Josh & Josh are Rich and Famous

You can't just say something like that to her. Let me handle it. I'll tell her in my own way.

The best 5 seconds in American cinema.

//Josh K.

Josh & Josh Weekend: Documentary Double Feature, Brooklyn Museum, Book Sprees, Union Square, SoHo Shopping, and Slumber Parties (Oh My!)

On Friday night Josh and I chowed down at Chipotle (burrito bowl--yum!) before retiring to his apartment for a documentary double feature.

First we watched No End In Sight, a definitive documentary on the war in Iraq. Where other Iraq documentaries are plodding and mind-numbing, this one is whip-smart and engaging. With the constant barrage of headlines about this bombing or that citizen revolt, it was nice to back up and get the bigger picture from a well-made, non-preachy documentary featuring interviews with some very high-ranking government officials (who actually concede errors were made) and other well-respected talking heads. As Josh said, "It's nice to see all this information in one place."

Next we popped in Shut Up and Sing, which I've now seen three times (it was Josh K's first time) and seeing it again set in stone my love for the film. The documentary explores the controversy when Natalie Maines, one of the Dixie Chicks, said at a concert "I just want y'all to know that we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas" just before the Iraq war broke out in 2003. A media hailstorm ensued, complete with country fans smashing and burning Dixie Chicks CDs. The film is an intimate portrait of the group, whom you can't help but grow to love and admire as the cameras follow them from that fateful moment up until their win three years later for Best Song of the Year for "Not Ready To Make Nice." I'm not a country fan, but after seeing the documentary I definitely went out and bought their CD.

Both are must-see DVDs. They really are pefect to watch as a pair, too. Check 'em out.

On Saturday Josh and I had brunch at our favorite diner in Hell's Kitchen before hopping the 2 train to Brooklyn to check out the Brooklyn Museum.

The Brooklyn Museum.

Judy Chicago's "The Dinner Party," the much-celebrated 1970s feminist art milestone.

Josh H. browsing the collections, hoodie and all.

Goodnight, Brooklyn Museum!

Afterward we took the train to Union Square where we hit up Strand Books. (I may or may not have purchased three books in a measure we all like to call "retail therapy.") We went to Paragon to hunt for a winter jacket for JK and then got sucked into the nearby Barnes & Noble (where I bought another book--oops!).

After our Brooklyn/Union Square Saturday we went to Josh's and decided to have a good old fashioned Josh & Josh slumber party. We bought snacks and sprawled out on the floor to watch Battlestar Galactica. Later I bunked down on an air mattress and Josh crawled up in his loft and we talked long after the lights went out.

On Sunday we had brunch again and talked about our respective breakups. Every time we talk it all out it seems to gets easier and easier to metabolize. We each went home for the afternoon (I spent most of it finishing Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl) and then met up in the early evening for a shopping excursion to SoHo that included Uniqlo and Urban Outfitters.

We finished the night off at a Village coffee shop (one of my favorites, on Mercer Street) where we sipped drinks and basked in the rush and steady low rumble of NYU grad student conversation, listening to the piped in indie music and assiduously practicing our best covert people-watching skills.

The walk back to the subway was brisk. The autumn weather had finally decided to show itself in clouds of exhaled air that went before us as we walked. We zipped up our jackets as we passed the brightly-lit arch in Washington Square Park. A few blocks later we descended into the West 4th Street stop and caught our train home.

Josh & Josh Talk Lions for Lambs, The Best of Primetime TV, Off-Broadway's Die Mommie Die!, New Music, and What We're Reading Now

A couple weeks ago Josh and I saw a screening of Robert Redford's Lions for Lambs. (One of the lovely Manchattan boys set us up with tickets.) We went mostly because we wanted to see Meryl Streep do her thing, which indeed ended up being the one true reason to see the film. The movie is another in a string of somewhat preachy, cloying war movies (see Rendition, Redacted, The Kingdom, et al), and indeed yet another co-starring the venerable Ms. Streep (who played a government torture supporter in Rendition, the latest war film box office stinker).

In Lions, however, we get to see Streep pull out quite a few stops as journalist Janine Roth, a veteran newswoman interviewing a conservative senator, Jasper Irving (Tom Cruise--ugh), about a "new plan" to "win the war" in Afghanistan. Watching the cat-and-mouse interview between the two is a treat, and Streep's precision timing is sharp as ever. Later, after the interview, she has an even more riveting scene as she decides what to do with the information she's been given during her tense talk with Senator Irving.

Things get a little muddled when more stories are mixed in, including Robert Redford as a professor lecturing a college student during office hours on why it's important to "get involved," and another following two soldiers fighting a losing battle in Afghanistan. And--surprise, surprise--all the stories later tie together.

The Bottom Line Lions for Lambs (opening this Friday) is okay--preachy, but interesting enough to get you through--but Meryl Streep certainly makes it worth seeing, even if you do wait to see it on DVD.

The Television Roundup

Heroes | What's with the sophomore slump, NBC? This show showed so much promise when it debuted last season, but now things are getting scattered, slow, and uninteresting. I flipped through a magazine during the last episode, whereas I used to watch with rapt attention. Maybe we should stop with 800 story lines, characters we don't care about, and principals we don't see often enough? If not careful, we could have another Lost on our hands. The show's creator, Tim Kring, swears that things get better during episodes seven through eleven, and we pray he's right. It's gonna require a few heroic moves to save our Heroes.

Grey's Anatomy | YAY! Our baby is off life support! The last two episodes of season four have brought the show back from the dead. After the debacles otherwise known as the deer in the parking lot and Lexie Grey, the addition of the brilliantly bitchy and bitchily brilliant Dr. Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith) to the cast has added true hope to the menu at Seattle Grace. Also, the last few minutes of this week's episode, with George and Izzy in bed ("Izzy, did you shave just one leg?") made us simultaneously laugh and also care about the George-Izzy romance for the first time, rekindling our romance with the entire show.

Ugly Betty | The season two premiere had us at hello. The following episodes have been just fine, with a few great moments. We love the new romance between Mark and Cliff and we're looking forward to Posh's guest appearance on next week's episode. The over-the-top camp show still has enough laughs and  heart to keep us tuning in and loving (almost) every minute.

DVD Talk

ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway | If you bear any love in your heart for Broadway or musical theater, it's time to snatch up this fantastic new documentary. ShowBusiness follows the 2003-2004 Broadway season when Wicked, Taboo, Caroline, Or Change, and Avenue Q first opened. The cameras go behind the scenes and into rehearsal rooms, recording studios, critics' dinners (and private conversations featuring hilariously wrong prognostications), and business meetings, as the season that brings two major hits, and two soon-to-be-canceled critical darlings, to the Broadway boards. Featuring Kristen Chenowith, Tony Kushner, Idina Menzel, Tonya Pinkins, John Tartaglia, and many more, this is a theater lover's must-see, must-own.

Project Runway: Season Three | The best thing about the Project Runway DVDs is that all of the season's episodes are extended with scenes (i.e. tantrums and bitchery) that never aired on television. It's also the best way to get ready for the debut of season four on November 14th. Josh and I huddled up watching back-to-back episodes (love you, Laura!) and triple-checked our season pass sign-up for the next edition. Either you're in or you're out, and this one is definitely in.

Broadway, Baby!

A couple weeks ago, as part of Josh K's birthday week, we saw Charles Busch's Die Mommie Die, now playing Off-Broadway at the New World Stages. The show is garnering great reviews (Ben Brantley from The New York Times basically wrote the show a love letter) and it's easy to see why. After seeing the movie a few years ago, Josh and I fell in love with the high-camp comedy thriller, written by and starring Charles Busch. (Sexy Emmy-nominated actor Van Hansis, who plays gay teen Luke Snyder on As The World Turns, co-stars as Charles Busch's sexually confused son. He's great eye candy between and during the jokes.) Check it out before the curtain goes down in February.

On The iPod

A confession: We were never really that into The Beatles. We respect them, we get the love and craziness, but the music just wasn't necessarily for us. This week, however, we started listening to the Across The Universe soundtrack and found ourselves enjoying some of the new takes on Beatles classics, including Jim Sturgess's "All My Loving" and "Across the Universe." (On a related Beatles cover note, we also love the Fiona Apple and Rufus Wainwright renditions of "Across the Universe" and Sarah McLachlan's "Black Bird," also available on iTunes.)

In other soundtrack news, not only did Josh and I see Lars and the Real Girl and thoroughly enjoy it, but we also enjoyed the music by David Torn. It's mostly instrumental, but it's fresh, quirky, and upbeat. Check out tracks "Bowling With Margo," "End Credit Suite" and "Lars and Margo" to see what we mean. It was definitely worth the download.

And lastly, our most reticent admission of all: We've been listening to Britney's new album, and we kind of love it. (It pained us a little bit to write that.) Perhaps we should be lauding Brit's producers since they're the ones who put together the songs while Brit showed up between blackouts (pun intended) to moan and mumble over the great beats and hooks the producers and writers cooked up. Besides the naughty fun of "Gimme More" (and the giggles inspired by remembering the VMA performance), the songs "Piece of Me" and "Radar" have turned into favorites. It's sad to say that the girl has done her best work (and we use "work" lightly) when her life is at it's "hot mess" heights.

J&J Books

Josh K. just finished Headlong by Michael Frayn.

Josh H. just finished I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb.

Josh K. is now reading The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman.

Josh H. is now reading The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory.

Wondering where the Joshes have been lately? The answer: Busy, busy, busy. Lots of changes, lots of stuff happening. We're doing well, though, and we promise to be good little bloggers and post more regularly again. More details on us soon.

Josh & Josh Weekend: The Met, Damien Hirst's Shark, Central Park, Deborah Cox, and Casey Affleck in Gone Baby Gone

On Saturday morning, after a street-side brunch in Hell's Kitchen (it was in the mid-70s and muggy--paging Al Gore), we headed uptown to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Our first stop was the rooftop of the Met where several sculptures sit amongst one of the best views of Manhattan.

The view looking south-southwest from the top of the Met.

Looking south from the roof gallery.

Josh H. and Josh K. sporting their blue Met gallery tags.

After lazing around the roof for a while (it was so quiet and peaceful above the fray of the city), we headed down into the galleries and did some browsing.

One of the highlights of the visit was seeing Damien Hirst's "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living," colloquially known as Damien Hirst's shark. The 14-foot tiger shark, immersed in formaldehyde, sits in a gallery of its own on the second floor of the museum as part of a visiting exhibit. I surreptitiously shot this photo (note my fingers reflected in the glass) as we made our way through the gallery. Naughty, naughty! (Who, me?) I did it for the art, people. It's not every day that you get to stare into the mouth of a shark.

After our visit to the museum we sauntered down Fifth Avenue (Josh K. bought a painting on the street from a talented artist), and then meandered through Central Park. It was hard to believe it was the third week of October as we walked through the still-green park, filled with families and couples enjoying the summer-like afternoon. Maybe this is the upside of global warming? At least it's fun for the moment.

Later that night Dylan and I went to one of his friend's birthday parties, held on Chrystie Street on the Lower East Side, in a rented-out club. The birthday man, a kind and generous self-made kazillionaire, hired Deborah Cox to entertain the 150 party-goers for the evening.

Before dinner Deborah sang songs from her new jazz CD, Destination Moon, on which she covers the songs of Dinah Washington. Deborah has some serious pipes, and it was fun seeing her do her thing up close and personal.

Besides sounding great, the woman also looked great. She's popped out two children, people.

After dinner Deborah did another set, this time in jeans, performing some of her big-hit club anthems. At one point she came off the stage and the fella above couldn't help busting out a few moves. (Seriously, how many gallons of sweat have the gays poured out over the years on dance floors to Deborah's "Nobody's Supposed to Be Here," "Things Just Stay The Same" and "It's Over Now"?)

On Sunday Josh and I went to an early showing of first-time director Ben Affleck's new movie, Gone Baby Gone. Starring his kid brother, Casey, who made quite a splash in the recent Assassination of Jesse James, he turned in another great, subtle, winning performance.

Casey's character, Patrick Kenzie, is a small-time private detective hired to investigate the kidnapping of a young girl on Boston's rough South Side. A maze of corruption, scandal, and twists follows. It was well acted and directed, but it was also definitely on the grim, dark, slightly-depressing ride.

After the movie we headed to Cafe Utopia, a diner with great burgers on 72nd and Amsterdam, before heading southward to do a little shopping and browsing. We did a few turns around a giant Pottery Barn, fantasizing about someday having apartments of our own in the city. (Just as soon as we start our jobs with $100,000 salaries it may even become a possibility. Score!)

We hit up Banana Republic, where I snapped up a few sweaters for work (but will it get cold enough this October to wear them?) before grabbing drinks at Starbucks and settling in at a mini park near Columbus Circle to rest and chat. Afterward we made our way down Ninth Avenue, kissed each other on the cheek at our "goodbye corner" and headed home after our Sunday in the city.

Josh & Josh Exclusive: On The Set of Sex and The City: The Movie (With Photos by Josh K!)

Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) runs after Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) on her way to confront Big (Chris Noth, far right near Town Car), armed with a bouquet of flowers. Photos by Josh K. taken just after 2 p.m. today.

Whoa! So, Josh K. and I just got back from the Sex and the City: The Movie set. They're filming outside The Bryant Park Hotel (40 W. 40th Street).

At one point we stood a few feet from Sarah Jessica Parker in full (crazy) wedding regalia, as well as Miranda and Charlotte in their (gorgeous, non-matching) bridesmaid dresses. (We also stood close to Mr. Big and Steve, who chatted amiably between takes.)

It seems that we may have been there for the climactic scene of the movie. Here's what happened.

A limousine starts cruising down West 40th, goes about fifteen feet, and then abruptly stops in the middle of the street. Carrie gets out of the right rear door, a huge bouquet of flowers in her hands, and starts running at a tux-clad Mr. Big, who has just stepped out of Town Car. Carrie starts beating Big with the bouquet, screaming, “I knew you would do it!” looking both angry and heartbroken.

Miranda and Charlotte bust out of the limo and come after Carrie, ushering her back to the limo. Miranda and Carrie make it into the vehicle before Charlotte turns around, her face contorting, and yells something at Big before getting into the limo, which speeds off another fifteen feet or so before “cut” is called.

We watched the whole thing three times.

Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) rushes to Carrie (SJP) as she beats Big with her bouquet. Photo by Josh K.

Charlotte (Kirsten Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) comfort Carrie as she makes her way back to her limo.

Steve (David Eigenberg) and Big (Chris Noth) chat together between takes.

Charlotte (Kristin Davis) on the set between takes.

All photos by Josh K. for Josh & Josh Are Rich and Famous. If you wish to use them credit Josh & Josh and link to the permalink for this post.

Also, The Sex and the City Movie Blog has picked up our story and pictures.

Josh K.'s Birthday Week, Xanadu, Die Mommie Die, Michael Clayton, and National Coming Out Day, Oh My!

So it’s Josh K.’s birthday week and, as such, we decided to celebrate by going to a couple shows this week, topping it off with a birthday dinner in the Village this weekend.

Yesterday we headed over to the Helen Hayes Theater on West 44th Street to see our first show. We settled into our (great) seats and flipped through the Playbill. We were both a little skeptical (um, a musical based on a monumental cinematic flop?), but we were both game.

We were so wrong to be skeptical. Lord forgive us, we knew not what we did. We hadn’t known the pleasures of . . . Xanadu!

What Douglas Carter Beane (The Little Dog Laughed) and Jeff Lynne did is brilliant. They took a maligned box office disaster and played up all the jokes about it and spun it into Broadway gold, a truly delicious musical comedy. Honestly, this is the funniest musical we’ve ever seen on Broadway. (We saw Spelling Bee on Adult Night, which came close, but Xanadu still kinda won.) The audience giggled, guffawed, chortled, and plain old screamed laughter through the whole 90-minute non-stop show.

The plot is deliciously ridiculous: A Greek goddess appears in Venice Beach, California, in the 1980s to inspire a sidewalk chalk artist to greater things—like starting a roller disco in an abandoned building!—while the Greek goddess’s six sisters (two of whom are male) lurk and plot and schtick around on the sidelines. Oh, and most of the show is performed while on roller skates. Score! It's oh so wrong that it's oh so right. And, yes, there’s a dance number in a telephone booth and a Greek goddess riding a merry-go-round horse high in the air while belting a pop rock number.

And it’s all wonderful. Perfect. Hilarious. Great voices, fantastic deadpan humor, an Australian accent that will leave you incontinent, and great dance performances. There are even songs I want to download on iTunes from the show. How many musicals have you seen lately that you can say that about, right?

Kerry Butler as Kira, the Greek goddess, is amazing. (If Nicole Kidman and Sarah Michelle Gellar had a love child, it would be Kerry Butler.) She’s hilarious, she can sing, she’s gorgeous, and she plays the material perfectly.

Cheyenne Jackson, from the moment he got on stage, had us drooling. And then, of course, there’s the gorgeous voice and deadpan comedic delivery that go with the jaw-dropping gams, chiseled face, and big soap opera smile. (He wears daisy dukes and short shorts most of the show. If you weren’t reaching for Ticketmaster already, you should be now.)

Kira’s sister goddesses, including those played by Mary Testa and Jackie Hoffman, are really the cherries on top of a great show.

Basically, if we could go out on the town with any cast on Broadway, it would be the cast of Xanadu. (We eliminated Spring Awakening because they’re all, oh, five or six years younger than us, and if we wanted to play high school, we’d go out with the cast of The Hills. You know?)

We can’t say enough good stuff about the show. Josh and I were yelling out one-liners all the way down the street after we left the show. Ten minutes later, over slices of pizza, we were still laughing.

Xanadu. Seriously.

Tonight, continuing our JK Birthday Week Celebrations, we’re seeing Charles Busch’s Die Mommie Die at the New World Stages. We saw the hilarious film of the same name, starring Busch (natch!), and we can’t wait to see it all live. Long live Angela Arden!

The Movie To See This Weekend: Michael Clayton

So little needs to be said other than, “Go see this damn movie this weekend.”

Dylan and I saw the movie over the weekend and loved it. (Um, people, it’s George Clooney and Tilda Swinton. Hello!) George plays a law firm fixer who’s in a heap of trouble in his own life and then finds himself in more when he gets involved with a case involving a weed killer that’s killing people and weeds, a product and company defended by the amazing Ms. Swinton (Orlando, The Deep End).

It's smart, it's entertaining, it keeps you guessing and intrigued, and we actually get to know our well-drawn main characters and what makes them tick. It makes the final ten minutes of the movie—the ultimate booyah!—even more amazing.

Also (drum roll, please!) today is NATIONAL COMING OUT DAY!

Are you a big ol’ happy homo, an ever-so-lovely fruit fly (the positive form of “fag hag”, obvs), or a great big ally of the community?

If so, time to come out! Feel free to do so in the comments, y’all.

Josh & Josh Talk Curtains and Grease on Broadway, DVDs Disturbia and Out of Sight, Plus Books

Tonight Dylan and I ventured out to see Curtains at the Al Hirschfeld Theater. Written by Kander and Ebb (Chicago and Cabaret, anyone?) and starring David Hyde Pierce, who won a Tony this year for his performance as Lieutenant Cioffi, Curtains was as good as, if not better, than the good press it has earned.

David Hyde Pierce, as Lt. Cioffi, is a homicide detective sent in to investigate the murder of a struggling musical's leading lady, who is missed by no one ("She had no voice / She had no wits" someone sings of her, to which the producer bawdily adds, "She had no brains / She just had tits"). Indeed, what unfolds from there is a murder mystery musical comedy thriller romance. And what's more, it works.

David has the comic timing, charm, and believability to carry the show, and supported by the formidable Deborah Monk as the show-within-a-show's producer (remember her as George's mom on Grey's Anatomy?), buttressed by the one-liner slinging show-within-a-show's director (think Stewie from The Family Guy directing a Broadway musical), and accompanied by Cioffi's surprisingly believable love interest, Jill Paice as Niki Harris, everything comes together well.

Beyond the three-jokes-a-page show, the Hirshfeld is one of the more beautiful theaters I've been to in New York. The golden proscenium and the rich, red velvet curtain speak of true old Broadway glamour. It is also, however, the coldest theater I've been to in New York. Bring an extra sweater for grandma.

Curtains isn't going to be curtains anytime soon, but I'd certainly recommend you see it before the not-to-be-missed David Hyde Pierce bows out of the show.

In March, when the winners of the NBC reality show Grease: You're The One That I Want were announced, the results of which decided who would play Danny and Sandy in a new Broadway production of Grease, I got an e-mail from my mom the next morning. "Did you know that Laura Osnes, the girl who's going to play Sandy, is from the suburbs of Minneapolis?" Indeed, it turned out Osnes grew up twenty minutes away from me, and that I had seen Osnes years ago when she starred in the Minneapolis Children's Theater production of The Wizard of Oz.

Five months after winning their roles by America's phoned-in vote, 21-year-olds Laura Osnes and her Danny, Max Crumm, are starring on Broadway. Josh and I saw the show this weekend when it opened, and the idea of using a reality show to select the leads and generate publicity, ticket sales, and audience allegiance apparently worked. The performance was sold out, and reportedly Grease has tickets sold well through spring. When Laura and Max stepped on stage as Sandy and Danny there was uproarious applause from the crowd, the kind usually reserved for multiple Tony-winning legends. Ah, the powers of reality television.

One of the standout performances in the show came from Kirsten Wyatt, who played Frenchie, and had comic timing that would make Didi Conn, who played Frenchie in the 1978 film version, proud.

After more than 3,000 performances in the 1970s and another 1,500 in a star-laden 1990s revival, Grease is back on Broadway.

Now on DVD: Disturbia

Shia LaBoeuf, you've done it again, my friend. First you racked up serious acting credibility in the indie pic A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints, then you proved your box office mojo here and in this summer's Transformers (read the Josh & Josh review), and now you're set to star in Spielberg's upcoming Indiana Jones movie, opposite Harrison Ford. Disturbia, now on DVD, is a great little addition to the Shia LaBoeuf film library. Loosely based on Hitchcock's Rear Window (which is a film lover's must-see), Shia stars as Kale, a trouble teenager on house arrest for the summer who begins spying on his neighbors and sees more than he should see. Disturbia is a taut little thriller, a well-designed summer movie ride that will have you clutching at your couch pillows. Rent and enjoy.

From the Josh & Josh DVD Archives: Out of Sight

Jennifer Lopez may be starring in the new biopic El Cantante, but with the film's hot-and-cold reviews maybe it's safer to just rent Out of Sight instead. Starring Jennifer Lopez just after her critically-acclaimed performance in Selena, and before her string of drippy romantic comedies (and Gigli, for the love of God), Lopez and George Clooney sizzle and snap with chemistry opposite each other in director Steven Soderbergh's 1998 film. (Out of Sight is the first pairing of Soderbergh and Clooney, who have since made six films together. Indeed, watch this film and trace the genesis of some of the storytelling tricks the duo employ together in the coming decade.) Clooney plays a bank robber with impeccable charm and Lopez plays a federal marshal in charge of hunting him down. Mix and sizzle. Do want you want with El Cantante, but do check out Out of Sight.

Josh & Josh Books

Josh H. just finished Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See.

Josh K. just finished More Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin.

Josh K. is now reading The Emperor's Children by Claire Messud.

Josh H. is now reading Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman.

Josh and Josh Talk Bourne Ultimatum, Cher in Moonstruck, Small Town Gay Bar, Billie Holiday Remixed, and Plain White T's "Hey There Delilah"

This weekend Josh, Dylan and I saw The Bourne Ultimatum with a sold out crowd. (We tried to see it the day before but every showing until almost midnight was sold out.) 

In the third film of the series Jason Bourne's memory is returning and he's going back to the people who started it all to feed them a slice of accountability pie. The anti-James Bond, Matt Damon rocks out as the endlessly crafty Bourne. The always excellent Joan Allen, as Pamela Landy, brings all of her lioness fierceness as an adversary who may prove to be a Bourne ally. With more than 30,000 fast cuts, the movie is a visual feast with smarts and a few well-timed laughs that make the film a popcorn movie must-see.

This weekend Josh and I also saw Sundance-favorite documentary Small Town Gay Bar (out today on DVD) from first-time director Malcolm Ingram and executive producer Kevin Smith (Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma).

Small Town Gay Bar is beautifully shot (we'd love a coffee table book of stills from the movie) and a moving exploration of the importance of gay bars to gay and lesbian communities in small town America. Growing up in gay-friendly Minneapolis and now living in New York City, the film was a welcome reminder for us of the resilient LGBT people living their lives across America, making a place for themselves in sometimes unwelcoming and conservative towns.

Well done and populated with interesting interviews (including drag queen Alicia Stone, whom we'd watch a whole film about, as well as famed gay hater Fred Phelps), it's a film worth popping into your Netflix queue. Don't miss the special features interview with gay-friendly Kevin Smith, which had us laughing out loud.

Yesterday Josh and I saw the film Moonstruck for the first time. Today we're both wondering how we went so long without seeing it.

The twenty-year-old film follows the travails of Loretta Castorini (Cher), who gets engaged to Jonny, whom she doesn't love, and then falls in love with his one-handed baker brother, Ronny, who happens to have a penchant for opera.

The film is worth watching for Cher's delicious comedic performance alone, playing the thirty-something Italian Brooklynite with gusto. (That must be why she won and Oscar for the role.) Olympia Dukakis, who won an Oscar as Loretta's mother, Rose, is the cherry on top.

Some of our favorite lines:

Rose: Do you love him, Loretta?
Loretta: No.
Rose: Good. When you love them they drive you crazy because they know they can.

* * * * *

Rose: My mother has a saying. Do you want to hear it?
Perry: Sure.
Rose: Don't shit where you eat.

* * * * *

Loretta: Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been two months since my last confession.
Priest: What sins have you to confess?
Loretta: Twice I took the name of the Lord in vain, once I slept with the brother of my fiancee, and once I bounced a check at the liquor store, but that was really an accident.

* * * * *

And, of course, the all-time favorite:

Ronny Cammareri: I love you.
Loretta Castorini: [slaps him, then a second time] Snap out of it!

Josh and I are fans of the classic ladies of jazz, so it's no surprise that we dig the new CD "Billy Holiday Remixed & Reimagined". Some of the biggest in-demand remixers and producers of today, including Nicodemus, DJ Logic, and Jazzy Nice, combined master-tape Holiday performances with modern beats and ended up with a spot of magic. You can easily imagine these songs playing at a gallery opening, a funky cocktail bar, or while you're making dinner.

The Plain White T's song "Hey There Delilah" has been on iTunes' list of Top Ten Downloads for weeks, including a lengthy stint at #1. Check it out.

Returning To Work After the Explosion, Harry Potter, Sienna Miller in Interview, and E-mail from Jay Brannan

Today I returned to my office for the first time since last Wednesday's explosion near my building in Midtown. Our building, among dozens of others, ended up closed not only on Thursday, Friday, and the weekend, but also Monday and Tuesday of this week. Everyone in our area ended up with a surprise six-day weekend.

It's been a little spooky for some people returning to our building. Though I left about twenty minutes before the explosion, I overheard the story of co-workers who heard and felt the explosion while sitting at their desks, saw the rising plume of smoke and debris, and after reaching the ground floor by stairs saw only the explosion site, fearing the entire surrounding area had suffered the same fate.

Another co-worker reported being on the street when the explosion occurred and witnessed a man start losing it on the street, screaming "They're blowing up the subways! They're blowing up the subways!"

There are still stretches of streets and avenues shut down, blockaded and guarded by police. A gaping crater remains where the pipe exploded and ripped open the street. Buildings in the vicinity of the crater have windows blown out or covered in mud and debris.

Most of the people I talked with were glad to be back to work after the extended break, especially with deadlines coming down the line, disaster or not. It seems that, for many here, returning to our office's regular rhythms and routines is something of a relief.

(No Harry Potter spoilers here, so read on without fear.)

Harry Potter fever struck New York City this weekend. At Saturday brunch in Hell's Kitchen I saw the orange cover peeking out from under quite a few arms and nestled on more than a few tables beside piles of pancakes and half-finished mimosas. This morning on the way to work I also saw the book poking out from more than one bag.

Many Potter fans finished their copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this weekend. I was reluctant to finish the book in one burst, however, purposely dragging it out. This being the last Harry Potter book, I didn't want it to be all over only hours after I got the book in my hands.

I'm about two-thirds of the way through the book (page 502 of 759). Things spice up half way through the book, and since reaching that point, I'm definitely having a harder time putting it down.

This weekend I'm going on a camping and canoeing trip in the Adirondacks with Dylan and our friends Addison and Evan, and I plan to finish the book while on the five-hour drive. That is, of course, assuming that I can put the book down between ogling the scenery, talking with the boys, and stuffing myself silly with copious amounts of road trip snackage. (Did anyone say mini powdered donuts?)

On Sunday afternoon, after reading several good reviews, I decided to see the Sienna Miller and Steve Buscemi film Interview, and I have to say that I'm a little disappointed.

Sienna Miller plays Katya, a popular film starlet almost known more for her off-screen antics than her acting (feel free to insert the name of any number of young, blonde actresses here), and Steve Buscemi, who also directs, plays a political reporter who has been assigned to interview Katya. What transpires is a cat and mouse duel to the death in the form of a celebrity interview between the spoiled, coke-snorting actress and ego-driven, ethics-averse reporter.

Sienna Miller delivers a livewire performance (as she did in Factory Girl, which was just released on DVD last week and is definitely worth seeing for her gritty and stunning portrayal of Warhol muse Edie Sedgwick), but her performance alone isn't enough to propel Interview to the realm of true greatness. Steve Buscemi is enjoyable, too (remember how great he was in Fargo, too?), but the film seems to stay too long, and the characters threaten to leave too many times without doing so, leaving the audience feeling like both characters are eventually crying wolf.

That said, the movie isn't a disappointment altogether. There are moments that crackle and snap, and the ending provides a little whoop of satisfaction. The biggest reason to see it, however, still lies with Sienna Miller, who's becoming an actress to keep your eye on now that her performances are being seen outside her native England.

Today Josh and I got a very sweet e-mail from actor and singer/songwriter Jay Brannan. We're trying to arrange an interview with him, and hopefully we'll be able to bring that to you guys soon. Cross your fingers!

In the meantime, check out some of his songs here.

Harry Potter Weekend (Plus Upcoming Movies To See)

At 9:22 a.m. the front door phone in the apartment started ringing. I lifted my head off the pillow, squinting in the direction of the beeping. Dylan leaped out of bed to answer it.

Why would the front desk be calling us this early on a Saturday morning? What the hell could--

And then I remembered: It's Harry Potter Saturday.

Minutes later the delivery was in my hands.

Originally Josh K. and I were signed up to go to the midnight book release party at Lincoln Center, but then he had to bail because of a flight back to Minneapolis. I enlisted another friend to attend the Union Square book party, but at the last minute she wasn't able to go, either. Thus on Tuesday morning I logged onto Amazon and ordered my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I can't believe that overnight delivery was included in the already half-off price. Don't you just love Amazon sometimes? (I ordered another six books to show my gratitude. Not that I need a 12-step meeting for book buyers or anything.)

I couldn't wait to get the book in my hands. Dylan smiled obligingly from across the room as he tugged on a robe and began reading the morning news. I tore apart the package.

Ta da!

You know what I'll be doing today.

I wonder how many people will be sheepishly rescheduling plans today so they can have uninterrupted Harry Potter reading time.

The First Paragraph

"The two men appeared out of nowhere, a few years apart in the narrow, moonlit lane. For a second they stood quite still, wands directed at each other's chests; then, recognizing each other, they stowed their wands beneath their cloaks and started walking briskly in the same direction."

On Monday night, only moments after returning from a three-day weekend in Provincetown, I headed up to Lincoln Square with Josh to see the fifth Harry Potter movie. It was, unsurprisingly, a sold out showing. (In its first ten days the film made $368 million worldwide.)

Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) have all been struck by puberty and are looking pretty grown up. There's a brief flashback to earlier Potter movies, and it's jarring to see how young they were in the first films.

Screenwriter Michael Goldenberg (Peter Pan, Contact) and director David Yates took the longest Potter novel and turned it into the shortest and tightest Potter movie. All the extraneous stuff is gone; only the best is left on screen.

Order of the Phoenix is darker than previous Potter films. Voldemort has returned, but Minister Fudge and his coterie refuse to believe it, casting Harry as a liar and possible lunatic. Delores Umbridge, a Fudge crony, is sent to take over the school with her vaguely sadomasochistic take on things, wrapped in pink outfits and strained smiles. (Imelda Staunton turns Umbridge into the series' best villain--other than Voldy himself, of course.)

It's tightly plotted, wonderfully shot (including an action movie-style opening sequence, complete with shaking camera), and the young actors (supported by an A-list of adult British actors) just keep getting better. The tone of the movie is a perfect parallel for our current times and style of governance, something which I'm surprised more reviews haven't addressed.

Can't wait for six and seven.

Movie Talk

Last night Dylan and I saw Live Free or Die Hard, the fourth and final installment in the Bruce Willis series. I have to say that I'm surprised that it got better reviews than Transformers. The truth is that Transformers is the better movie, if only because it's truly funny, charming, and has three times as many awe-inspiring special effects. You saw all the good special effects in the Die Hard trailer; Transformers just keeps doling them out as the movie goes on. (Read the Josh & Josh review of Transformers)

Upcoming Movies

There are quite a few movies coming out that Josh and I can't want to see. There will be a few that we'll make a point to skip, too.

* We can't wait to see Bourne Ultimatum. Matt Damon brings the sexy back to New York City, and (the fantastic) Joan Allen as Pamela Landy looks unnerved. (She should be.) Opens August 3.

* The new Get Smart, starring Steve Carell, looks hilarious. Opens next summer.

* This movie's campaign is brilliant. We don't know what the movie is, but we know that we kinda want to see it. Opens January 18, 2008.

* What's Nicole Kidman doing in this movie? (Nicole's a busy girl. This year she's also in Margot at the Wedding, from the director of the fantastic The Squid and the Whale, and also in the fantasy film The Golden Compass.)

* What's Lindsay Lohan doing to her career?

* Badass Jodie Foster is back, and she's taking names. Opens September 14.

* Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, and Tom Cruise, all in one movie. Can't stand Cruise, but we'll definitely see it for Streep. Opens November 9.