Okay, But Is It Gay?

Judas Kiss is a 2011 film about a failed filmmaker returning to his alma mater to judge the same film contest that launched his own film career, only to find himself reliving parts of his own past. Join Z, Hal, and returning guest host Jennie as they discuss the mechanics of time travel, Brechtian filmmaking, and the Family and Educational Rights and Privacy Act.We'd like to thank EnoffMusic for our theme song.TW: this film and our discussion of it contains depictions of childhood sexual assault and incest, selfcest, abusive relationship dynamics, addiction and recovery, and sexual themes.

BIT (dir. Brad Michael Elmore) is a 2019 film about a young trans woman who falls in with a coven of vampires in Los Angelos. Join Hal, Z, and returning guest host Sofie as they discuss being trans of gender, the rules for vampires, and Duke’s excellent hair style.You can find Sofie’s music on instagram.com/big_bigbrainKeep an eye out for work coming out on newohioreview.orgWe’d like to that EnoffMusic for our theme songTW: this movie and our discussion of it contain blood and gore (vampire style), murder, sexual assault and coercion, misogyny, loss of agency, allusions to transphobia, emetophobia, drugs and alcohol, human immolation, suicidality and self-harm, and in like a real actual way, misandry.

The Ring Thing (dir. Willian Sullivan) is a 2017 film about a woman making a documentary about gay marriage and gay divorce into order to work through her feelings about her own long-term relationship. Join Hal, Z, and special guest host Syd as they talk about documentary film techniques, artisan mac-n-cheese recipes, and getting married to defraud the US government (or your government of choice).You can find Syd's short films and animation at youtube.com/micperson We reference $1 Grilled Cheese in this episode, post of all time by Daniel Danger. https://pleated-jeans.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/thumb-1-dollar-grilled-cheese-truck-twitter-768x402.jpg We'd like to thank EnoffMusic for our theme songTW: this movie and are discussion of it features health scares and cancer risk, suicidal ideation, divorce and marriage issues, sexual themes and full-frontal nudity 

AKRON (dir. Brian O'Donnell and Sasha King) is a 2015 film about two college freshmen who meet and fall in love, only to realize that their pasts are entangled in the same tragedy.Join Hal, Z, and returning powerhouse Autumn as they discuss first love, location scouting, and the way this movie just tells a woman how to feel for 20 minutes.We’d like to thank EnoffMusic for our theme song.TW: This film and our discussion of it contain the death of a child, vehicular violence, trauma and grief, misogyny, and sexual themes. Be aware that this is a movie about moms.Thanks for listening:)

D.E.B.S. (dir. Angela Robinson) is a 2004 film about a group of young women who have passed the secret test imbedded in the SAT, thus enabling them to train as spies, and what happens when one of them falls for the supervillain they’ve been assigned to apprehend.Join Hal, Z, and special guest host Vera as they discuss the military industrial complex, what makes an interesting villain, and how Max really should’ve been the main character of this movie.We’d like to thank EnoffMusic for our theme song.TW: this film and our discussion of it contain depictions of homophobia (specifically lesbophobia), guns and violence, institutional racism, misogyny, and tokenism. Be aware that Jimmy Simpson says the r-slur in this film for no reason (the reason is it was 2004). 

GBF (dir. Darren Stein) is a 2013 film about a gay high schooler struggling with newfound popularity after he is purposefully outed by his school’s Gay/Straight Alliance, as they are desperate for actually gay members (yes, really).Join Hal, Z, and returning guest host Kayleigh as they discuss gay (and Black) tokenism, amazing fashion choices, and the blissful naivety of times on by.You can find the games Kayleigh makes at https://ghostsontv.itch.io/We’d like to thank EnoffMusic for our theme song.TW: The film contains depictions of homophobia (and specifically religious-based homophobia) tokenism, racist microaggressions, sexual assault, misogyny, and sexual themes. Minor warning for emetophobia

City of Trees (dir. Alexandra Swarens) is a 2019 film about a 20-something photographer who returns to her hometown for the first time in several years and reconnects with a high school acquaintance for whom she has unresolved feelings.Join Hal, Z, and returning guest host Maddy has they discuss audio quality, the uncanny valley of being in your childhood home as an adult, and the startling lack of trees in this movie.Maddy is the art editor for The Shore: https://www.theshorepoetry.org/We’d like to thank EnoffMusic for our theme song.TW: this movie contains detailed depictions of social anxiety and depression, drugs and alcohol, overbearing moms and uncomfortable family dynamics, and the death of a parent.

A Moment in the Reeds (dir. Mikko Mäkelä) is a 2017 romantic drama about a gay poet returning to his hometown to help his father fix up their family summer home and also fall madly in love with a Syrian architect. Join Hal, Z, and guest host Rae as they discuss European cinema, language barriers, and the inherit queerness of French Romantic poetry. You find Rae's published work here https://milkcandyreview.home.blog/2020/05/28/galatea-by-r-a-matteson/and herehttps://themolotovcocktail.com/about/archive-vols-1-3/vol-8/flash-hero/story-of-a-witch/We'd like to thank EnoffMusic for our theme song.TW: this film contains homophobia, xenophobia, the death of a parent, full frontal male nudity, and sexual themes.

Okay But Is It Gay? is a podcast about thinking hard about gay movies that, perhaps, no one has ever thought of before. Ever.Join hosts Z and Hal as they torture their friends with their favorite weird, underrated, and often terrible queer cinema!

2012’s For a Good Time Call (dir. Jamie Travis) is a semi-autobiographical story about two women running a phone sex line out of their Gramercy Park apartment and they absolutely do not fall in love with each other even a little bit. Join Autumn, Hal, Z, and Maddy has they discuss basic storytelling structure, the nature of female friendships, sex positivity, and homophobic caricatures on this week’s episode of Okay, But Is It Gay?. We’d like to thank EnoffMusic for our theme song.Alternative titles for this episode include: “This is Just Like Twilight”, “We Could’ve Just Watched Jupiter Ascending”, and “Several Homophobic Short Films in a Row”.TW: this episode contains discussion of sexual themes (this is a movie about sex and sex work), sex toys, frank discussions of sex and masturbation, forced outing, drugs and alcohol, racist microaggressions, homophobia, lesbophobia, “jokes” about sexual assault and date rape, erotic horror, graphic discussions of genital warts and STDs, nonconsenting sexual exposure, blood, menstruation, and bodily fluids.

Chicken Little (2005) is a movie about disability. It is a movie about baseball. It a movie about space aliens. But mostly, it is a movie about how you have to talk to your dad. Join Z and Hal as they discuss this movie's troubled production (all my homies hate Mike Eisner), the nature of parenting as seen from a child's perspective, and the intersection of nuerodiversity, disability, and queerness in this week's episode of Okay, But Is It Gay?.Thanks to EnoffMusic for our theme song.Alternate titles for this episode include, "That Chicken is Also Autistic", "You Can't List Your Homies' Positive Attributes Unless You're In Love With Them", "Simply Support Your Children".TW: This episode contains discussion of childhood abuse and neglect, young children in danger, public humilation and public shaming, ableism, misogyny, violence, lobotomies. There is also a brief mention of sexual assault allegations in the beginning trivia section.

Sky High (2005), dir. Mike Mitchell, is the story of a young boy navigating the ways in which he seems to be inherently different than his peers. Until he isn’t. Join Hal and Autumn as they discuss worldbuilding questions, the nature of allegory, and their eternal of for Ron Wilson, bus driver on this week’s episode of Okay, But Is It Gay?. Thanks to EnoffMusic for our theme song. Alternate titles for this episode include, “We Could’ve Had It Aaaaall!”, “Justice for Layla”, and “It’s Good and Interesting Until He Gets the Superpowers”. TW: This episode contains discussion of ableism homophobia, homophobia from a parent, systematic oppression, violence, questionable romantic age gaps, and the removal of agency.

Sample Favor (2018), dir. Paul Feig, is the story of a stay-at-home mom developing a fraught relationship with a working mom in her community, only to be forced into launching her own investigation when her new friend goes missing and no one seems to want to find her. Join Hal, Autumn, and new guest host Kayleigh as they discuss how that description doesn't cover even half of the bonkers stuff that happens in this movie in this week's episode of Okay, But Is It Gay?Thanks to EnoffMusic for out theme song. Alternate titles for this episode include, "Blake Lively as a Beautiful, Sexy Monster", "Lurk in The Bushes Like a Normal Person," and "I Could Fix Her".TW: This episode contains discussion of violence, blood, death by drowning, murder, childhood abuse, the manipulation of young children, falsified domestic abuse allegations, actual domestic abuse/spousal emotional abuse, infidelity, car-related danger and violence, nudity and sexual themes, suicide, homophobic slurs, drug and alcohol addiction, and incest.

Jennifer's Body (2009) dir. Karyn Kasuma is the story of two best friends growing apart after one of them is ineffectively sacrificed in a Satanic ritual. Join Autumn, Hal, and brand-new guest host Heath as they discuss the follies of teenage girldom, platonic homoeroticism, and the lengths anyone should be able to go to save their bestie from themselves on this week's episode of Okay But Is It Gay?. Thanks to EnoffMusic for our theme song.Alternate Titles for this episode include: "Teen Choice Award Winner Megan Fox", "Lesbionic Bonds", "I Kissed a Girl But It Turned Out She was Possessed :/"TW: this episode contains discussions of blood, violence, gore, murder, cannibalism, body horror, sexual themes, sexual violence, asylums, ableist slurs, homophobia, the f-slur, fire-related death and carnage, possession and demonic activity, casual racism and micro-aggressions, and gaslighting.

The Lost Boys (1987), dir. Joel Schumacher, is the story of two brothers moving to the Murder Capital of the World(tm) and trying not to fall victim to the Scourge of the Undead(tm). Join Autumn, Hal, and new guest host Phoebe as they discuss 80s genre tropes, the rules of vampirism, the most intense passions we've ever had, and the two kinds of women that can exist. Thanks to EnoffMusic for our theme song.Alternate titles for this episode include, "Proposing on the First Date", "Justice for Star, Justice for the Frog Brothers", and "LGBTQ+ Ally Kiefer Sutherland". TW: this episode contains discussions of misogyny, homophobia, microaggressions, drug use, blood and gore, death, murder, and dog based violence (no dogs were harmed in the making of this podcast).

High School Musical (2006) is the story of a young man caught between two passions in world where expectations are mile-high and the status quo is king. Join Hal, Autumn, and returning guest host Maddy as they discuss about compulsory heterosexuality, the tools of musical theater, and the ways in which gender is a prison from which we must all escape on this week's episode of Okay, But Is It Gay?.Thanks to EnoffMusic on Instagram for our theme song.Alternate titles for this episode include: "The Basketball is a Metaphor", "Wall to Wall Gay Icons" , and "Is Anyone Gonna Romantically Climb that?".TW: This episode contains discussions of compulsory heterosexuality, transphobia, racist microaggressions, and neglectful parenting.

We're switching it up this week and talking about 3 episodes of Seinfeld (1989-1998): "The Boyfriend" (1992) and "The Outing" (1993). "The Boyfriend" parts 1 & 2 are about deconstructing the tropes fiction uses to telegraph romantic relationships vs. platonic ones and "The Outing" is the story of two best buds getting mistaken for a gay couple in the 90's. Join Hal, Autumn, and returning guest host Z as they discuss queer representation in the 90's, the correct way to make a Gay Joke(tm), and Keith Hernandez's mustache. Thank you to EnoffMusic on Instagram for our theme song.Alternate titles for this episode include: "Jerry Seinfeld in a Discord Server", "How I Came Out to My Mother", and "Featuring Special Guest *****".TW: This episode contains discussions of misogyny, homophobia, racist microaggressions, sexual themes, slut shaming, voyeurism, references to Nazis, sexual harassment, public outing, plane crashes, and suicidality.

Broadway musical Company, written by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth, premiered in 1970. The 2006 revival stars Raúl Esparza as Bobby, a man in his mid-30's trying to decide if he wants to be married like all of his friends. Join Hal, Autumn, and guest host (and fellow theater kid!) Sofie as they discuss reading Bobby as aromantic or polyamorous, the symbolism of the revival's use of musical instruments, and whether or not you actually have to listen to the songs in a musical in order to enjoy it. Alternate titles for this episode include: "Raúl Esparza Just Needs to Go Outside", "Justice for Paul / Justice for April", and "Everyone Deserves Cake". Thanks to EnoffMusic for our theme song. TW: this episode contains discussions of misogyny, alcoholism, eating disorders, anxiety and panic disorders/attacks, homophobia, depression, references to suicidality, compulsory heterosexuality, heteronormativity, racist microaggressions, and sexual themes.

This season we're putting a queer twist on movies that aren't gay on purpose, such as seminal childhood classic Shrek (2001), dir. Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson. Join Hal, Autumn, and returning guest Kenley as they talk about queer coding, The Hegemony(tm), and Jack Halberstam's The Queer Art of Failure on this week's episode of Okay, But Is It Gay?.Alternate titles for this episode include: More Things Should be Motivated by Spite and If You Can Be Scared, Then You're a Person.TW: This episode contains discussions of hetero- and cisnormativity, pogroms and racial cleansing, the policing of queer bodies, microaggressions, fatphobia, and misogyny.

Have you ever watched a decidedly un-queer piece of media and then sat back and thought to yourself... "Okay, But That Was Gay"? We sure have! And so have lots of our friends. Let us tell you about this season on Okay, But Is It Gay?