Chef's Special (Fuera de Carta) (Spain 2008)

The Gist:

Maxi, an out gay chef focused on getting a Michelin star for his restaurant has his life thrown into chaos when his children from a failed marriage move in with him right at the same time a rather famous and handsome football (soccer) player moves in next door. 

Comments:

Poking around online it seems that some people are annoyed by the movie's politically incorrect humor and/or by the fact that protagonist Maxi is far from butch. 

The main, though not sole, issue people seem to have with the humor is that the protagonist's father spends the entire movie continually telling crude homophobic jokes. It's used as proof of his being an asshole, but even so the joke wear thin pretty quick. 

As for the fem lead, well, not every gay dude is a mountain of stereotypical masculinity. Gay equals sissy can get problematic if a single character is meant to represent the entire community, the whole wide spectrum of "gay" to the exclusion of everyone else. Something that isn't going on here. While some of the humor does come from the fact he's a bit swishy, for the most part it is not a joke, but rather just who he is. 

Following the "rules" of gays plus kids equals family storylines, Maxi's children, well, at least the older brother, spends most of the movie being a bratty jerk, though the writing is good enough that unlike other movies with similar storylines, the boys behavior actually makes some sense. 

Despite what seems to be a growing list of problems, I actually likes the movie. It's not exactly great cinema, but it is fun and manages to make some well used worn out storylines entertaining,  if you don't mind non-PC humor that is. 

Women: 

Yes

People of Color: 

No

Gratuitous Nudity: 

No

• Director: Nacho G. Velilla
• Writer: Oriol Capel, David S. Olivas
• Actors: Javier Cámara, Lola Dueñas,Fernando Tejero
• Spanish
• 111 min
• IMDB

Boystown (Chuecatown)(Spain 2007)

The Gist:
In a rapidly gentrifying neighborhood of Madrid, a real estate agent deals with the lack of available properties, and an overabundance of elderly people, by killing old women thus freeing up their apartments for him to sell to trendy yuppie gay couples. As old ladies are dying left and right, a gay couple, the ‘wrong’ type of gay that is (uncouth blue collar bears), attempt to deal with problems in their relationship as the overbearing terrible mother of one the men attempts to break them up.

Also two police detectives, one of whom happens to be the overbearing terrible mother of the other, are on the case to solve the murders.

Comments:
The movie is a murderous farce where gentrification is literal murder. There are also subplots involving a bear couple consisting of two goofy men, the terrible mother of one of the men, and the two cops who are also a terrible mother and her son. A bizarre mix and tumble of adjectives that should have resulted in me loving the movie. Instead I merely think it’s okay.

A minority opinion, since from what I found online, most people love it, but for whatever reason it didn’t really grab my interest. Rosa Maria Sardà of All About My Mother does a great job as the crazy mother half of the police detectives, and I did perk up when I saw Spanish performer La Prohibida briefly singing in the background of a scene set in a gay bar.  But for the most part I was mildly disinterested. Even the final chase scene, which takes place in a bathhouse filled with assorted near naked Spaniards didn’t really perk my interest.

My meh attitude towards the movie aside, the movie is arguably good. It’s funny, well-acted, and does a good job of being wacky crazy. I just didn't care.

Women:
Yes

People of color:
No

Gratuitous nudity:
Some quick butt shots

• Director: Juan Flahn
• Writer: Felix Sabroso, Rafa
• Actors: Pepon Nieto, Carlos Fuentes, Pabo Puyol, Rosa Maria Sardà 
• 101 min
• Spanish
• IMDB

Food of Love (Spain/Germany 2002)

The Gist:

18 year old Paul, an aspiring pianist with a promising future, is hired to be a page turner at a concert for a world famous pianist where he becomes an instant object of attention for both the pianist, Kennington, and Kennington's agent/boyfriend. Six months later while on holiday in Barcelona with his mother, Paul once again meets Kennington, where after some astonishingly cheesy pickup lines are said, they begin an affair that will impact their lives.  

Comments (with spoilers important and not):

Our young Ganymede is apparently so attractive that older gay men fall into such strong lust with him they easily ignore the fact that he's a self-absorbed cruel brat. A good thing for Paul considering he has a thing for older guys he'd never have a chance with if they paid attention to his personality. 

Beyond Paul, his mother is written as a hysterical willing victim (her husband having left her for another woman, and her son continually berating her for the crime of existing), and the Kennington and his agent/boyfriend are both little more than scared jerks. The end result of all this angst and people acting badly is that I never got around to caring about any of them.

I was instead distracted by a minor detail. Paul goes to New York for schooling. Once there he comes out of the closet and starts building his identity as a gay man, right at the same time as he goes from gifted, promising, upcoming musical talent to being merely competent with limited future. I assume there is not supposed to be a correlation between the two, but it's easily read that way, and the idea that being openly gay and happy destroys his musical talent seems... odd. 

Regardless of my issues, it's a good movie. The story is well told and well acted (more or less). I just didn't care about it. 

Women: 

Just two of any importance, Paul's mother and his music teacher. 

People of color:

No

  

Gratuitous nudity: 

Some quick butt shots

• Director: Ventura Pons
• Writer: Ventura Pons
• Actors: Kevin Bishop, Paul Rhys, Juliet Stevenson
• 112 min
• Based on the novel The Page Turner by David Leavitt
• IMDB

Perdona Bonita, Pero Lucas Me Quería a Mi (Sorry pretty, but Lucas loved me) (Spain1997)

The Gist:

Three gay roommates, best friends, are in danger of being kicked out of their Madrid apartment for delinquent rent. To raise funds they sublease a room to sexy mystery man Lucas and they each immediately fall for him, straining their friendships as they turn on each other over the new man in their midst. After Lucas is found dead, each one tells his version of events to the police, with only one thing in common, each proclaiming that Lucas loved him.

Comments:

The movie falls into the category of an over the top Spanish farce, though it it is not the best example of the genre. Average is more like it. 

The story consists of a Rashomon effect style set up where everyone is an unreliable narrator as they are lying not only to each other, but also to themselves about their supposed relationship with dead sexy man Lucas. 

The acting is okay, and the plot tends towards ridiculous soap opera drama level as would be expected in this kind of movie. It could be annoying that to one extent or another all three roommates are hand flapping bitchy queens, but then again everyone, straight characters as well, are over exaggerated and ridiculous. Except for sexy dead Lucas that is, though all he has to do is be sexy and dead. 

The movie is cute fluff, but little more than that. Not a waste if you see it, but also not a waste if you never do. 

Women:

Yes

People of color:

No

Gratuitous nudity:

No actual nudity, though Lucas is viewed by everyone as a sexy open shirted object of lust

• Directors: Dunia Ayaso, Félix Sabroso 
• Writers: Dunia Ayaso, Félix Sabroso 
• Actors: Jordi Mollà, Pepón Nieto, Roberto Correcher, Alonso Caparros
• Spanish
• 87 min
• IMDB

Bear Cub (Cachorro) (Spain 2004)

The Gist:

Pedro, content his life of friends and lovers, and most importantly no serious commitments, agrees to help his sister by taking care of his nephew Bernardo for two weeks while she is in India for a trip. When circumstances require Bernardo to stay longer, the boy's grandmother comes into the picture threatening to break up the new found bond between uncle and nephew and their fledgling family. 

Comments:

I've mentioned the "gays plus a kid makes a family" subgenera here before. This is sort of the same idea, but with a determinedly single man in place of a troubled gay couple and without the cliche of having the kid be a homophobic jerk. Actually, several gay flick cliches are avoided, resulting in a movie dealing frankly with sex, drugs, and AIDS amongst other issues. 

It's well done and worth a watch. Especially so if you're into bears of the big hairy man variety.

Women:

Family, neighbors, schoolmates. In other words, it does not ignore half the population. 

People of color:

Nope

Gratuitous nudity:

The movie starts off with a rather revealing "bear on bear" sex scene, so yeah, there's definitely skin of the big hairy man variety.

• Director: Miguel Albaladejo 
• Writers: Miguel Albaladejo
• Actors: Jose Luis Garcia Perez, David Castillo
• 99 min
• Spanish
• IMDB