30, Out in the Mountains | February 2000

  
 

REVIEW BY
KENDRA HENSON

Singer/songwriter Robin Greenspan ventures
into the women’s music scene with her solo
debut CD, Gardener of Eden. Once the lead
singer and songwriter for her own band — every
cool girl’s dream, no? — Greenspan is now more
widely recognized by queer audiences as a
stand-up comedian and actress.

At first listen, Greenspan’s vocals on
Gardener of Eden may sound familiar. Her
sound resonated with me as a bit like a cross
between Ani DiFranco and Melissa Ferrick —
without, unfortunately, quite reaching the same
level of breath-quickening intensity.

Greenspan’s folk/altemative rock style defi-
nitely facilitates the sharing of a message in
many songs, while others are lighter and more
playfiil in their story. Her songs cover topics
ranging from marriage, religion, and acceptance
to psychic powers and Janis Joplin. In “Psychic
Power Shack,” Greenspan creates the image of
visiting a palm reader or fortune teller with
“psychic fees taped to the walls” to help deter-
mine if she’ll find true love and to set her life on
the right track.

Gardener at Eden
Robin Greenspan
Bum’s Bush Records

Greenspan’s Green Thumb Proves
Promising on Gardener

 

 

My personal favorite lyrics show up in the
lines of “Optimistic.” Even though the song’s
meaning is a little bit mysterious, I just love the
line, “Mama never liked how 1 dressed like a 11:-
tle boy.” What queer tomboy can’t identify with
that one growing up? (Or was it just my mom
who sighed and frowned when I refused to wear
a skirt?)

Overall, the music on Gardener of Eden did-
n’t reach out and grab me, but it’s not a bad first
try; it certainly offers some really meaningful
and funny lyrics. I get the feeling that with a
healthy budget for production and a real band
backing her (the sound on this disc is mostly
computerized), Robin Greenspan could really
rock it out. V

Trick

Directed by Jim Fall
Starring Christian Campbell
and J. P. Pitoc

Fine Line Features]

New Line Home Video
Web: www.trickmovie.com

“|t’s Big,

|t’s Beautiful,
and You’re

Going to Love It!’’

REVIEW BY ROLAND F. PALMER

So maybe you’ve heard how hard it is to find housing in
New York City? With a great sense of humor, this film proves
it — kinda. Trick, Jim Fall’s first feature film, is the story of
two young men who spend an evening in the city looking for
a place to tryst and end up finding each other.

Gabriel is an aspiring musical theater writer, played by
Christian Campbell, the brother of Neve Campbell. Gabriel
decides to take a trip
to a local dance bar,
and therein catches
the eye of hot go-go
boy Mark, played by
newcomer J. P. Pitoc.
The two decide
they’d like to spend a
little time alone and
go in search of a
place to do so, run-
ning into myriad
roadblocks and a cast
of hilarious charac-
ters during their trav-
els. ‘

Among the char-
acters we encounter
are Gabriel’s straight
roommate, Rich, and
his aspiring sex ther-
apist girlfriend, Judy.
One of the movie’s funnier scenes involves J udy’s somewhat
awkward attempts to help Mark and Gabriel work through
their frustration at not being able to communicate.

Tori Spelling — yes, that Tori Spelling — shows up as
Katherine, Gabriel’s friend from high school who is now a

”e%s..a eeeee 

  

A Story About Two Guys
Trying To Make It in The Big City

mostly happy, mostly clueless actress. Watch for her melt- V

down scene in the diner; it’s over the top.

Then, of course, there is the outrageous and venomous
drag queen, Miss Coco Peru (Clinton Leupp, To Wong Foo,
Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar), who cannot pass up
the opportunity to share information about Mark with Gabriel
in the men’s room of a club.

First-time screenwriter Jason Schafer provides dialogue
that’s fast-paced, campy and hilarious. Some reviews have
criticized the way straight female characters are portrayed,
but in my opinion, those stereotypical caricatures actually
helped make the film even more amusing and fun.

Director Fall managed to translate his successes on the
New York stage (The Most Beautiful Boy in the World, Cute
Boys in Their Underpants G0 to France) and in short films
(the award-winning He Touched Me and Love is Deaf Dumb
and Blind) into a critical and popular success. Trick had one

of the highest theatrical openings of any gay-themed film in T

the summer of 1999, playing on 90 screens in 25 cities
nationwide, and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at
the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, won the Audience Award at
the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, and placed number
two in PlanetOut’s “PopcornQ Top 10 Films of l999” survey.

As you might expect from a fun gay film set partially in
nightclubs, Trick has a great soundtrack to suit. This mostly
high-energy mix includes dance versions of “Dreamweaver”
and ‘‘I Am Woman” and offers the dance hit “Unspeakable
Joy” by Kim English. And just in case you don’t get enough
of Spelling singing in the film, which she does, there’s a track
of hers on the soundtrack as well.

Trick is funny, sappy, erotic, and outrageous. To quote the
fabulous Miss Coco Peru, “It’s big, it’s beautiful and you’re
going love it!” V