My Weekend Crush

💞 KATE 💞 pic.twitter.com/1Vu7inSjo7

— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) May 24, 2022

Well, there goes my reason for watching any “Saturday Night Live” in the first place. After a decade (yes, a whole damn DECADE) on SNL, Kate McKinnon has left the building. Last weekend was her last rodeo. While we all know the live sketch comedy show is hit-and-many-misses funny these days, there’s never been any question about Kate. She has carried the series on her unendingly talented back — as both its backbone and moral conscience at times — for the past 10 years. (Yeah, make fun of it all you will, but the Hillary Hallelujah touched something deep in all of us who were stupidly blindsided by her loss and thought a better country was possible. And that was even before shit got truly dire.)

Kate is also a source of personal pride for many a queer woman who watched her rise up from the humble pages of that formerly smart queer women’s website that was named after that other lesbian celebrity who just happens to be ending her show this week (and who Kate just happens to be really good at impersonating). Remember her on the vlogs? Oh, we were all so young then. So young and so gay.

But Kate was truly great right out of the gates. On her very, very first show she gave us this absolute gem. Honestly, this and Lucy Lawless skit where she plays Stevie Nicks making a commercial for her fast-casual Mexican restaurant chain are two of my all-time favorites. I mean, this was her first show and she was already this funny.

The season finale was also the last show for Aidy Bryant, another decade-long veteran, who is also great on her own right (have you watched “Shrill?”) and wonderful as a comedy partner to Kate. (Also, the guy who is dating Kim Kardashian left too or whatever.) I believe Kate and Aidy are the perfect comedy work wives. And while they have many, many memorable sketches together, the one where they got Gal Gadot to kiss Kate is truly an all-time classic. First, manifest your own dreams, gay comedy writers, and second, yeah she got to kiss Wonder Woman. Perfect. No notes.

Honestly, it’s fitting Kate and Aidy left together. Now they can finally work on their soon-to-be hit crime drama “Dyke & Fats.”

And they saved Christmas!

Best of luck, Kate and Aidy. Thank you for all the super duper, duper super gay laughs. Happy weekend, all.

Gender Fuck Thursday: Another Favor

And, back to the ladies. That is more like it. If you’re like me, you watched “A Simple Favor” for the plot, I mean suits, I mean plot, I mean Blake Lively in a stunning array of suits. Also, if you’re like me, you are surprised they’re developing a sequel to the 2018 thriller for, uh, obvious reasons if you watched until the end. But, here we go with Blake and Anna Kendrick returning to their roles and, hopefully, their outfits. What? The suits are very, very good. Oh, and did I mention they kissed? Yeah, much more kissing in the sequel. Please and thank you.

What’s Up, Bros?

While we’re focusing on the fellas, here’s another one to get excited about. Billy Eichner’s new gay rom-com with the unfortunate name “Bros” (I know, it’s ironic, still — bros, man). But the trailer and large queer cast makes me, well, excited. It looks funny. It looks very gay. I mean, yes, there’s a lot of shirtless gay hunks dancing in clubs. It reminds me of dancing at gay clubs with an endless sea of sweaty shirtless gay boys. And then there's Bowen Yang and Dot-Marie Jones being super gay. So, obviously, yes. I will watch this. But, again, I just really hate the title. I guess nothing’s perfect.

Queer As Now

I watched the original American “Queer As Folk” in bits and pieces. It wasn’t exactly our show, but it was still about us. So, of course, you had to watch it. The series captured that turn of the 21st Century white gay boy vibe to an absolute T. Which, again, is one of the reasons I didn’t necessarily watch it religiously. That was reserved for the show about that one-letter word.

So when they said they were going to reboot the series now some 20 years later, I was initially only mildly interested. OK, circuit parties for the year 2022, I guess. We’ve seen a number of reboots of our queer canon shows — from “Tales of the City” to “The L Word” et al. And they’ve all been good, if perhaps not the best at capturing the full spectrum of our current queer culture. Like, I enjoy “The L Word: Generation Q,” but having one character run for mayor of one of America’s biggest cities and another with an Ellen-like talk show may not be the most relatable plotlines.

I honestly didn’t know what to expect from the new “Queer As Folk.” But after watching the trailer and learning its premise. I’m in.

Set in the backdrop of a Pulse nightclub-like shooting in a New Orleans queer bar, the new series is about what it takes to rebuild as a community. I feel hopeful that this glimpse at the young queer life with a diverse cast will better reflect our realities. Also, it has Juliette Lewis and Kim Cattrall as parents of adult LGBTQ children, which is just premium casting of what in another era we’d call iconic rhymes with Bag Sag.

I don’t know if the show will ultimately deliver on its promise. But I have hope that this series with al all-queer writer’s room and out queer actors playing out queer parts will do us proud.

Music Monday: Hi, Dana, High

I always liked this scene, for many reasons. For one, it was a way to see Dana again — just one episode after she was egregiously killed off. I still don’t really like hearing “You Are My Sunshine” anymore. And of course there’s Tegan & Sara. Just something about the way Erin Daniels danced around with total abandon made us remember why we loved Dana in the first place. Also, come on, it’s always fun when a character takes acid, right? Right. Happy Monday, kittens.

My Weekend Crush

Have you ever finished a movie and then wanted to watch that exact same movie all over again immediately, if not sooner. The indescribably bananas, irrefutably amazing film “Everything Everywhere All At Once” is that movie. I knew it would be a wild ride going in, yet still wasn’t prepared for how wild, how inventive, how exhilarating and how shockingly moving it would be.

Like, I was not expecting a movie that prominently featured dildos and butt plugs in key action sequences to also bring me to tears in a quiet scene without any spoken dialogue? But, this is that movie.

A showcase for unparalleled Asian talent, EEAAO is about the immigrant experience, intergenerational trauma, everyday life’s mundanity, everyday life’s extraordinariness and, ultimately, true familial love. Also, did I mention it’s gay? Like really, really queer? And hot dog fingers are used in lesbian seducation. No explanations, the less you know truly the better.

What EEAAO also does is give Michelle Yeoh a chance to reaffirm her place as a legend of modern cinema. We all knew, for decades, that Michelle could kick ass. And we knew, for decades, that she could plum emotional depth. But EEAAO is perhaps the first film to bring them together in such spectacular and invigorating fashion. She’s very, very, very, veryveryveryveryvery good.

Indeed the whole cast is veryveryveryveryvery good. Like, how can Michelle and Ke Huy Quan (of 80s child actor fame as Short Round/Data in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”/”The Goonies” who went on to be a top-light stunt coordinator) and James Hong (pioneering Asian-American actor who at age 93 has been in too many iconic movie roles to count) and Stephanie Hsu (who you probably recognize from “Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) and Harry Shum Jr. (you know, from “Glee”) and Jenny Slate (you know, the Marcel the Shell with Shoes on comic) and Jamie Lee Curtis (no introduction needed) all be in the same movie? Some kind of multi-verse miracle, no doubt.

Honestly, as I said, the less you know the better. But I promise that the multiverse adventures of an exhausted laundromat owner facing an IRS audit while trying to plan a birthday party for her estranged father visiting from China while dealing with her estranged lesbian daughter (and her alternative lifestyle haircuted girlfriend) at the same time is so worth your time. So, so, sososososo worth it.

Right, so who wants to join me for another (or your first or your infinite, it’s a multiverse afterall) watch of “Everything Everywhere All At Once”? Happy weekend, all.

p.s. SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS: You have to love a movie whose central theme essentially boils down to this — love your lesbian daughter. Yeah, definitely watching this movie again. And again, and again, and againagainagainagainagain.

Only Lesbians in the Building

Did I manifest lesbianism into “Only Murders in the Building?” Remember earlier this year when it was reported that the celesbian world’s real-life Shane, Cara Delevingne, was joining the second season of the murder-mystery show? And remember when I said sais they’d better make her character, described as “Alice, a sophisticated art world insider who becomes enmeshed in the mystery,” gay?

Well, turned out they did. She is. And, she is going to be the new love interest to series star Selena Gomez’s character Mabel. So, um, do I get another toaster oven? Because I believe I wished this into existence. You are welcome. I accept Venmo. (Kidding! I mean I do, but kidding.)

I really enjoyed this series for its entirely unexpected chemistry between septuagenarian comedy legends Steve Martin and Martin Short with Gomez. The dad joke energy meets disaffected millennial vibe is strong with this one, but somehow it works.

The series showrunner John Hoffman revealed the new relationship in an interview with Vanity Fair. Apparently Selena and Cara have been friends for years, and that resulted in a “quick, sexy intimacy to their onscreen rapport.”

“It was amazing to have the two of them know each other and feel comfortable. It’s a little sparky in all the right ways that makes you feel like, Oh, someone’s opening someone’s world.”

So, Alice opens up Mabel to – uh – the art world. Got it.

No matter where their storyline goes, I’m pleased to add “Only Murders in the Building” to the should-be-longer list of shows that make followed my sage advice to, “MAKE IT GAY.” I will expect a small commission.

p.s. So the Season 2 teaster trailer does not give us much Mabel/Alive gay goodness. But it does give us Shirley MacLaine (and Amy Schumer), so it is kinda forgiven. For now.

Smashing She Hulk

SHE HULK, SMASH! SMAAAAAAAAASHHHH! Sorry, got a little carried away there. I don’t normally squeal and all-caps about non-queer content. But, come on, it’s She Hulk. It’s Tatiana Maslany. And, if the first trailer is any indication, it’s gonna be fun and funny and knows that normal superhero stuff is just for billionaires and narcissists and adult orphans. No, She Hulk is for the people. I mean, still a lawyer, but a lawyer for the people or something. Whatever, it’s exciting. I like any show where a woman gets to kick ass, smash things and carry a full-grown man. Now if they could just make it a little gay, honestly, it’d be perfect. And who doesn’t love the color green?

p.s. Yes, I know the CGI is a little sus. But I have confidence Tatiana can act her way out of anything.

This Bites

Remember a year ago when we learned a queer female vampire/vampire hunter love story was coming to Netflix and we were all like, “Can’t wait to sink my teeth into that!” Well, get those chompers ready. Just in time for Pride, Netflix is dropping its new lesbian Romeo/Juliette vampire/vampire hunter series “First Kill” next month.

It stars Imani Lewis as Calliope “Cal” Burns, who comes from a long line of vampire hunters, and Sarah Catherine Hook as Juliette Fairmont, who comes from a long line of vampires. You can see where this relationship might have some issues to work through with that premise, but who am I to judge another’s relationship.

I’m not familiar with either actress, though they have a few handful of credits their names. Mostly I wanna know if they’ll have good chemistry and the trailer is not a great indicator because it’s too busy making sure we realize this is “Romeo & Juliet” but MAKE IT GAY WITH FANGS.

Obviously, I am going to watch this. The tone from the trailer and poster feels more campy/sexy “True Blood” than quippy/zeitgeisty “Buffy” on the “What Kind of Vampire Show is This”-scale. Though I am 100% not mad about the inclusion of Elizabeth Mitchell, who fellow Olds will remember as Dr. Kerry Weaver’s O.G. lesbian love interest on “E.R.,” Dr. Kim Legaspi. If you’re sitting down I can also tell you that that Kerry and Kim storyline is…wait for it…TWENTY-TWO YEARS OLD.

Right, so like I said, I will watch this. But possibly with a walker nearby.

Music Monday: Kind of MUNA

I’ve been a big MUNA fan since finding them last year and their delightful “But I’m a Cheerleader”-homage music video. And then I became an even bigger fan after seeing them live because they were very good and very gay. So the video for their latest music video for “Kind of Girl” has the three-person queer band dressing in cowboy drag, ready to steal your girl and generally being the MAGA crowd’s worst nightmare. So, obviously, I love it. Happy Monday, kittens.

My Weekend Crush

Well, I will round out by bereavement week with an ode to the baddest badass out there, Michelle Yeoh. Next week I promise I will have a lot to say about Michelle – especially her spectacularly discombobulating (in the best way possible) movie “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” But for now, uh, yeah. That leg and that tie are making me feel many things. Happy weekend, all.

Anne of Ages

The older I get the more I like Anne Hathaway. Granted, I have always liked her. But she’s aging like the finest of theater kids who snuck wine out of their parent’s liquor cabinet and got drunk while giving Ophelia’s breakdown scene from Hamlet in front of the bathroom mirror. Also, I like her shiny silver suit.

Kate the Greatest

So because of The Sads I’m probably just going to put up some short posts this week. Like vacation vixens, but not really the fun kind of vacation. Anyway. As a kid Katharine Hepburn was always my favorite Golden Era celebrity. Looking back, clearly my internal gaydar was highly developed, if not entirely recognized, from a young age. Sometimes I think how different Kate’s career might have been were the times she lived in different. Already, she’s an icon. A trailblazing legend who did it her way in so many ways. But had she been allowed to be openly queer? We’re still only truly in the first generation of seeing superstars from their start who were out all along. They can try to legislate away and overturn our rights. But we’re here and we’re queer now and forever.

Good Boy

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