Queer Fall Flicks

Save Me Long in distribution limbo, Robert Carys (Ira and Abby) heartfelt and nuanced film smartly eschews the typical venom of religious debate to explore the universality of spirit, healing, and love. Chad Allen stars as a spiraling-down gay man who joins an ex-gay Christian ministry run by Judith Light. (Opens September 5) Assassination of a High School President Like MTVs The Paper only more sordid, this film has Reece Thompson channeling Woodward and Bernstein as Bobby Funke, a perpetually picked-on (and yet, in typical teen-flick fashion, smokingly attractive) sophomore who gets embroiled in a conspiracy involving stolen SATs, a hot senior (Mischa Barton), and much more Mean Girls drama. (Opens September 12) The Women Diva alert! George Cukors 1939 film of marital infidelity, catty conniving, and high-society mishaps gets a hilarious modern update by Diane English (Murphy Brown) and no small amount of A-list estrogen: Meg Ryan, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith (who plays gay), Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Bette Midler, Candice Bergen, Carrie Fisher, Cloris Leachman, and Debi Mazar. (Opens September 12) RocknRolla Muscled-up Tom Hardy plays gay Handsome Bob (indeed!) in the latest superstylized gangster flick from writer-director Guy Ritchie. Shady land deals, a stolen painting, and seemingly all of Londons criminal underworldnot to mention a bound-and-gagged Gerard Butler and underwear-clad Russian mobsterscollide in typical madcap-meets-hyperbutch Ritchie fashion. (Opens September 19) Choke With biting nihilistic humor, director Clark Gregg weaves sex addicts, Virginias colonial Williamsburg, brittle mother-son relationships, the foreskin of Jesus, and a scam involving choking in upscale restaurants into a wicked adaptation of the novel by queer author Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club). Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Huston star. (Opens September 26) Nick & Norahs Infinite Playlist Gay writer David Levithans novel bursts with indie music and sensibility in its big-screen adaptation. Playing a straight bassist in a queercore band, Michael Cera (Juno, Superbad) avoids his ex by asking Kat Dennings to be his girlfriend for five minutes, which sets off an all-night sweet and snarky romp through the sleepless scene of New York City. (Opens October 3) Otto; or Up With Dead People Cliquey gays have often been accused of being zombies, so leave it to iconoclast provocateur Bruce LaBruce (The Raspberry Reich, Hustler White) to actually create the gay zombie horror-cum-porno satire. With Ottos film-within-a-film metanarrative, hard-core black comedy, and handsomely emo, neo-goth zombie star (Jey Crisfar), George Romero has been officially punked. (Opens October 31) Send a letter to the editor about this article.