By Gregg Shapiro

Contributing writer

Reeling 2009, the 28th Chicago Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival begins Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m. with a screening of “The Big Gay Musical” at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport (see review below). Reeling runs through Nov. 15 at a variety of participating theaters. For a complete schedule, visit reelingfilmfestival.org. Many more reviews are scheduled to run in next week’s issue of Chicago Free Press.

“The Big Gay Musical” (Embrem): A musical within a movie, “The Big Gay Musical” takes us behind the scenes of the off-Broadway show “Adam & Steve…Just the Way God Made Them,” as well as behind the scenes of some of the cast members’ lives. Paul (Daniel Robinson), who plays Adam, is a seasoned theater performer who also works at a cabaret bar called Mostly Sondheim. Inexperienced Eddie (Joel Dudding), who plays Steve, is so excited about being in his first New York production that he calls his religious parents to share his happiness, only to have it dashed when they tell him that they plan on coming to town for opening night. The only problem is that Eddie’s not out to them. The stage is set, so to speak, for all sorts of things to happen. And you better believe they do. Both the movie and the play within the movie are full of messages about modern gay life, including HIV/AIDS prevention, relationships, ex-gay ministries and religious extremism, family, friendship, the coming out process, losing one’s virginity, monogamy, online dating, disillusionment and sex work, to mention a few. As a cinematic device, the interweaving of the play and the musical work well together, and the musical numbers (a number of which include scantily clad performers) are clever. In fact, the Effie from “Dreamgirls” homage is not to be missed. Co-directors Caspar Andreas and Fred M. Caruso prove to be a successful creative team on this unexpectedly ambitious project.

Limited runs:

Wyatt Cenac of “The Daily Show” fame stars mumblecore feature “Medicine for Melancholy,” screening at 8 p.m. on Oct. 29 at Block Cinema in the Pick-Laudati Auditorium at the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, 40 Arts Circle Dr., on Northwestern’s Evanston campus. Call (847) 491-4000.

“The Art of the Remake” series at Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State, continues on  Oct. 30 and Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. with “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory.” Call (312) 846-2600.

Charles Laughton directs Robert Mitchum as “a sleepy-eyed man of God and a serial killer” in “Night of the Hunter,” from 1955, being shown at 8 p.m. on Oct. 30 at Block Cinema in the Pick-Laudati Auditorium at the Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, 40 Arts Circle Dr., on Northwestern’s Evanston campus. Call (847) 491-4000.

Michelle Monaghan, Benjamin Bratt and Jimmy Bennett star in “Trucker,” showing on Nov. 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th. Call (773) 445-3838.