups courtesy of the Internet, and aided by an assortment of party drugs to help numb the pain he is feeling.

He even offers forth the information that he wants to end his existence on Earth, but it falls on the deaf ears of tricks, looking for little more than a piece of young flesh to play with.

The film manages to deliver a powerful statement about the sometimes lonely gay life amongst a parade of male flesh in the form of nudity, which is organically in place, and not the stuff of sensationalism.

This is how the film succeeds and delivers its strongest punches, by not taking the material-at-hand and making it too sensationalized and or preachy, and writer/director Spencer Schilly makes the abandonment that Ricky is feeling palpable beyond the screen.

‘Camp Out’

$24.95

Liberation Entertainment

Religion and sexuality collide in the documentary Camp Out, in which ten teens are conflicted about their religious backgrounds intermingling with their sexual proclivities.

The ten Midwestern teens attend the inaugural gay Christian youth Bible Camp, and set forth on a journey of self-discovery and acceptance. And that excursion is fraught with the difficulties of not only classifying themselves as gay, but as Christian as well.

Camp Out highlights the all too real clash between Church and State, and the borders of sexuality that surround them both in the battlefield of today’s political world.

Camp Out has been met with high regard from the press and numerous film festivals, and has snagged multiple awards as best documentary.

‘Back Soon’

$19.99

TLA Releasing

Rob Williams, director of the 2006 film, Long Term Relationship, pairs up his leading men from that flick (Windham Beacham and Matthew Montgomery) for his latest movie Back Soon.

The film centers around widower Logan (Beacham) who feels a gravitational pull towards troubled Guillermo (Montgomery), even though neither man is gay.

But what ensues definitely connects the men to each other in a more than “let’s-just-be- friends” way, as a relationship between them unfolds.

Threatening to put a nail in the coffin of their happiness is Guillermo’s tumultuous past, and the secrets which lay in its not-so silken folds, lined with disclosures that could unravel the very threads of what has come to pass between the two.

Back Soon explores the themes about how destiny can nudge us to become the person we never thought we could be, in effect, uncovering our true identities, with its cinematic glance into the areas of love, loss and hope.

‘Love My Life’

$24.95

Wolfe Video

Love My Life comes to American audiences courtesy of Japan, with its take on opposite type girls attracting.

There is the free-spirited, Ichiko (Rei Yoshii), who falls for her serious-minded college classmate, Eri (Japanese Supermodel Asami Imajuku).

Complications arise, not only from their differing mindsets, but from Ichiko coming out to her father, and him dropping the bombshell that there are more than a few proverbial skeletons in the family closet!

As for her love affair with Eri, it hits a stalemate when the initial heat from their two worlds colliding cools, as the studious gal decides to forsake love in order to further her education; leaving Ichiko to learn a valuable lesson herself: that lesbian love isn’t all she thought it would be.

Love My Life was adapted from a Japanese graphic novel, and has been cited as being “refreshingly honest and incredibly upbeat!” by AfterEllen.com

‘2 Minutes Later’

$19.99

TLA Releasing

The film noir genre gets a gay makeover in 2 Minutes Later as a beautiful lesbian sleuth, Abigail Marks (Jessica Graham), investigates the disappearance of an envelope pushing shutterbug, Kyle Dalmar.

Marks enlists the aid of Dalmar’s sexy identical twin, Michael (Michael Molina), who poses as his missing brother, and the two set about sussing out the suspects, which include actor Ben Sander, otherwise known as drag personality Brini Maxwell.

2 Minutes Later is peppered with spicy dialogue, peopled with a slew of good-looking guys and gals, (and includes girl-on-girl kissing for the ladies, and a bevy of male nudity for the guys) helping the detective duo uncover the naked truth of what happened in two minutes time.

Gay men have always been drawn to flamboyant woman over the decades, like the quintessential moth to a flame, or vice-versa, as the case may be. This month we have two truly unique ladies, whom in their respective decades have had a wide appeal for gay men; one is known for wearing fruit on her head, (Carmen Miranda) and the other has always been associated with two big attributes – talent and staying power (Dolly Parton). You were thinking something else, perhaps?

‘For the Love of Dolly’

$19.95

Wolfe Video

Dolly Parton is the most successful female Country artist in history, and rightfully so. With 25 #1 Country singles, 42 Top 10 Country albums, 26 #1 singles on the Billboard Country charts, and over 100 million records sold, it is easy to see why this woman is a record breaker.

Additionally, her fame and music have crossed over, captivating audiences from all walks of life.

For the Love of Dolly serves as a love letter to those fans that simply adore her, including a gay couple whose house is jam packed with Parton memorabilia.

The documentary follows five diverse Parton enthusiasts over the course of a year, the lengths they will go to in meeting their icon in person, why they cherish her so, and how collectively their fan base is as one in their love of all things Dolly.

‘The Carmen Miranda Collection’

$49.98

20th Century Fox

This five disc set includes the films, The Gang’s All Here, If I’m Lucky, Something for the Boys, Greenwich Village, and Doll Face. These movies highlight why Portuguese-born Miranda, entertained the movie-going masses with her brand of Brazilian samba singing, predominantly during the 1940’s.

Of note is the film The Gang’s All Here, filmed in gorgeous Technicolor, and directed by famed musical director Busby Berkley.

The flick has Miranda lyrically professing to “Some people say I dress too gay/But every day I feel so gay/And when I’m gay I dress that way/Something wrong with that?” whilst a gaggle of showgirls behind her use gigantic bananas as props, which certainly makes for a campy, fun-filled time capsule to a bygone era.

‘Assisted Loving: True Tales of Double Dating with My Dad’

Bob Morris

$24.95

Harper

Noted New York Times writer, Bob Morris, ably mines comedic elements from a tragic event in his life, the death of his mother. After a few months of mourning the loss of his wife, Morris’ eighty-year-old father, Joe, recruits his son in his quest for love anew.

The senior Morris is a friendly, slightly eccentric old-timer who figures since he can replace a hip at his age – why shouldn’t he be able to replace his lost love, too? The younger Morris is a middle-aged gay man, and as single as they come, and becomes a sort of pimp, for lack of a better term, for his father.

Together, the Morris’ year-long hunt of dating adventures, misfires, and searches for their respective Mr. and Ms. Right showcase that true love is universal, all told with wit, as well as heart.

Elisa

Dancing

$13.98

Sugar

Songwriter and singer Elisa hails from Italy, and is already a superstar in her homeland, and now with the CD, Dancing, she is ready to invade the shores of the U.S.

Dancing is a unique blending of musical genres, ranging from piano ballads to rock-inspired songs.

But the glue that holds these songs together is Elisa’s stirringly, haunting voice, full of easily identifiable emotions for listeners to pick and choose from – it’s as if the chanteuse is singing directly to you, there is such an intimacy about the way she delivers a song to the aural senses.

The CD’s first track, “The Waves,” is very reminiscent of something that Alanis Morissette would have recorded, so it should come as no surprise that she has worked with Morissette’s production collaborator, Glenn Ballard, in the past. The title track, “Dancing,” was featured on the TV show “So You Think You Can Dance” this summer, and Elisa covers Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” in a breathtakingly reserved, yet bravado manner.

The Presets

Apocalypso

$10.98

Modular Interscope

The Presets are an Australian duo (Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes) who are known for their ability to throw down an electronic beat or two, and have previously played to gay audiences at the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. And their prior musical efforts have caught the attention of Hollywood, and have been featured on “The O.C.” and “CSI: Miami.”

Apocolypso is the group’s sophomore effort and it delivers the goods for those music-philes who like their music to bleed in a throbbing manner out of their speakers, and wash over them completely.

The song, “My People,” is an anthem to party-goers the world over. “A New Sky” catches fire with a danceable world beat type rhythm, and “This Boy’s in Love,” is a space-age sounding love song, and demonstrates why this group has drawn comparisons to The Pet Shop Boys, albeit with a slightly edgier feel.

Hercules And Love Affair

$15.89

Mute

Hercules And Love Affair’s self-titled CD is out to reclaim the disco music and return to its purest form before it was “high-jacked from the gay, black and Latino underground scene” back in the ’70s, according to their press release.

The result from the foursome of Andrew Butler, Antony, Nomi and Kim Ann, emerges triumphant in its endeavor, as it is successful in recapturing those boogie nights on tracks like, “Hercules Theme,” “You Belong,” and the first single they are releasing, “Blind.”

Hercules And Love Affair is also being lauded as “a gloriously burnished fusion of 3 decades of classic dance music” by the UK’s Mojo.

This CD is available through Amazon.com.uk, and the band’s website http://herculesandloveaffair.com/

Cut Copy

In Ghost Colours

$10.98

Modular Interscope

Cut Copy’s In Ghost Colours is a very note-worthy hybrid of a CD. For example, just when you think a song is paying homage to a decade like the Sixties, on the song “Feel The Love,” out of left field comes a robotic synthesized voice, giving it an all-encompassing vibe.

Subsequent tracks on In Ghost Colours also sound like throwbacks to the days of the ’80s, and that is the intent of Cut Copy, who could be the long-lost cousin of such groups from that decade as New Order, (and Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner of New Order’s later offshoot group, Electronic) especially on the track, “Out There On The Ice.” Other stand-out offerings include: “Hearts On Fire,” “Unforgettable Season,” and “Far Away.”

The group’s ability to negotiate any one musical landscape, while remaining a fresh force in today’s world of music, makes this a most interesting CD to listen to.