Tara 0:17
Hey everyone, welcome to Queerly Recommended. I am Tara Scott and I’m here as always with my co-host Kris Bryant.
Kris 0:24
Hello, and welcome to Episode 22. And I have nothing clever to say about the number 22. Other than it’s even and it makes me happy.
Tara 0:32
There you go.
Kris 0:33
Okay. So since last time, we found out that the Scott family had COVID.
Tara 0:41
Yep.
Kris 0:41
How are things now? What’s going on?
Tara 0:44
You know what? It’s a lot better. We’re all out of our isolation windows, we’re all feeling way, way, way better. Unfortunately, I still have a lingering cough. Neil has a weird time with taste and smell. And everybody’s still a little bit tired. But it’s so nice to be able to leave the house.
Kris 1:03
Yay. That is good.
Tara 1:05
We went for a couple of family walks last weekend. And it was like the best walks I’ve ever been on in the whole of my life. Because that was the one thing like all I wanted to do, while we were quarantining, was just go walk around the block. So we did.
Kris 1:20
You could do that? It wasn’t hard for the lungs or anything?
Tara 1:22
No, no, it wasn’t hard for the lungs at all. I ended up further re-screwing up my foot a little bit, but that’s okay. I’m going to physio. It’s going to be better. I’m going to be able to walk pain free soon.
Kris 1:34
Good.
Tara 1:35
Soon, soon. Ah, but you also had COVID reach your family as you shared with your patrons on Patreon. How is your sister doing now?
Kris 1:46
So here’s the story. My sister, her work has- it’s a really great place where she works. And they really encourage, you know, self help, self awareness, self healing. And they allow people to go on sabbaticals. And so my sister has been planning the sabbatical, this six weeks sabattical for years. And finally, you know, other countries opened up, she was double vaxxed. And she’s really very good about masking. Kind of like the rest of us and like, :Don’t touch me. Get away from me. Oh my gosh”.
So anyway, so she went and she spent two weeks in Turkey and then she went to Greece and was in bed for two weeks because she got COVID really bad. And she did not reach out for the family. I think I said that she didn’t like talk to us for a couple days, three days until I reached out. I’m like, “You really need to check in with mom and dad.” And then she called and said she had COVID she didn’t want to tell anybody. So I didn’t tell anybody because I was kind of keeping it you know, every day I would worry about my sister. “Is she okay? Is she okay?” But it was really bad. She dropped 30 pounds. How do you lose 30 pounds in eight days?
Tara 2:54
That is wild. That is wild.
Kris 2:57
Yeah. So then I finally put something out on my Patreon page, and one of my patrons reached out she’s like, “Kris, I’m in Greece. I’m in Athens.” Where my sister is, and she’s like, “I can run your sister over medicine, drinks, food, anything she needs”. And I was like, “Oh my goodness, that’s amazing”. I totally forgot that my friend, she had moved from Estonia down to Greece. And but you know, the good news is by then my sister was doing a lot betterm she was sitting up, she was able to eat like cottage cheese and mashed potatoes. So then I posted it on Facebook, I’m like, “This is how awesome my Patreon family is, you know, everybody reaches out and everybody that’s-” I love I love my Patreon page. That’s a whole different story.
But then somebody else who was in Greece, a reader, reached out on Messenger and said the same thing. “Look, I’m in Athens, I can do anything. I can, you know, take your sister anything she needs”. And I just thought that was so sweet. I mean, I’m just- I love. I love the community we’re in because it’s it’s a big giant world, but we’re a small group and very, very supportive. So the good news is my sister is better and she just had her blood test today. Which means she can fly home. She was negative. So she can fly home and she’s like, “I just want to go home. I want to be in my bed. I just want to heal at home”. So she still has a lot of the COVID effects but she’s no longer positive. She’s not going to be able to transmit it to anybody. She is tired and wants to come home. So it’s gonna be a rough Monday, Tuesday for her but that’s when she’s coming back.
Tara 4:32
Yes. Well, thank goodness she was vaccinated.
Kris 4:35
Yes, for sure. She actually said, she goes “I feel like had I not been vaccinated I for sure would have died”. That’s how bad she felt and my sister’s not a whiny baby. She’s not a whiny baby at all and I got mad at her cuz I’m like, “This is a second time I almost lost you. Like stop doing this to me.
Tara 4:52
It’s a bit rude.
Kris 4:54
I know.
Tara 4:54
Not a good pattern.
Kris 4:56
It’s not. It’s not a good pattern. So I’m finally done stress eating for the week, so get her home so I can relax a little bit before my big trip.
Tara 5:07
Right. Because when this episode drops, I mean we’re- so we always record about a week and a half before the episodes go up. But when this goes up, you are already going to be at P-Town at Women’s Week. What are you going to be doing there? And where can people find you if they’re also going to be there and want to check out your public appearances?
Kris 5:27
Yes, I’m excited. I have been waiting for this for years, literally years. And I have actually kind of sequestered myself. I’m working from home for two weeks, I’m staying in my bubble so that I stay safe. And I’m driving to P-Town. So all of our events, through Bold Strokes Books, our events are at the library. But I’m also doing reading at Napi’s Restaurant with a couple of other writers from different publications. That’s kind of a thing. And so I’ll be at Napi’s on Friday, and the schedule is up everywhere. And for sure, I’ll be doing some readings and some panels and some question and answers. And all of those will happen at the Provincetown Library, which is like smack dab on Commercial and you can’t miss it. It’s a beautiful big, yellowish white building. I’m excited.
Tara 6:19
That sounds so nice. I haven’t gone anywhere since February of last year.
Kris 6:27
Oh my gosh. Yeah.
Tara 6:29
I’m super jealous.
Kris 6:31
Yes. The only place I have been, I have been down to my sister’s lake house a couple times and KB Draper’s lake house a couple of times and that’s it. So I haven’t really seen anybody. It’s all been like safe small spaces. And this time I get to see people I haven’t seen in forever and I’m gonna cry the whole time. I’m literally gonna cry. I talked to Rae and we both decided we’re just gonna like burst into tears.
Tara 6:57
Just embrace it?
Kris 6:58
Yes. For sure. Yeah.
Tara 7:01
Yes. So if you see two people bawling their eyes together it is Kris Bryant and Rachel Spangler.
Kris 7:09
For sure. And I cry at everything. If I walk in and I see somebody crying, I’m crying. Even if I don’t know the reason I’m crying.
Tara 7:16
Oh the empathy crying is so bad. I know I’m the same way too, that’s the- I used to be able to watch anything and then not cry and then I watched something where it’s like it could be like somebody having happy tears in a movie and then I’m crying too and I’m like, “It’s just so beautiful.”
Kris 7:33
I cry at everything. I cry at sporting events. Who cries at sporting events? Oh, me.
Tara 7:38
Well, but if it’s like a big moment and you know they’ve worked really hard for it. That’s why sports movies get- I don’t watch them very often and I’m not particularly interested in them. But when I do see them and it’s like, “The team they come together to do the thing” and then I’m just like, a puddle because it’s so beautiful that they achieved their dream.
Kris 7:59
It is! Like Rudy. Oh my god. Everybody cries at Rudy. Field of Dreams. What else? Oh, Invincible.
Tara 8:07
Yeah, there was another football movie that that happened with me and I cannot remember what it is.
Kris 8:14
Oh, the woman Sandra Bullock Maybe?
Tara 8:16
Maybe?
Kris 8:17
I can’t think of what it’s called. You would think I’ve been dropping them like, name drop.
Tara 8:21
You’re a football fan. We actually timed this recording so you can watch your football game.
Kris 8:26
I know. Like we got to do it early because the Chiefs are playing at noon. So let’s get this going. I can’t think of what it’s called, The Big…. I can’t remember.
Tara 8:35
I think that might be the one though.
Kris 8:37
Yeah, yeah. And then as soon as we stop recording or like right in the middle of your recommendation, I’ll blurt it out because it’ll come to me.
Tara 8:44
Oh, I had a moment like that. What day is it today? Okay, two days ago, I had a moment like that. I met up for coffee with a couple of people from work just like an outdoor coffee thing. And then I was talking to one of them. And I was telling him about somebody in our family circle who is Mennonite and he’s throwing out last names like, “Is it this, is it this, is-” I’m like, “Oh, no, no, I know what it is”. And then I look and I- she’s the one person in my contacts that doesn’t have the last name in here and I’m like son of a bitch. Whatever. So we part ways and I have walked literally maybe 30 feet from where we parted when her last name popped in my head and I was like, “Come on!”
Kris 9:29
I looked it up and it’s The Blind Side.
Tara 9:31
Yeah, I think that’s the one. Yeah. But, all right, so, since the last episode, there was another lovely beautiful, sweet, anonymous soul who supported us through Ko-fi. For anyone who is not familiar it is a site where you can financially support your favorite content creators, you can do it as a one off, you can do it as a recurring whatever you like. We always appreciate it when that happens because that basically pays for all the things that run the show. And if you feel so inclined, please feel free, we put the link in the show notes. If you don’t feel inclined, that’s okay. We still love you too. If you would want to even just tell a friend that you think might be interested in the show, we would superduper appreciate that as well.
Kris 10:15
Yes, because we need more listeners and we appreciate all of them. And anytime we get a tip it really does. I didn’t realize how expensive it really is to run a podcast until you went over the numbers with me. So that was a shock. A surprise but- Okay, so in other news, it is listener question time.
Tara 10:34
Mmmhmm.
Kris 10:35
We have such a love hate relationship with listener question time. We love them sometimes.
Tara 10:40
Why do you say that?!?
Kris 10:41
I have a hard- Okay, so correction, I have a love hate relationship with listener question time because some of the questions are really hard. Like I seriously can’t answer them. So one that we have Fangirlluvspizza, asks “If y’all could greenlight any queer movie- queer book into a movie? Which book and who would be your dream cast?” So.
Tara 11:05
This is a tough one. For sure. I would say- Oh shit, I mean, there’s a handful of them. I would absolutely love to see. The one that came to mind first for me was One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston. Anybody who follows me knows that when I fall in love with the book I’m just gonna keep talking about that book over and over again. So yeah, you’re gonna keep hearing about that book. I don’t know who I would cast though because I don’t watch or follow enough media to know who the 20 to 25 year olds. I am like a 95 year old 42 year old. I just don’t know. But then I also think, you know, Anna Burke’s speculative fiction, and any of Anna Burke’s books. I mean, her contemporary romances would be fine, but like her book, Nottingham, which is like the queer retelling of Robin Hood would be freaking fabulous. What is her Beauty and the Beast retelling.
Kris 12:02
Thorn.
Tara 12:03
Thank you.
Kris 12:04
You’re welcome.
Tara 12:04
Yes. Thorn. Because my brain kept going “Huntress?” And I’m like, “No, that is a Malinda Lo book”. No, not that one. And that’s the only word my brain was supplying. So again, my brain continuing to get total dickhead.
Kris 12:18
Great book.
Tara 12:19
Not helpful. And then also her Compass Rose books, like those would be fabulous. I know we were talking about this too. I cracked a joke. Kris and I were talking we were like “Geez, how we’re gonna answer this?” And I said, “Okay, well what if they did Fried Green Tomatoes again, but actually made it gay this time?”
Kris 12:38
Just think about how much freedoms we would have had 20 years ago had we seen this movie with more gayness, more queerness to it.
Tara 12:47
It would have been incredible. It would have really meant- it already, I think, in talking with other people meant so much to so many people.
Kris 12:57
And I think it could have done so much- that Yeah, they for sure could have done a much better job with the movie.
Tara 13:02
I agree. Yeah. What about you?
Kris 13:05
So this is one of those love hate questions. I love it. And yet I hate it because it’s so hard to answer. So this is- when I got into reading lesfic the one book that to me played out as a movie because it was so well written and I know I’ve talked about this before, but it’s just, it’s one of those where I could see it because the description was so… it was just so good. And it’s CF Frizzell’s Stick McLaughlin books, the prohibition years. It was the first book and there’s only a two book, kind of a continuation, but the first book by far is just- it’s like a movie in your head. And I always call it a movie because in my head, it’s so visual, that it is a movie and I’m like “No, I mean the books”. So I’m gonna go with that, you know, and as far as like, who could play the roles, it’s several stages of Stick’s life, you know. How Stick became, you know, like a, an orphan on the streets type thing and then a teenager and then an adult and so there’s too many. It’s like, it’s almost like a lifetime going on in this book. So a bunch of different people can play Stick. I can’t really answer that because again, like all the actresses like I find attractive and really enjoy watching and like, or, you know, mid 30s, maybe in their 40s so trying to find somebody to play you know, I’m kind of in the same boat. I don’t know a lot of 20 year old actresses. I just don’t.
Tara 14:29
No. See, that’s my problem. All the ones that I think of are like, the youngest for sure in their 30s but they’re probably in their 40s or 50s.
Kris 14:37
Yeah, for sure.
Tara 14:37
Like, we can’t put Cate Blanchett as a 25 year old.
Kris 14:42
Yeah right. We can’t put-
Tara 14:44
Or Charlize Theron, we can’t-
Kris 14:45
Yes! I know. So well, we’ll just gonna have to, we’re gonna have to wait until we learn more about the 20s you know, as they come up, the actresses in their 20s as they make bigger bolder, badass movies that are mainstream queer.
Tara 15:02
It’s true. The only one I could think of maybe, maybe is Florence Pugh, but I’ve only seen her in the Black Widow film. So now I’m just like, “Well let’s just put her in everything.”
Kris 15:16
Yeah. And I’m really bad at young actresses names because I’m thinking “Okay, who’s the one who did the updated Lara Croft? Who was that?” See? I don’t know. But she would be good at something.
Tara 15:28
I didn’t know that there was an updated Lara Croft.
Kris 15:31
Well, okay, so the original Angelina Jolie. Hello? Yes. Okay. But then there was another one and her. Yeah. Okay. I didn’t know if he even knew about the Angelina Jolie one.
Tara 15:43
No. And I mean, I’m such a curmudgeon that when like, Timothee Chalamet’s name kept showing up all over Twitter. I’m like, “Who the fuck is this guy? What were they? What are they talking about?” So I don’t know. When I was growing up. I was always like, “When I’m older. I’m not gonna be like these older people”. And now that I’m older, I’m like, “Fuck that. I’m leaning in. I’m just gonna be extra curmudgeonly and refuse to learn what everybody else is talking about.”
Kris 16:11
That’s funny. I’m like, “What’s trending? What is trending?”
Tara 16:15
I know. This is what I love about us.
Kris 16:19
We’re a little- we’re opposites almost.
Tara 16:21
Yes. Yeah, absolutely. It’s so true.
Kris 16:25
That’s funny.
Tara 16:26
Oh, so Kris, what have you been watching lately? I know it’s a big writing time for you so you’re probably not doing a ton of reading.
Kris 16:34
I’m not doing a ton of reading. Yeah plus I have to get ready for P-Town and so like all the writers who are there you see on their social media feeds are like “Oh, I’m practicing my reading for P-Town” and I’m like, “How am I the only person who waits like 10 minutes before to actually practice and pick a scene to read?” I mean, I’ve been with this book for years- for a year at least you know not to mention like the book that I’m going to be reading from is going to be Not Guilty. And I literally was on that journey for a year through edits through writing I know that book forward and backward.
Tara 17:07
What scene are you gonna read?
Kris 17:10
I have no idea. Like I need to find- and I’m gonna be reading at least three different times, so I have to find three different scenes in this book that doesn’t give too much away where I don’t have to say pussy and other words to a bunch of people that maybe aren’t used to that. That’s why right under Brit Ryder for that kind of stuff, you know those kind of scenes and stuff. Erotica. Because I have my Kris Bryant fans that like the sweet romance and then you know, I wanted to try a little bit rawer stuff. So Brit Ryder, so I’m going to show up as Brit Ryder and I’m going to you know, Kris Bryant, fans are gonna be like, “WHAT?” I will have to make it so that it’s sexy, but not too sexy. And I’ll go through those eventually. I mean, I’ll go through the book at some point, maybe, you know, mark a few scenes.
Tara 18:02
Youre gonna be driving to P-Town listening to your own book, trying to-
Kris 18:05
I know it’s- yeah, I really don’t know. It’s hard, because it just is. So-
Tara 18:16
Good luck!
Kris 18:17
Thank you. Thank you very much. But yeah, so I have been of course, I’m still on my Walking Dead Season Finale series. I’m still watching that. And I’m still watching that frickin train wreck that is The L Word Generation Q. I, you know, I don’t even know what to do. I don’t know. I don’t know what to do. I have to watch it. Like I’m the kind of person who’s committed to things. And I have to finish it. Very rarely do I stop watching something because I’m so far in that I might as well finish it to the end of the season, at least. So.
Tara 18:55
I feel like life is too short. I also don’t finish books that I don’t like.
Kris 19:00
Yeah, I mean, yeah, I guess that’s true. Maybe for books, and sometimes series or movies, especially if they’re like zombie or apocalyptic. I don’t have time to watch really bad movies. I started a movie that was so bad that I just, I was like, “Yeah, no, I can’t even.” It was a 2.9 out of 10 on Amazon. And I’m like, “It can’t be that bad”. So let me tell you they had like a big actor Tom Sizemore. He’s a big actor, right? I mean, everybody can-
Tara 19:28
He’s notable.
Kris 19:29
He’s notable. So yeah, so I’m going through I’m still working through The L Word Generation Q, but I’m getting kind of pissed off about it. So…but I will watch it finished.
Tara 19:40
To the end of the season, or to the end of the series, or is this the final season?
Kris 19:43
I don’t know. I really don’t know. For sure at least until the end of the season, and then we’ll see how I feel. Because I still am invested in Bette Porter.
Tara 19:53
Oh, yeah.
Kris 19:54
But I think she’s the only one anymore. Everybody else is just like… I can’t with them.
Tara 20:01
Well that’s fair.
Kris 20:02
Yeah, so, so we’ll just see, you know. And so I done did it. Guess what I did?
Tara 20:07
What did you do?
Kris 20:08
I promised everybody that I was gonna start Christmas movies and I did.
Tara 20:12
Wooooo. And what was it?
Kris 20:14
Oh, well here’s the reason so like Lifetime just announced that they have their first mainstream lesbian holiday movie called Under the Christmas Tree. I don’t know if you saw that on-
Tara 20:24
No.
Kris 20:24
No. Yeah, so that was a big thing that happened. So in honor of my love of holiday movies and lesbians, I decided to watch the incredibly cheesy movie on telo called Season of Love. Okay, so and I had been fighting it.
Tara 20:40
I remember hearing about this one a lot. You had been fighting it?
Kris 20:43
I have been fighting it because I heard really bad things about it. Like it wasn’t great. But yeah, we have les-date movie.
Tara 20:49
Mm hmm.
Kris 20:50
But as an Earper I had to watch it. I finally said okay, I’m gonna do it because Dominique Provost-Chalkley, I always mispronounce her name. She’s in it. So I’m like, “Okay, I’m gonna go ahead and watch this movie”. And here’s the funny thing. I have a really awfully awkward social moment with Dominic. I had in real life. So and there are people who are listening to this podcast now who were there at the time that this horrible, socially awkward moments happened in my life.
So or we’re at dinner and we’re at the table, Dom’s at our table talking to us. And she kind of goes around the table and we talk about her or we talk about ourselves to her you know, tell her who we are what we do. And I don’t know why I did this. I turned into Ross from Friends. And I started talking to her in a British accent.
Tara 21:44
NO!!!
Kris 21:45
Yes I did.
Tara 21:48
Kris, why?!?
Kris 21:49
I was so nervous. I was just- I panicked and I didn’t you know and you know I love British accents I love like pretending like I have them. I slipped into a British accent and I don’t know why. And it’s so embarrassing that I’m sharing the story. But I did it and yeah, so anyway so back to the movie, “Was it a good movie?” No, not really. “Is the acting superb?” Not at all. Not at all. But it was- you know cuz I had a really rough two weeks and I and I started I did and so I just needed a feel good movie and you know, I am more of a Hallmark kind of girl rather than Lifetime because Hallmark is like sugar and spice and everything nice whereas Lifetime is love story gone wrong with a stalker at a kidnapping and a hospital stay by one or two of the leads. Even though they both are considered like happy love stories. I just feel like Lifetime goes down a really dark path.
Tara 22:52
Oh yeah.
Kris 22:53
And Hallmark is all fluff. And so I’m more on the Hallmark level and this movie is is very Hallmark-y. It’s just the acting was really bad. Very bad. I was just- I was surprised to how bad it was.
Tara 23:04
Oh, well, yeah. You kinda never know with indie filmmaking with what you’re gonna get.
Kris 23:14
I’m just saying. You don’t have somebody who’s like pulling, you know, this is kinda like Tom Sizemore you think you know, there’s an actor who has been in a lot of things that they know their way in front of a camera. But apparently directors are really underappreciated, because I feel like, you know, some of the actors are really taking leads and cues from the director so and that makes it a much better movie.
Tara 23:39
Was it at least cute?
Kris 23:41
It was super cute and it was a lot It was so nice to watch this movie after the shit show that is The L Word Generation Q. And it deals with you know, the same situations you have these, you know, queer couples and they try to get together or they’re trying to get together or this person falls in love with this person. And so I mean, it’s fun to watch and it’s good to get into the Christmas spirit. So that’swhat I have been watching. So what about you? I know, it’s a lot. What about you? What have you been reading and or watching?
Tara 24:14
So last night, Neil and I checked out Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. It’s a new film that was released, I think a couple weeks ago on Amazon Prime. And it’s based on the true story of this boy in the UK. He’s gay and he knows that he wants to be a drag queen and he decides that he wants to go- not only that he wants to go to prom in drag and much like- not totally like but sort of like what you’re saying with Season of Love, I was really hopeful for this one, especially you know, Richard E. Grant is in it and he plays an aging drag queen who puts Jamie into drag for the first time. And so is kind of his drag mother. And it’s a movie. I can say that.
Kris 25:08
It’s a queer movie.
Tara 25:09
It’s definitely a queer movie. I think I somehow missed the fact that, so it’s based on a true story, but it’s also, it’s based on a musical that played at the West End that was based on a true story. And so they kind of took that musical and they adapted it for screen. And unfortunately, the music were my least favorite parts, and like there’s a lot of songs in it. But there’s one, there’s one song in particular, and the way they did it, like it’s not even the song itself, but what they did for that part was really, like just stunning and so beautiful. And so well done, it’s almost worth checking out for this part or just fast forward to this part where it shows- it’s Richard E. Grant singing kind of about his past and because he’s, you know, in his I don’t know, I supposed to be in his 60s or something like that now. And so when he’s singing it’s all old videos, it’s like all old camcorder footage of like him at drag shows and stuff like that. And then you start to realize, “Oh, because it’s in the 80s, oh okay, there’s this person who has AIDS and then you realize, Oh, it’s his, it’s his partner”. And of course, I mean anything with like, gay men in the 80s there’s a decent chance.
And so you see some of like, you know, Princess Diana, and how she used to spend time you know, they have footage of her with these like gay men who clearly have AIDS and it brings in the Freddie Mercury thing dying. And so it was like, really, like, you know, I got a little teary at that part. And that part was really beautifull but the rest of it. I actually really liked the young man who played Jamie, I thought did a fabulous job. Actually, I should have looked up to see how that person identifies because they might be non-binary. I don’t know for sure. But honestly, like he did a really good job. It just, it wasn’t a hit for me. It wasn’t a total miss, but I probably won’t watch it again. So I don’t know. I think it’s, it’s worth trying anyway. And if you already have Amazon Prime, then you have access to it. You don’t have to pay extra to see it or anything like that. So I think that’s one of those like, your mileage may vary kinds of things.
But otherwise, I’ve been reading. So I’ve been reading The Headmistress by Milena McKay. I started reading this book, because I got FOMO. So many of my fellow reviewers at The Lesbian Review have been talking about how freaking amazing this book is. And so I was like, “Okay, fine, fine. It’s time for me to check it out”. And it’s told from the perspective of this young teacher, and when I say young, I don’t mean like, I don’t think she’s like 22 or anything like that. But I do think she’s in her 20s. And she’s a teacher at this, like, rich. Well, is it rich? I don’t know. I’m still fairly early into it. She’s a teacher at a private school in New England. And the kind of school that’s like, clearly supposed to be pretty fancy. And they find out that the board is kicking out the current headmistress and they’re bringing in a new headmistress. And kind of as this is happening at the beginning of each chapter, she’s thinking about the last time she had sex with somebody, which was like a few months prior on a trip to New York City. And then guess who the new headmistress is?
Kris 28:49
Ah, I think I know where this is going.
Tara 28:52
Yes. So good. So good. So I’m only about 10% into it. So I don’t really know kind of, but like I looked on Goodreads and it I think like something like 400 people have rated it and it has like a 4.67 rating on Goodreads which is unreal so I’m really looking forward to seeing how that goes. And then I’m also reading a book called The Lost Girls by Sonja Hartl and I’m really enjoying this one as well. I think I’m about 20% in.
Kris 29:25
Okay, what’s it about?
Tara 29:27
This is a book. It is like a queer vampire revenge story.
Kris 29:35
Ooooo.
Tara 29:36
I stumbled across it on Net Galley and they never approved my request and I just paid my own real money for it because I had to. This is one of the few blurbs that I went, ‘Ohhhhh.’ And I usually just talk generally about what a book is, but because that blurb got me so hard, I’m going to show the blurb for this one.
Kris 29:58
Okay.
Tara 29:58
Holly Lidell has been stuck with crimped hair since 1987 when she agreed to let her boyfriend, Elton, turn her into a vampire. But when he ditches her at a gas station a few decades into their eternity together, she realizes that being young forever actually means working graveyard shifts at Taco Bell, sleeping in seedy motels and being supernaturally compelled to follow your ex from town to town. At least until Holly meets Elton’s other exes.
It seems that Holly isn’t the only girl Elton’s seduced into this wretched existence. He turned Ida in 1921 then Rose in 1954, and he abandoned them both before Holly was even born. Now Rose and Ida want to kill him before he can trick another girl into eternal adolescence, and they’ll need Holly’s help to do it. And once Holly starts falling for Elton’s vulnerable new conquest Parker, she’ll do anything to save her. I’m gonna skip the last paragraph because it doesn’t matter. Holy shit.
Kris 30:51
Right.
Tara 30:51
Do I love this premise. Just the idea that like, these three ex’s are gonna- they’re just gonna fuck up this bad dude speaks to my soul. And it’s so… it’s really really good. It’s I’m just starting to get into that one as well. I have gone back to an old pattern in my life, which is that I can’t just read one book at a time right now. I think that’s my, that’s my pandemic damage is that I bounce between books. But just- there’s something really appealing to me about like girl gangs or like girls banding together to fuck up a bad dude. Or it doesn’t even have to be girls. It can be old women, like I think we talked about that Courtney Milan romance where two older women… Incomparable… Oh, I’m the worst, I’ll get the title for you all and put it on the show notes. Because I really love that and this is definitely- like this is not as funny as the Courtney Milan book. This is not funny at all. But it’s fabulous. And I cannot wait to see-
Kris 31:59
Yeah I’m kind of curious to see what happens with his his- like Parker- like what’s, how they’re gonna save Parker? Do they turn her? Like what happens when you’re a vampire and a normal person and they age and you’re stuck in adolescence? I mean, how does that work?
Tara 32:13
I don’t know. They’ve only just met though and already I’m like “Ooooooo.” So if this ends up being really good, I mean this or The Headmistress- My brain is not here today for words. Yes, if this or The Headmistress turned out to be good. One or both of them may end up being official recommendations. So I will be back. So Kris, what is your official recommendation this week?
Kris 32:42
Okay, so my official recommendation this week is a movie called The Intervention.
Tara 32:48
What is that? Because it sounds really familiar.
Kris 32:50
It’s from 2016. This right here is gonna give it away. Okay. I picked it because it’s directed by Clea DuVall.
Tara 32:58
Oh, yeah.
Kris 32:59
Yeah, okay. She also stars in the movie alongside Melanie Lynskey. I think it’s how you pronounce her name. And Natasha Lyonne. Come on. How do we know those names?
Tara 33:10
Mm hmm.
Kris 33:12
Yeah. Do you see where this is going?
Tara 33:13
Well, I know the Clea DuVall and Natasha Leone were in But I’m a Cheerleader together.
Kris 33:19
Yes! Yes. And so was Melanie.
Tara 33:23
Oh was she?
Kris 33:24
Yeah, she’s like the girl that introduces Natasha around. She’s got the glasses.
Tara 33:32
I can’t remember that. But I mean, I think if she’s who I think she is, does she have this like really sweet, almost baby voice and-
Kris 33:38
Yes, that’s right. Yes. Okay. Yes. So so it’s funny because after I finished The Intervention, then I started, But I’m a Cheerleader. Just because it was like they’re all- I have this thing where if people are in movies, and then I see them in movies later, whether it’s like a previous movie or a future movie, like I get all nostalgic, and I’m like, “Oh my god, this is so great”. And it could be like the worst thing and I will still watch it because, like my little heart’s happy.
Tara 34:07
Yeah, fair.
Kris 34:09
Yes. So here’s the movie synopsis. A weekend getaway for four couples takes a sharp turn when one of the couples discovers the entire trip was orchestrated to host an intervention on their marriage. So first of all, right, like, “Who doesn’t love a weekend getaway with friends?” I mean, it’s been forever, but like, I don’t know if you’ve been on many. And there’s- I have been on several and I always feel like there’s always a couple who fights. I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong, but I feel like-
Tara 34:38
This is what Tyler Perry movies tell us.
Kris 34:41
Exactly. And this is a true thing. So you know, everyone pretends it’s normal and they walk around on eggshells, you know, so basically this movie is like The Big Chill was for like Baby Boomers and late Gen x’s. This is the Big Chill: Millennial Version.
Tara 35:00
Minus the trying to impregnate your friends.
Kris 35:02
And minus the incredible soundtrack that came with The Big Chill. But yeah, that was amazing soundtrack. So let me tell you about the characters real quick. The couples, there’s four- there are four couples on this weekend getaway trip. And you have Peter and Ruby and they’re the main couple. They’re the couple that everybody wants to do this intervention on. I wanted in on the intervention because they were horrible to each other. They were awful. And like they cringe. I mean, I cringed every time I saw them, because you just knew that once one of them opened their mouths, it was gonna be bitchy and hateful. And I was like in I was down for the whole intervention.
Tara 35:46
Yep.
Kris 35:47
And then you have the lesbian I say, quote, lesbian couple, Sarah and Jesse. They’re there to help this whole intervention. But they’ve been together three years but they don’t live together. Like Jesse has, like this commitment issue thing. So she, yeah, so she doesn’t want that. And then there’s another couple and I’m gonna call them the fresh couple, because it’s Jack, who has been friends with this group forever. He brings along this 22 year old new girlfriend, and everybody’s jealous of her because she’s young. And she’s carefree. And she’s sexual. And so they’re, they’re like, “Hey, put on a shirt on a shoe put on those full length shirt”, you know, cuz she always wears these crop tops. And she’s just like, cutesy sexy. And the final couple is the engaged couple who, actually- Annie and Matt and Annie’s the one who decided to call this intervention on her friend.
So basically, what comes to light is that each couple has their own set of serious problems. You know, but I think that’s life. I think, you know, we all have our everybody thinks like, the couple next to you is perfect, but they’re really not because everybody just has problems. So, like Annie thinks that like, the big problem is her friend’s marriage, whereas, Annie drinks a lot like a ton. And so so it’s kind of interesting how, at the end, the intervention kind of switches. So the pros and cons about this, this movie, like one pro and con is that it’s the same thing. So like they bring alcoholism to light. And one of the characters is an alcoholic, obviously, but that there’s a lot of alcohol in the whole thing, a lot of alcohol. Even I was like “Oh my gosh, has way too much alcohol for being around an alcoholic”. The one thing I didn’t like about that in that regard is that they asked her to not drink. They’re like, “Look, you’re drinking all the time. You have a lot of alcohol in the morning, noon, night, day drinking morning drinking everything”. And so they switch her to water but you everybody is still drinking wine and scotch and whiskey and I’m just like, “You know, if you’re gonna do that, you hide the alcohol”. Let’s all have this-
Tara 38:14
Bad friends.
Kris 38:14
Yes. So I had an issue with that. But I loved the queer couple in this movie. I love them so much. Their problems felt like real queer problems.
Tara 38:27
Oh.
Kris 38:27
Yeah! So they go to get the rental car. And one of the guys at the rental car he starts flirting with Sara and tries to pick her up right in front of Jessie and nobody says anything, like she’s just like “Oh that’s so nice”. And like Jessie sits there and she’s like “Okay whatever.” Cuz that happens, you know? I mean if- you know people, a lot of queers who, I don’t know if they you know look straight or whatever if they get hit they get hit on and- but it’s not- like people don’t feel threatened, like their significant other doesn’t feel threatened because of course, you know, they’re not into them or whatever. It’s interesting because when the the movie finally like everything comes to head, everybody starts fighting and arguing. It comes out that Lola who is in the fun new, she’s the young girl, the 22 year old, she actually kisses Jessie.
Tara 39:23
No.
Kris 39:23
And they get caught, but but Jesse’s not kissing her back. And so then it comes to- so then Sara finds out about it and they have a huge massive fight. And she’s like, “You know what, I didn’t say anything when that guy was hitting on you at the counter. And Lola, I didn’t kiss her back, but it made me feel good. I felt good again. You know, I had somebody giving me attention.” And and I think that that’s a real thing. I think when people get into a relationship, that sometimes it can become stagnant. And so they like got it all out. “Hey, you know, this is how I feel”. And so it was kind of interesting to see this whole blow up and then the other ones like, “I want to sleep with a man, I miss sleeping with men”. Yeah.
Tara 40:03
Hmm.
Kris 40:04
So they worked through it and somebody’s like, “Okay, hold on, do you really want to break up with her because of the kiss?” Like, no. Okay, so then let’s just talk this through, so they like really focused on communication. And so the queer relationship survives, you know, they talk it through and so I thought it was really nice. It was nice to see a big recognizable cast with a queer- with queer leads, you know, because there’s four couples so yeah, so I recommend it for that reason, because it’s kind of fun to see that relationship and talk about real problems that exist and you know, the same things happen to heterosexual relationships that happen in queer relationships I mean, it’s just a relationship and they bring it to light and I really thought that that was important and plus it was kind of you know, all in all, it was a good movie.
Tara 40:59
Nice. Yeah.
Kris 41:00
Yeah so, but they lacked the music that the Big Chill had. So I’m just saying.
Tara 41:06
So just play the Big Chill soundtrack in the background while you’re watching this movie.
Kris 41:13
I’m all about music. We know this about me. I love good music. So anyway, that was my recommendation. What is your big recommendation for this week?
Tara 41:23
So I think we’ve talked before about how I don’t generally watch a ton of TV, but I finished Schitt’s Creek because, you know, I had- honestly I had been holding off on finishing Schitt’s Creek, because I didn’t want it to end. I couldn’t go anywhere because we all got COVID so it was kind of one of those, “Well, if not now, when.” So I finished it. I was like, “Oh shit, I need something else”. And then I watched an entire series, all four seasons in the time since the last episode recorded and this episode and that show is The Good Place, starring Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, Jameela Jamil and I cannot remember the names of anybody else.
Kris 42:09
Because you like binge watched it.
Tara 42:12
I did. Well, I couldn’t go anywhere, right? So there are four seasons and actually the pretty short seasons, right? They’re only 22 minute episodes. Ther’es 10 to 12 episodes per season. And it’s about- or sorry it’s not just about, it opens with this woman Eleanor played by Kristen Bell. She wakes up, she wakes up and Ted Danson says, “Eleanor, you’ve died and you’re in the good place”. And kind of by the end of the episode, she realizes she shouldn’t actually be there. And so her- the man she’s told is her soulmate, Chidi, he’s a moral philosopher, and when she tells him, he kind of starts to freak out, and she’s like, “Well, hang on. But you know all about how to be good. So how about you help me and I’ll just become a better person. And I’ll earn my way into being here.”
And it’s a really funny show. But it’s also an incredibly thoughtful show. Because like I said, Chidi is a moral philosopher. And so moral philosophy is actually something that kind of carries through all four seasons. And if you would have told me, before I watched this, that I would love a sitcom that is like, packed full of moral philosophy, I would have been like, “Go away”. Because philosophy has never really been my thing. And yet, it’s so like, it’s clever, and funny and thoughtful, and makes you feel all the feelings sometimes because at the core of it, really is that question of: what makes people good? How do we be good people? Can somebody who’s not good become good? Or can somebody who’s like kind of good become more good?
And one of the things that I also really loved about it, which is why it’s relevant for this show, is that Eleanor is canonically bisexual and it’s no big deal. You know, we see her make somewhat inappropriate comments about how she’s attracted to certain other women there or has been in the past and you know, she hits on Kameela Jamil’s character relatively frequently but like I liked seeing a character who just talks about their attraction to anybody, kind of where gender doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal in it. So I mean, maybe I don’t know, maybe she’s pansexual. Maybe she’s not bisexual. Again, she doesn’t declare it, but it doesn’t matter. It’s not- Labels aren’t really relevant there and it’s just so good.
The other thing is that like that finale, I remember seeing Twitter go nuts about the finale. And the thing that really impressed me is that nobody talked about why it was incredible.
Kris 45:14
Okay, don’t ruin it for us.
Tara 45:16
I’m not going to, I’m going to do the same thing that Twitter did or all the people that I follow on Twitter did anyway. They all just talked about how it was such a good ending. And it is, it is probably the best finale I’ve ever seen in a TV show. Because finales are hard to do, you know, there are high expectations. And I mean, I remember how pissed off everybody was at the finale for Seinfeld.
Kris 45:49
Oh, yeah.
Tara 45:50
There was such high expectations. And then even much more recently, like, how about that Game of Thrones finale, nobody was happy-
Kris 45:57
I know. I watched it.
Tara 45:58
-with how Game of Thrones ended. But with The Good Place it was just perfect. It was so- I cried a lot. A lot. Oh, and even the next day thinking about it. It was just so- I’m making hand gestures that only Kris can see that makes no sense for anybody listening.
Kris 46:22
Like muffin hands. Keeping the tears in right now.
Tara 46:27
Yeah, a little bit. It’s so good. And I was going to say something else. Oh, I know what it was. So it is actually kind of the perfect show to watch back to back with Schitt’s Creek. And I don’t think it matters which one you watch first and which one you watch second, because neither of them have anything to do with each other. But where they’re both really similar is that it takes people who are kind of shitty, because we see Eleanor is like what she was like when she was alive on Earth. And she was kind of a shitty person. You know, she worked at a multilevel marketing company selling bogus pills to seniors to try to like milk them with their money. Or she would be the designated driver for her friends group and then she’d get hammered so she couldn’t drive them, like just she was a jerk. Just like at the beginning of Schitt’s Creek, you know, these like wealthy entitled, monsters and how they’re- so while she ends up dying, you know, they end up going to a town where they probably wish they were dead because it’s so far in the middle of nowhere. And you see that, like they both have that trajectory of like learning how to be good. And they both ended I want to say too soon, but actually, it’s kind of perfect because they, they both ended at like the height of their popularity. They could have gone, either series could have gone so much further, they could have gotten so much more material out of there. And what they did instead was they ended it beautifully. In a way that left people wanting more, but acknowledging that what they got was just right. So
Kris 48:01
Yeah, I love it. I love it when a TV series gets it right. I mean, I Brooklyn-99 ended last week, I think and I got teary eyed too, because I always thought that that was such a fun show. I really enjoyed it. And actually my ringtone was Brooklyn-99, I switched it. What is it now? Oh, it’s Game of Thrones. I’m worthless. And also another like Newhart. You’re probably too young for Newhart, as am I. But Newhart had a fantastic ending. And I think I mentioned that my friend at work is going through the seasons now. He’s like, he’s in his 70s. And he watched the Newhart Show. And then never got into Newhart when it came out because it was like in the 80s and he runs an inn. And so the finale, I’m waiting for him to call me and tell me he finally finished because it’s like eight season. And they’re big, you know, episodes, and he’s not like us where we can sit and binge, like a season in one day. So he’s not like that. he like watches maybe one or two episodes a week. And I’m like, we’re never gonna get to the ending, I need to talk to him about this ending. But that’s good. And I and I love that I watched, I started The Good Place and I think I watched it when it was on TV. And I watched it because she wasn’t allowed to curse.
Tara 49:18
Yes oh my god, it’s so funny.
Kris 49:21
Yeah, she’s like “Fork you” and all the different ways to say fuck, but can’t really get away with saying it.
Tara 49:29
Motherforker shirt-balls.
Kris 49:31
Yeah. Yeah, so I had started it, but I and I will probably finish it, especially now that you’ve recommended it. I will finish it. And I will let you know if I cry on the ending, which I’m sure I will because you and I are both criers.
Tara 49:44
Oh my god. Yeah. I didn’t think I was a crier. And then it’s like, well, I have too much evidence to the contrary.
Yeah, “I’m a crier.” Yes you are.
All right. That is all for this episode. Thank you everybody, for joining us, for listening. If you’ve enjoyed this show, please make sure you subscribe if you haven’t already, wherever you listen to your podcasts you’ll get notified whenever we release an episode. Like I mentioned, if you feel so inclined to support us through Ko-fi, there’s a link there if not absolutely no big deal but if you do have a friend that you think would like the show somebody who’s looking for queer media recommendations, please let them know all about it because honestly that’s the main thing, we just want to connect more people with the queer media that they want to be able to find.
Kris 50:30
Right And also reviews, it’s cute because every time Tara and I start we go and we look at our reviews to see if we have any more and we haven’t had any in a few, in a little bit right? It’s been a while, so reviews would be great, it makes us happy every time we start recording so if you could throw a review up that would be great. I would love it and so would Tara yeah and always if you want to connect with us on your favorite social media sites just search for @queerlyrecommended on Twitter Instagram Facebook, or you can email us at podcast@queerlyrecommended.com. Thank you and goodbye.
Tara 51:08
Bye everyone.
Kris 51:47
Writing I know that book forward and backward
Tara 51:50
What’s- what scene are you gonna read?
Kris 51:53
And that’s just it I don’t know because-
Tara 51:54
That book is filthy.
Kris 51:56
I know it is. And I ahvet read it in front of a bunch of people-
Tara 52:01
No, Maddy, I’m recording a podcast you got to go. Alright, come around here and say Hi to Kris, and then you got to go. And if you don’t go then I’ll text Daddy to come and get you.
Kris 52:15
Uh-oh. Hi. Hi.
Tara 52:15
You can’t hear Kris there because of the headphones situation so you can wave. Now you got to go. No, Mommy does a lot of swearing when we do this. We use a lot of grown up words.
Kris 52:25
So do I.
Tara 52:27
She can’t hear you at least without the headphones.
Kris 52:29
Okay.
Tara 52:31
All right. Let’s text Neil. Please come and get Maddy. I told you that if you didn’t go then I was gonna text daddy and get him to come and get you. Right?
Strange Child 52:44
I just don’t want to wait for us to play together.
Tara 52:48
Well you have to wait for us to play together.