By Gregg Shapiro

Contributing writer

Reeling 2009, the 28th Chicago Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival runs through Nov. 15 at a variety of participating theaters. For a complete schedule, visit reelingfilmfestival.org. Below are reviews of selected film from the festival. More reviews are scheduled to run in next week’s issue of Chicago Free Press.

“Stuck” (Dikenga)—Steve Balderson’s “women in prison” flick “Stuck!” is not a parody of the genre, but rather an unabashed homage. Virginal and innocent Daisy (Starina Johnson) comes home to find her ailing and suicidal mama (September Carter) clutching her father’s gun. When she tries to wrestle it away from her, the gun goes off and the mother is shot in the abdomen. Determined to finish herself off, mama shoots herself in the head. Daisy’s lonely neighbor lady (Karen Black) witnesses enough of what happened to call the police and report the shooting. Daisy is arrested, tried for murder, convicted and sentenced to death by hanging. On death row, she meets Meme (Susan Traylor), Dutch (Pleasant Gehman), Esther (Mink Stole) and Princess (Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go’s), all doing time for various crimes. They are all at the mercy of the ruthless guard they call Amazon (Stacy Cunningham). Meanwhile, the neighbor lady is trying to come to terms with what she saw and what is to become of Daisy. On the day of her execution, with the neighbor lady in the gallery, the rope snaps and Daisy survives. The experience transforms Daisy and she returns to her cell hardened, no longer a victim. Another execution date is set, but Daisy makes the most of her time in captivity. It’s unclear exactly when the story takes place. Shot in black and white, the characters dress in styles and speak in a manner that suggests the story could be taking place any time in the last 50 years. It’s also hard to tell whether the bad acting, writing and direction is intentional, to supposedly recreate the feel of the “women behind bars” movies or simply a case of just being bad.

Nov. 6, 7 p.m. Landmark Century Theatre, 2828 N. Clark

“The Baby Formula” (Free Spirit)—In the mockumentary “The Baby Formula,” Canadian lesbian couple Athena (Angela Vint) and Lilith (Megan Fahlenbock) want to have each other’s babies, to be involved in the process of creating life. Fortunately for them, Athena works in a lab where they are fusing eggs to create artificial sperm to make mice without a male. In other words, they are not making men obsolete, just unnecessary, by using stem cells and foreskin cells. Athena and Lilith are the first lesbian couple to attempt the procedure, with Athena being the one to be inseminated. But it turns out that Lilith has a jealous streak and during Athena’s pregnancy she also gets inseminated, with the assistance of gay Jim (Matt Baram) from the lab. Enter Athena’s possibly gay brother Larry (Dmitry Chepovetsky), who is convinced that he somehow had a hand in impregnating Lilith. Some of the funniest scenes occur when Athena’s crazy Christian mother Wanda (Rosemary Dunsmore), Alzheimer’s stricken father Karl (Roger Dunn) and open-minded grandma Kate (Jessica Booker) come face to face with Lilith’s gay dads Daniel (Hal Eisen) and Edward (Michael Hanrahan). We’ve seen this style of faux doc before, although the subject matter is definitely new. This one’s a bit self-conscious, playing on the women’s love/hate relationship with the obtrusive filmmaker and crew. But it’s less annoying than it could have potentially been.

Nov. 6, 9:15 p.m. Landmark Century Theatre, 2828 N. Clark

“Eating Out: All You Can Eat” (Ariztical): Need an indication that the “Eating Out” franchise is running out of steam? Characters are being killed off in this third generation of the “Eating Out” series, created by gay filmmaker Q. Allan Brocka. Marc (originally played by Ryan Carnes in the original and then Brett Chukerman in the sequel) died while giving someone a blow job in a car that crashed into Celine Dion’s tour bus on the Ronald Reagan Highway. Neo-nympho Tiffani (Rebekah Kochan) soothes her sorrow by having sex with a hot priest at Marc’s funeral and then paying tribute to Marc in song. Funny? No. Mink Stole, reprising her role as Kyle’s mother Helen, welcomes young gay nephew Casey (Daniel Skelton) into her home. Tiffani, who works as a manicurist, at Nail Me, hires Casey. Casey also looks into volunteering at the Larry Craig LGBT Center, where he meets wise older queen Harry (Leslie Jordan) and hot gym rat Zack (Chris Salvatore), the volunteer coordinator. As in previous “Eating Out” films, the theme of doing things to make others jealous recurs, but this time it involves fake profiles on online hook-up sites, competitive fag hags, unfaithful guys and more. Not funny, not sexy, not entertaining. The third installment in the “Eating Out” saga is enough to make you lose your appetite.

Nov. 7, 5 p.m. Landmark Century Theatre, 2828 N. Clark

“Make the Yuletide Gay” (Guest House Films): “Big queer man on campus” Olaf Gunundersson (Keith Jordan) is the kind of hot guy with whom handsome philosophy professors flirt. He proudly wears his HRC blue and yellow equal sign t-shirt and has a sexy boyfriend named Nathan (Adamo Ruggiero) with whom he’s sadly unable to spend the winter holiday break. On his way home to spend Christmas with his bubbly mother Anja (Kelly Keaton) and his stoner college professor father Sven (Derek Long), Olaf ducks into a rest stop to change into khakis and a drab sweater because he’s not out to his folks. Meanwhile, Nathan learns that his parents are heading out on a holiday cruise for two, with plans to leave him home alone for the holidays. So Olaf isn’t the only one surprised when Nathan shows up at the door to his parents’ house. Nathan can’t believe that Anja and Sven don’t know about Olaf, but when Olaf’s former high school sweetheart (and next door neighbor) Abby (Hallee Hirsh) figures it out, the trio makes the most of the delicate coming out situation. Virtually bursting with comedic situations, “Make The Yuletide Gay” is a peppermint twist on the traditional coming out story, complete with a heartwarming finale. As Abby’s outrageous mother Heather, Alison Arngrim almost steals the show via her ongoing feud with Anja. “Make The Yuletide Gay” is a Christmas comedy for all seasons.

Nov. 7, 7:15 p.m. Landmark Century Theatre, 2828 N. Clark

“The Boy With The Sun In His Eyes” (Bangor Films): Nothing could prepare John (Tim Swain) for the changes that would occur in his life following the death of childhood friend Kevin (Josh Ubaldi). Shortly before Kevin’s passing, John accuses him of never telling him the beginning or ending of a story. Rather it’s “always a headlong plunge into drama.” Little does John know that he’s about to take a similar plunge after he meets the mysterious Solange (Mahogany Reynolds), a B-movie actress in low-budget Italian horror films, at Kevin’s funeral. Within minutes of meeting him, Solange offers John a job as a production/personal assistant for “The Un-tourist Guide,” a food/lifestyle magazine/show she is planning to do in Europe. Before you can say “passport,” John quits his boring cubicle job in Boston and relocates to Paris with Solange. With a video camera in hand, to shoot “guerilla style” footage, John gets to work. While in Paris, John also meets Alain (Valentin Plessy), Solange’s “biggest fan” from her disco diva days, who knows all the words and moves to her 1980s club hit “Robots Are Un-American.” John finds himself falling love with Alain, who is in a band and also works at the hotel where John and Solange are staying. But trouble is lurking in the wings as psychotic performance artist Cindy is killed following a performance by Solange in a nightclub. As if that isn’t enough, John discovers that Alain has a live-in boyfriend. John takes off for Milan, where he meets restaurateur Giacomo (Yann de Monterno) and quickly begins a new sexual relationship. Soon Alain calls to tell John how much he misses him and to warn him that a mysterious guy showed up in Paris looking for him and Solange. John begins to have suspicions about Solange following the sabotaging of the opening of Giacomo’s new restaurant. By the time John learns that Solange is hired to “fuck with people,” they are in Berlin and John’s life is increasingly in danger. John returns to Paris and the safety of a now single Alain, but Solange isn’t far behind. Todd Verow’s film, based on the novel by Jim Dwyer (who also wrote the screenplay for Verow’s controversial movie version of Dennis Cooper’s “Frisk”), makes good use of the European locations. Verow also elicits honest performances from his lead actors, brightening the dark subject matter.

Nov. 7, 9:15 p.m. Landmark Century Theatre, 2828 N. Clark

“Fruit Fly” (Ersatz): Gay filmmaker H.P. Mendoza, who wrote and starred in 2006’s innovative and refreshing “Colma: The Musical,” makes his directorial debut with another musical, “Fruit Fly.” Bethesda (L.A. Renigen, who was so memorable as Maribel in “Colma”) is a straight Filipina performance artist who moves into a San Francisco commune while she tries to find a theater in which to mount her show. The residents, including lesbian couple Karen (E.S. Park) and Sharon (Theresa Navarro) and teen runaway Jacob (Aaron Zaragoza) are as colorful, but not nearly as interesting, as those who lived at Armistead Maupin’s 28 Barbary Lane. The problem is that they are so shallow and self-involved, it’s hard to find something likeable about any of them. Bethesda becomes fast friends with gay housemate Windham (Mike Curtis), who is the least problematic character, but even their friendship becomes strained under the weight of Bethesda ’s oversized ego. Thank goodness there are whimsical musical song and dance numbers—featuring the characters singing about fag hags, sexual proclivities and the quest for identity—to distract the viewer. To say that I’m disappointed is an understatement. “Colma” is a movie that I still talk about and recommend to people on a regular basis. I’m not sure that I will be able to do the same when it comes to “Fruit Fly.”

Nov. 8, 2:30 p.m. Landmark Century Theatre, 2828 N. Clark

“Not Fade Away”: Self-centered lesbian Angie (Liz Jahren) is a photographer who works at a winery, putting up with endless “Sideways” jokes and references, to pay the rent. A gallery owner has expressed interest in giving her a show, but she has to get pieces to him right away. Unfortunately, Angie’s more than a little preoccupied with getting her mother Diane’s (Shirley Knight) house packed up for a downsize move into an apartment. But Angie notices that Diane is getting “a little foggy in the upper story” at a faster rate than she had realized. Diane is constantly obstructing the pack process and Angie has to call on her brother Todd (Dodds Delzell) and cousin Matt (Ryan Schmidt) for assistance. It soon becomes clear that Diane’s decline is related to Alzheimer’s. Both Angie’s personal life and her work life suffer, something that becomes obvious to her girlfriend Caroline (Bronwen Shears) and her boss Liza (Laurie Jacobson). The decision to put Diane into a nursing home, where they believe she will be safe and cared for, has adverse effects, leading to a shocking conclusion. Better than say, “Hannah Free,” “Not Fade Away” is still not the feature film that lesbian audiences deserve. It’s out there, it just hasn’t been made yet.

Nov. 8, 3 p.m. Landmark Century Theatre, 2828 N. Clark

“Fish Out of Water” (Yellow Wing): Ky Dickens never intended to make a film about religion and homosexuality. But after coming out during her senior year of college at socially conservative Vanderbilt, located in the “strap of the bible belt,” and being rejected by sorority sisters and finding no community to speak of, that’s precisely what she did. As compelling as Daniel Karslake’s “For The Bible Tells Me So,” Dickens’ doc follows her as she talks to preachers in Nashville about the gross interpretation of the bible on the subject of homosexuality and learns a few things about theology, biblical language and the ministry of Jesus. Following the renewal of hope that was the 2008 presidential election and the disappointment of the passage of anti-gay marriage amendments, Dickens expanded her documentation and interviewed more than 170 members of the GLBT community, almost a dozen people of the cloth and covered territory that included New York, Kansas, Georgia, Iowa, Colorado and Missouri.

Along with the interviews, she incorporated film footage of same sex weddings, LGBT rights marches and protests, all of which are enhanced by Daniel Saunders’ animation and Kyle Harter’s illustrations. One of the pleasures of watching the doc is the feeling of learning things along with filmmaker, which can best be summed up with the notion that “no fish was created to live out of water.”

Nov. 8, 5 p.m. Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport

“American Primitive” (Cape Cod Films): “Inspired by actual circumstances,” “American Primitive” has a promising cast and story. Relocated to Cape Cod in 1973 with their father Harry (Tate Donovan), following the death of their mother, sisters Madeline (Danielle Savre) and Daisy (Skye McCole Bartusiak) love their new house with its ocean view. On their first day at school, they meet hot Sam (Corey Sevier) and crunchy Spoke (Josh Peck) and Madeline wows everyone at tennis team tryouts. Back at home, Harry is busy setting up shop with Thomas (Adam Pascal, unrecognizable under mutton chops), with whom he will be operating a business providing American primitive furniture and artwork. But there’s more to Harry’s relationship with Thomas, who lives out back, something that Madeline discovers when she and Daisy join their new friends on a road trip to Provincetown. While dancing and frolicking with the drag queens at the Atlantic House disco, Madeline discovers that her father and Thomas are also there taking part in the revelry. Suddenly, it will take more than dressing like a preppy to keep Madeline’s plan of fitting in from falling apart. When the eligible “bachelors” catch the eye of Sam’s mother Mrs. Brown (Anne Ramsay), she plans a party to introduce them to the available women in town, including Joy (Stacey Dash), a writer for the local Cape Cod Chronicle. Madeline encourages them to attend and a date with Joy is the end result. But Harry is gay and committed to Theo, regardless of his daughter’s intentions. A visit by maternal grandparents Martha (Susan Anspach) and William (James Sikking) occurs around the same time that Harry’s malicious outing takes place at Madeline and Daisy’s school and the story becomes about custody and legal issues and family. “American Primitive” makes an admirable attempt at recreating the mood of the period, including the fashions and the music, as well as the slowly evolving attitudes towards gay people.

Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m. Landmark Century Theatre, 2828 N. Clark

“Pornography” (Triple Fire): You could call “Pornography: A Thriller” David Kittredge’s “Mulholland Drive.” In much the same way that the David Lynch thriller reeled us in through its story of moviemaking and some of what happens behind the scenes and in the lives of those involved, “Pornography: A Thriller” does so with gay male erotica. Unfortunately, it also falls apart in the same way that “Mulholland Drive” did. In New York in 1995, retired gay porn actor Mark Anton (Jared Grey), now clean and sober and enrolled in photography school, is offered $40k by an anonymous fan to make one more video. He shows up, is killed and his murder is videotaped. In Brooklyn, 14 years later, gay couple Michael (Matthew Montgomery) and William (Walter Delmar) find the most perfect apartment, with a view of the Manhattan skyline, at an unbelievable price. William works in the city and Michael is a writer, hard at work on a book about the “history of genre filmmaking,” a.k.a. gay male porn, and the “nature of desire.” He spends his day tracking down and trying to interview porn stars and perusing rare and vintage movies. Michael notices strange holes in the wall and ceiling, where cameras were mounted, and he also discovers a secret panel in the wall, which contains a video of Mark Anton being tortured and murdered. After a series of creepy events, the movie evolves into a supernatural psychological thriller, and an effective one, at that. And just as you get swept up in the action, you find out that you’re watching a movie about an L.A.-based porn star writing a “porno thriller in three acts” that ends like a Greek tragedy titled, you guessed it, “The Mark Anton Story.” This is exactly where things begin to unravel. Unfortunately, by the third act, the story gets muddled and that’s too bad, because up to that point, “Pornography: A Thriller,” was living up to its name.

Nov. 8, 9:30 p.m. Landmark Century Theatre, 2828 N. Clark

“College Boys Live” (Keyknowpix): Longtime film editor George O’Donnell makes the leap to being behind the camera with his doc directorial debut “College Boys Live,” a portrait of an Orlando, Florida-based webcam house and the assorted goings on between those who operate the corresponding website, those who live in the house and their followers. Run by Zac and his much younger boyfriend Jonathan, collegeboyslive.com makes $20k a month and is likened to watching your favorite soap (opera) to which you can add your own two cents. With “small and out of the way” cameras stationed throughout the house, website members can observe the very intimate details of the residents of the house. A new set of roommates is chosen every six months and at the beginning of the doc we learn that 60 applicants have been screened and three new guys have been chosen. They are J.C. (20), Chuck (18) and Tim (22), and although they aren’t paid, they get to live in the house rent-free. Right from the start, it’s clear that they are troubled and a bit on the trashy side—“lost souls” as Zac kindly puts it. The new roommates settle into their routine, which does include nude chatting (although it is mentioned repeatedly that collegeboyslive.com is considered to be more than a sex site), as well as assorted chores and housekeeping. The action takes a dramatic turn when the homeowners association in the development in which the house is located file suit because they are concerned that a business is being operated out of a residential location. They also claim that it has nothing to do with the men being gay. The drama is heightened when J.C., from Michigan, is revealed to be something of a pathological liar and substance abuser. O’Donnell reveals the unsexy side of this online world, which includes Charlie, a borderline stalker who hangs out at the house and is obsessed with Tim. The story comes full circle with a 2009 update. Ironically, instead of acting as enticement, the effect that this doc may have is to turn off the very people who frequent sites such as this.

Nov. 10, 9:15 p.m. Landmark Century Theatre, 2828 N. Clark

“Riot Acts: Flaunting Gender Variance in Music Performance” (Actor Slash Model Productions): Its academic sounding subtitle aside, “Riot Acts” is a thought-provoking, insightful and informative doc that marks the impressive debut of a promising young filmmaker. Director Madsen Minax, who is also a gender variant musician and one half of the band Actor Slash Model, knows the material intimately. It is because of that first hand experience that Minax is able to make the subject matter so accessible to viewers. Minax assembled a top notch array of interview subjects including members of the bands Coyote Grace, The Shondes, Lipstick Conspiracy, The Cliks, The Degenerettes, Trannysaurus Sex and Systyr Act, to name a few. The doc touches on a broad array of topics, ranging from the concept of trans musicians making music for trans people to dealing with audience and public perception to performing for audiences beyond the queer community and dealing with the media and the press. It was fascinating to hear the performers speaking about transitioning their art along with physical appearance and the difference between being comfortable on stage versus being comfortable on the street, and concerns such as the issue of taking testosterone and the effect that it has on the voice. Minax also makes excellent use of performance footage.

Nov. 11, 7 p.m. Landmark Century Theatre, 2828 N. Clark

“Fig Trees” (Greyzone): Chances are that you won’t see anything else like “Fig Trees” at film festivals or your local multiplex any time soon. A documentary about AIDS activism that blends modern opera, saints, an albino squirrel, an indictment of the pharmaceutical industry, the “dollar Bills” (Clinton and Gates) church music, Gertrude Stein and Virgil Thomson, and much more, “Fig Trees” is one of a kind. Writer/director John Greyson (“Lillies,” “Zero Patience” and others) connects the lives of South African AIDS activist Zacki Achmat and Canadian AIDS activist Tim McCaskell through their ongoing work and struggles, while transforming “popular” AIDS songs by rewriting lyrics to existing tunes. A thoroughly original and powerful film, “Fig Trees” is a fruitful experience.

Nov. 11, 9 p.m. Landmark Century Theatre, 2828 N. Clark