Soldier’s Girl They Didn’t Know How Dangerous Love Could Be
Based On A True Story Director: Frank Pierson / Starring: Troy Garity / Lee Pace / Andre Braugher / Shawn Hatosy / Rated: R / Review by: Leon Velasco / Rating: THUMBS UP
I wouldn’t get tired of watching this movie. It was so well written and played out. The viewer needs to open up their mind and disregard the obvious and place their own players into each character. For me it’s easy to see myself as the nightclub performer, (as cross dresser, not transgender). Or I can just place myself in her shoes as a victim of lost love, (if you remember the shooting back at the old location of, The Express, that left one young man dead in the alley across the way thanksgiving eve). I forever think of Mitch each year, and I fall victim to depression and lonesomeness and it borders gratefulness that I wasn’t there like we had planned; all due to me not finding someone to watch over my daughter that night for me to be with Mitch. (Yes, I am a single gay father; my daughter is now 18). They never did find Mitch’s killers; like I knew Fresno Police Department never does in “Gay” cases. This is how relate to this story; and the ending always brings me out of my slump because I envision myself being just as strong willed as the character to keep going.
I hope your life isn’t as tragic to relate to a good inspiring movie like this one. It will grab you in the cajones, (balls), if you as sentimental and romanticist like me.
Soldier’s Girl is based on the true story of a young soldier, Barry Winchell, who falls in love with a transgendered nightclub performer. When the romance is revealed to his fellow soldiers, violent passions and aggressions are stirred and the lives of all the soldiers are changed forever.
“…performances are SUPERB.”—John Leonard, New York Magazine
“ENGROSSING and AFFECTING…”—Glenn Garvin, Miami Herald
“…three OUTSTANDING performances by Garity, Pace, and Hatosy…”—David Weigand, San Francisco Chronical
Boy Meets Boy
Author: David Levithan
Review: Leon Velasco
Rating: One Thumb Up
Ever have the feeling of nostalgia? Ever wanted your adolescence to be different? Have you had “Drama” in your high school life that if you reflect on it now makes you laugh? Ever wanted to relive your adolescence in a more, “free to be me’” setting? Well then it’s never too late to do just that. Boy Meets Boy gives you a look to growing up as a gay adolescent in a more accepting environment. I imagine pinning a flower on your dates’ tux, or introducing the guy your seeing to your parents as your, “boyfriend”.
Things can get pretty messy, pretty fast when it comes to teen drama. Complications come at you from all sides. Then you wonder, “What’s a fairy to do”? Too bad we can’t just wave our wands, huh boys, and make things right. Who’s with me?! Can I get an Amen?!
This is a story of Paul, a sophomore at a high school like no other: the cheerleaders ride Harleys, the homecoming queen used to be a guy named Daryl (she now prefers Infinite Darlene), and the gay straight alliance was formed to help the straight kids learn how to dance.
When Paul meets Noah, he thinks he’s found the one his heart is made for. Until he blows it. The school bookie says the oods are 12-1 against getting Noah back, but Paul’s not giving up without playing his love really loud. His best friend Joni might be drifting away, his other best friend Tony might be dealing with ultra religious Parents, and his ex-boyfriend Kyle might not be going away anytime soon…but sometimes everything needs to fall apart before it can really fit together right.
In this celebration of love in all forms, David Levithan has crafted a world full of engaging and enduring characters that readers will want to visit again and again.
Love is never easy. Especially if you’re Paul. […] And these are his friends:
Infinite Darlene, the homecoming queen and star quarterback
Joni, Paul’s best friend who may not be his best friend anymore
Tony, his other best friend, who can’t leave the house unless his parents think he’s going on a date…with a girl
Kyle, the ex-boyfriend who won’t go away
Rip, the school bookie, who sets the oods…
And Noah. The Boy. The one who changes everything.
“This wacky, charming, original story…is arguably the most important gay novel since Nancy Garden’s Annie on my mind; it seems to represent a revolution in the publishing of gay-themed novels for adolescence.”—Booklist
