Possible

You're a whore. Men have the best sex of their lives with you. But make no mistake, the only worthwhile sex is when both parties are doing it to please themselves first. I had no idea what was physically possible between two boys until we kissed.

- from the film, Boy Culture

M2M Part 1

Out of the blue, my friend Satxi asked me, "What's your favorite gay film?"

I told him, "Marami eh."

This got me thinking. By "favorite", this means that I have seen these films over and over again. May films kase na okay panoorin nang paulit-ulit, meron namang hindi. Kung bakit at paano 'yon is another topic. I am digressing.

Anyway, here are my picks:

1. Trick (1999) by Jim Fall. This film happens in almost real-time setting. Overnight lang. It is like a gay comedy of errors type of film. It centers on two guys who want to get off but can't seem to find a place to do it. It is very enjoyable to watch - nice original songs (Enter You, Trick of Fate), good lines (It's big. It's beautiful and you're gonna love it!), a motley crew of interesting personalities, cute men, and lots of cute men. Fag hag Tori Spelling gives her best performance to date, a role that is foil to the two leads' characters (cutey Christian Campbell who plays a playwright and sexy John Paul Pitoc who plays a go-go boy). This film never fails to make me believe in love; that love is out there, waiting to be found by me. Recommended after a break-up, when you're ready to fall in love again.
(Say it with me, "CHEESY!")





2. Latter Days (2003) by C. Jay Cox. This film tries to be a treatise on the stand of religion against homosexuality in the guise of a romantic flick. Though it deals with a serious subject matter, the film is actually light viewing - a lot of banter and exchange of witty lines (gay and fag hags vs. straight homophobes). There are a lot of interesting characters who are funny by themselves. Of course the highlight would have to be that scene in the hotel...Not telling you anymore. In the end, it is essentially a romantic film. Hay, ang sarap umibig! (Say it with me, "CHEESY"!)





3. Boy Culture (2006) by Q. Allan Brocka. This film is based on a novel of the same title by Matthew Rettenmund, published in 1995. It is the story of X, a successful escort who describes in a series of confessions his tangled, emotionally- convoluted romantic relationships with his two roommates and an older, enigmatic client. The mood of the film is light yet serious, makes you think about a lot of things while events unravel and the characters throw their lines in the film to each other. What impresses me more about this film is its honest depiction of a gay man's emotional journey towards finding his self, his heart, his soul (that have all been lost because of his job as a hustler). I read from Wikipedia that this film has won several awards. Please watch it.





4. Eating Out (2004) by Q. Allan Brocka. This film series (check out also Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds and Eating Out 3: Eat All You Can) is about a scheming gay protagonist, willingly helped by his fag hag best friends, who will do every trick he knows (read: EVERYTHING), just to get the guy he wants. All this happens in a parallel universe where the gay guy always gets his prince charming, where they live happily ever after. The plot may be campy and contrived at times, but it is entertainment at its best. Part 4 will be out soon. Enjoy!










I am listing more films next time.

Mga parekoy, what are your favorite gay films?

Borrowed Lines #3

"Love is about taking a chance.

I don't know if we'll fall in love.

Love isn't a transaction...

Sometimes, you don't just get what you put in..."



So true. So true.

Borrowed Lines #2

for MI

"I hope you never steal, lie, or cheat on me...
But if you must then steal away loneliness from me;
if you must lie, lie next to me each morning I'd wake up;
and if you must cheat, cheat death that you may always be with me forever..."

That totally got me.

Trick of Fate : from Trick the movie

Never Say Never

I'm posting the lyrics of Trick of Fate, written by David Friedman, sung by Valerie Pinkston for the movie Trick.

I never thought I'd find someone like you
Though in my every fantasy I saw you everyday
I thought there was no way - to make my dream come true

I always thought that I would be alone
Afraid to dream that anyone was ever gonna see
The love inside of me - but how could I have known

A trick of fate would bring us together
A trick of fate would alter our lives
We had to wait it seemed like forever
But never say never to a trick of fate

What were the chances I'd be here with you
That after all the lonely years of searching everywhere
I'd turn and you'd be there - from clear, out of the blue

Our lives are in the hands of destiny
And though we try to take control
That's not the way it goes - a higher power knows
How it's supposed to be

A trick of fate brought us together
A trick of fate altered our lives
We had to wait it seemed like forever
But never say never to a trick of fate

And now, something has begun - something very new
And suddenly the future's looking bright
Somehow when two hearts beat as one, fairy tales come true
And anything seems possible tonight

A trick of fate brought us together
A trick of fate altered our lives
We had to wait it seemed like forever
But never say never to a trick of fate

It just goes to show
That you never know
Where love's gonna grow
It's a trick of fate

Understanding this song, I couldn't help but think about Crabcake. My Crabcake. Our meeting may have been like a trick, but in our hearts, we know it is the real thing.

We were for real.

Sweet Nothings

I remember succinctly this pitch I delivered to a group of young people about finding The One.


(Shrills heard. Excited ang mga leche basta lovelife at paglalandi ang topic.)


I think I was talking about the relevance of nonverbal communication when I segued into that moment when one feels that he could sit on a bench the whole day with someone and talk about nothing. Yea, just sit together and talk about nothing, and then part ways and feel that what happened was the best conversation you've had with someone.


(Am reading "DUH!" on their eyes. Must be morons. Still I persist.)


I mean, words are very powerful tools. Remember the adage about sticks and stones breaking the bones but words breaking another's heart? We go through our basic education trying to read and write and speak properly. We study English and Filipino until college. We struggle to master Grammar/Balarila and Rhetorics/Retorika. We may even take up a foreign language or two. All in the name of becoming adept in articulation. Also , we have an abundance of literary pieces. Plus the proliferation of blogs, di ba? Words convey meaning. They have power.


But I was thinking, what if we all ran out of things to say, what if we grow speechless at one moment...or what if we were able to say and write all ideas already...? What then?


(Silence. No reaction. Mga jologs ata...ayaw ng literary eclat.)


I couldn't help but think of my teacher in college, in my Pilosopiya ng Tao class, when he kept saying when he ran out of things to discuss as the bell hasn't rung yet: "Kapag nasabi na ang lahat ng masasabi, ang mahalaga ay di pa rin masasabi." I'm thinking, marahil ito ay magagawa at mararamdaman o maipadarama lamang. But that's just me.


(More listlessness. Was that a yawn? And a another yawn? Ampootah, interesting naman topic ko ah.)


To land on a better terrain of familiarity and solicit any sign of comprehension from my catatonic audience, I mentioned the theme song of my favorite Julia Roberts movie, Notting Hill. Yeah, that cheesecake song, "When You Say Nothing At All." Hey, I had to drive a point on nonverbal communication!


(Faces light up. They dig schmaltz. As if.)


My parting shot: Paraphrasing the song, a smile, a look, a touch can express a lot. Words may not be spoken at all but surely with these, one can tell a lot. And say it with me: "You say it best, when you say nothing at all."


(Screams let out. Some clapping. Mush sells.)


Flashback: Oh yea, the last scene of the film was Hugh Grant sitting on a bench and Julia Roberts lying on his lap, and they were saying nothing at all...LOL.

I rest my case. Roll credits.

Postscript: I could spend an eternity with Crabcake on a bench and exchange sweet nothings with him. Yea, Crabcake was The One for me.

Trick of Fate

I have a good friend from way back who made me watch the movie, Trick. The story which happens in a day's time is about two guys who meet in a train. Attraction develops instantly and both decide to make out . (Hence, the title.) But the gods of gay love have other plans as the couple couldn't get it on with each other (LOL). They become confronted by a myriad of personalities (led by the faghag bestfriend) who are merely ploys to stop them from a one night stand that should have been over hours ago. What ensues is like a comedy of errors of sort with no making out in sight...Not yet at least.

This movie by Jim Fall is deliriously funny. The banter is witty, the songs and the singing riotously entertaining. I was so entertained that I've watched it a lot of times. I've been fascinated by movies that happen in 24 hours. I wanna write a screenplay with the same time line, but I am digressing already. Little did I know that my repetitive viewing of Trick is a prelude to the two most important encounters of my life.

Each of them came like an unexpected trick. Enter you...voila it's Crabcake!

Then Skyflakes.

Tricks of fate indeed.

Postscript: I fell in love with the movie's theme song, Trick of Fate. Nicely written lyrics. Maybe schmaltz for others but hey, it's "soul" music to me.