Swan Lake

I just cried four times. Why? I was watching Billy Elliot on LOGO, my new addiction. I really like the story of the macho miners who beget a swan. I love the story, the setting, the characters and the accent. That the music kicks ass does help, too.

The Brits seem to do gay much better than the Americans. Like distant and very different cousins, the two approaches to being gay really differ in intensity, sensitivity and poise. Where the Brits are nuanced and daring, the Americans are blunt and prudish. It's refreshing sometimes, to watch something like My Beautiful Laundrette, Maurice or The Line of Beauty to remember how gay love stories can be told with a nuanced sensuality and a knack for storytelling without having to shy away from the nitty-gritty.

I have not seen this movie for awhile and it tug at my hardened heart's strings like the first time. The boy is luminous and the life in a small town never looked more claustrophobic. And I have to confess that I find eye candy most anywhere. And because I have a special weakness for macho posturing and quasi-rough-trade, I have to admit that I'd do Billy's brother in an heartbeat. And his dad, too. Both at the same time, preferably.