Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again
Cher's return to the big screen should probably be declared a national holiday for gay people. Add to it that she sings Abba's "Fernando" and it's practically Pride Month all over again. Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard are all back for a multi-generational wedding celebration on a Greek isle complete with full-blown musical numbers set to the music of Abba in Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again. Lily James, Andy Garcia join Cher as newcomers to the extravaganza.
Outfest Closing Night Gala: The Miseducation of Cameron Post
It is the last weekend of the Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival! Catch the films still screening while you can. The festival closes Sunday evening with a gala screening of The Miseducation of Cameron Post -- Desiree Akhaven's film about conversion therapy -- at The Theater at Ace Hotel. The stars, including Chloe Grace Moretz, will be present, and an afterparty in downtown Los Angeles will cap off the festivities.
Bright Colors and Bold Patterns
All is not lost for those unable to attend writer/actor Drew Droege's tour de force Bright Colors and Bold Patterns, which was extended four times Off-Broadway due to its popularity. In the side-splittingly funny solo show now playing on Broadway HD, Droege plays Gary, a loquacious gay man staying with his ex-boyfriend and the ex's new boyfriend at a Palm Springs vacation house on the eve of a gay wedding, the invitation for which reads, "No bright colors and bold patterns." Droege makes a meal of eviscerating one of the grooms and his Talbots-clad family members while speaking to the other characters who only exist for the audience in his spot-on reactions. At once over-the-top funny and deeply heartfelt, Michael Urie directed the stage play that David Horn shot for film.
Troye Sivan, 'Dance To This' ft. Ariana Grande
Ariana just got done telling us that God is woman - now she and Troye Sivan are telling us to dance to this. The syntho-pop hit lies somewhere between a ballad and a bop, as it's somehow just as upbeat as it is slow and sweet. Out Sivan and pop sensation Grande spice up what looks like a cross between a retirement home and run-down rec center when they grab the microphone and dance around the room, on cue to flashing strobe lights in their new music video. "Dance to This" is a single off Sivan's second album, Bloom, which is set to be released on August 31. Watch the music video below.
Out on Stage
Queer comedians are invading the movies! Out on Stage, produced by Zach Noe Towers, brings together 17 top LGBT comics: Jonathan Rowell, A.B. Cassidy, Casey Ley, Julian Michael, Chris Bryant, Eric Hahn, Janine Brito, Jared Goldstein, Kyle Shire, Jordan Pease, Irene Tu, Raineir Pollard, Daniel Webb, Anthony Desamto, Gloria Bigelow, and Joe Dosch. In this filmed comedy set, these funny folks will tackle a host of queer topics and taboos. It's a one-night event, so don't miss it on July 24. Find a screening near you.
From the Corner of the Oval Office
Journey back to a happier time -- when Barack Obama was president -- in From the Corner of the Oval Office by former White House stenographer Beck Dorey-Stein. She spent five years on the job, 2012 to 2017, and found it all-consuming but also rewarding. She was starstruck by Obama but soon bonded with him over their early-morning workouts. "Her memoir is in many ways a love letter to him and what he stands for," writes The Guardian. She stayed on into Donald Trump's presidency but was decidedly less enamored of him; you may have seen her making the political talk show rounds talking about what a liar he is. "I quit because I couldn't be proud of where I worked anymore," she told CNN recently. "I felt like President Trump was lying to the American people, and also ... not even trying to tell the truth." Her book promises to be a fascinating read; order here or visit your local bookseller.
McQueen
This documentary on the openly gay British fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who took his only life in 2010, explores the cost of creativity and brilliance. ""I was sure of myself and my sexuality and I've got nothing to hide. I went straight from my mother's womb onto the gay parade," McQueen once said, and this film is a peak under the hood into how hard the traffic was to navigate. Through exclusive interviews with those closest to the designer, recovered archives, and of course stunning fashion, the movie is opening to a 100 percent score on rotten tomatoes.
