Are Reeling movies really bad? Two TOC editors sound off.

JH: I hear it every year. There’s this perception that the films at Reeling: The Chicago Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival are mostly subpar.

HS: Queer film fests face a particular challenge: When they show serious art they get small audiences, and when they show sex romps they get crowds, but disappointed crowds.

JH: People shouldn’t choose the film with the most shirtless dudes, then complain. A larger problem is that great queer filmmakers like Cholodenko and Van Sant are too mainstream to have a place at gay fests. Reeling should be a place where audiences go to seek out the next great gay filmmaker, even if he or she is still unpolished.

HS: What frustrates audiences is that so many of the younger filmmakers seem to be making the same brightly lit, candy-colored fluff that looks like low-rent versions of straight romcoms, but with more boy ass. By contrast, think of Van Sant’s early work; it’s hard stuff.

JH: I agree with that. Casper Andreas has an opening or closing night film at every fest. He’s a talented filmmaker who often makes silly movies that play to gay stereotypes.

HS: The exception is usually a coming-of-age or coming-out film. Queer filmmakers seem to connect best with these. Do you think that’s true?

JH: There are some great coming-of-age films at this year’s fest, but those films are an easier pill to swallow because most Reeling audiences are distanced from that time in their life. My point being that internalized homophobia makes us cringe when we see our adult lives portrayed as overtly sexual, even if there is truth in that narrative. I think our community gets a little squeamish when a mirror is held up too closely.

HS: I don’t think my problem with the twinks-on-the-loose comedies is that they hold up a mirror, but that we keep making these damn things and they’re just a socially acceptable teaser version of porn.

JH: Yes, but plenty of straight culture is lowbrow and we gays love it. Think of Jersey Shore or the Real Housewives franchise. But when lowbrow culture is a reflection of our own lives, we tend to flock to it and then reject it. Why can’t we just admit we have fun watching the guilty-pleasure sex romps already?

HS: A certain portion of the audience is reveling in that lowbrow stuff and filmmakers are, too. But should queer fests embrace those films or promote cinematic art? Is it internalized homophobia to suggest that a film fest isn’t the place to roll around in the lowest common denominator?

JH: Reeling can and should be a place for both. Anyway, Reeling films should be cut some slack because they don’t have Hollywood-sized budgets.

HS: On budgets, I agree but with one stipulation: Some really great stuff gets made on a shoestring. The problem is that so many gay filmmakers keep trying to replicate the look and feel of either Hollywood or expensive art cinema.

JH: That’s a problem with filmmakers in general.

HS: True. Maybe the problem is that when people see iffy gay films at the fest, they forget that they don’t go out and see all the crappy low-budget straight films. So the comparison is imbalanced.

JH: Exactly! Most of what is at Reeling might not be great, but that’s true of what’s at the multiplex.

HS: So the real point is that we should be more open to a bit of badness as part of our fest experience. You’ve previewed a ton of this year’s stuff. Would you have any advice beyond “embrace the lowbrow”?

JH: Yes, there’s some terrific high and lowbrow films at this year’s fest. Visit timeoutchicago.com/gay. I’ll make Reeling fans out of our readers yet.