Editor’s Pick: Landmark Theatre’s Pride Retro Replay
Landmark Theatres is celebrating Pride by presenting classic LGBTQ-themed movies every Tuesday at its E Street Cinema in D.C.
For its contribution to Pride month this year, Landmark Theatres presents screenings of classic LGBTQ-themed movies every Tuesday at its E Street Cinema in D.C.
After launching last week with Brokeback Mountain, the “Retro Replay: Film Classics” series picks up two days after Capital Pride with the 1995 flamboyant star-studded comedy To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything Julie Newmar.
Essentially an American remake of the global box office smash and Oscar-winning Australian comedy The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Beeban Kidron’s To Wong Foo starred a trio of male action stars — Wesley Snipes, the late Patrick Swayze, and John Leguizamo — improbably portraying New York City drag queens.
We follow along as the trio sets out on a road trip to Tinseltown only to find themselves stuck in a homophobic hinterland after their old Cadillac convertible breaks down.
Soon enough, they ride into the sunset, leaving behind a winsome message about the value of community and acceptance. Local drag queen Noxeema Jackson, named for the Snipes character, and the QTBIPOC collective, will be orchestrating some surprises at the screening. (6/14)
It’s followed by But I’m A Cheerleader, director Jamie Babbit’s satirical take on the “ex-gay” movement that was light-years ahead of its time when released in 2000. Not that Cheerleader lacks for silliness and camp.
RuPaul stars out of drag as a counselor at “True Directions,” where cheerleader Megan, played by Natasha Lyonne in one of her earliest film roles, is sent to correct her budding lesbianism.
Cathy Moriarty chews the scenery — colored in gender-reinforcing garish pinks and blues — as the camp director. (6/21)
The series culminates with the British costume drama Maurice, a tale of upper-class homosexual tendencies crossed with lower-class sexual desire.
In this ravishing Merchant-Ivory adaptation of E.M. Forster’s novel, two English schoolboys have a special relationship while at Cambridge — but once out of school, Maurice (James Wilby) feels drawn to continue it, while Clive (Hugh Grant) wants to put it behind him in order to fulfill the expectations of his society.
Forster wanted a happy ending for his novel because such things at the time were impossible. In 1987, happy endings often seemed just as far away as ever, so Maurice‘s discovery of love and joy — with a servant played by Rupert Graves — is a joyous heartstopper. (6/28)
Screenings are at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. each day.
Landmark’s E Street Cinema is at 555 11th St. NW.
Tickets are $7 each.
Call 202-452-7672 or visit https://www.landmarktheatres.com/retro-replay-series-e-street.
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