Out in the Mountains

From the Editor:

Queer Top 10 of 1994

Fred Kuhr

WINOOSKI -- December is one of my
favorite months of the year. Beyond the
holiday season, beyond the festive
atmosphere, and definitely beyond the
sub—zero temperatures, December marks
the end of that human-construct of time
we call the “year”. For better or worse, the
impending change of year prompts many
of us to evaluate what we have done over
the past twelve months.

So in the spirit of this New Year’s
celebration, and taking into account that
everyone knows mainstream pop culture
begins in the lesbian and gay community,
here is a Queer Top 10 of 1994:

10. Daddy’s Girls (CBS) —— Two words,
Harvey Fierstein. Better yet, Harvey
Fierstein in middle America’s living
room’s on a weekly basis. This
sitcom, which premiered as part of the
1994-1995 television season, features
Fierstein as Dudley Moore’s friend
and sidekick in the garment business.
Some in the community have
complained that the show portrays the
stereotypes of the “gay best friend”
and the “gay fashion designer”
merely for comic relief. At least he

’ has more personality than Matt on
Melrose Place.

9. Threesome (Andrew Fleming,
Writer/Director) -- This borderline
inane movie features Stephen
Baldwin, Josh Charles, and Lara
Flynn Boyle as a straight male, gay
male, and straight female
respectively. They are in college so,
of course, they are exploring issues of
sexuality. And the big finale is that
the three have, big surprise, a
threeway. Even though much of the
plot and dialogue are laughable, the
emotions are real and the acting is
credible. And many people saw this
movie and liked it. Maybe they
learned something, too.

8. I Say I Say I Say (Erasure) —— Openly
gay lead singer Andy Bell and
sexually ambiguous keyboardist
Vince Clarke followed up last year’s
salute to ABBA with this chirpy
collection of tunes. The duo’s first
single off the disc, “Always", a song

2

about a love in which “there will be
no shame”, was played in heavy
rotation on radio stations all over the
state. Fabulous!

Bob & Rod Jackson-Paris -- The
gay male couple—o-muscle were
involved in two books this past year —
Straight From The Heart, a
rnismarketed autobiography written
as a pseudo—dialogue in two different
fonts, and Bob & Rod, a coffee table
book photographed by Tom Bianchi.
Some may argue that these guys do
better with pictures than actual words,
but Bob & Rod have beaten all odds
and become the country’s first
famous gay couple.

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen
of the Desert (Stephan Elliott,
Writer/Director) —— A road picture
about three drag queens driving a bus
across the Australian outback?
Finally, a gay movie that takes us
somewhere other than the crowded
streets of NYC and San Fran. Better
than that, the movie includes a dance
sequence to Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will
Survive” and opens with Charlene’s
“I’ve Never Been To Me”. Plus,
how could anyone have ignored all
the “Priscilla-alikes” at MontIeal’s
Black & Blue Party?

Go Fish (Rose Troche, Director) --
She's with her, and she used to be
with her, and she’s with everyone,
and all of them are trying to get her to
go on a date with her, but she won’t,
until she does! This is one of those
special films that shows how a small
budget can go a long way. An
intelligently comic script about the
lesbian dating game of the ‘90’s,
handled with sharp directing and solid
acting.

Can You Feel The Love Tonight
and Circle of Life (Elton John) --
These incredibly popular ditties from
a Disney cartoon, The Lion King,
which all the kiddies ran to see, are
performed and co—written by a
flaming queen. Granted Elton took
his time in breaking down his closet
door, but he recently told Barbara