Netflix With a Queer Eye for September
"We're here, we're queer, we're watching," Netflix declares, touting its "Streams in Gay" titles for September.
The streaming platform has a healthy year-round selection of LGBTQ content, including longtime favorites like "Glee," "Orange Is the New Black," "Sense8," and "Pose," but it's promoting "LGBTQ+ Content" for this month that includes the provocatively-titled (and campy) horror flick "Anaconda," rock'n'roll ghosts fantasy "Julie and the Phantoms" (an American remake of a Brazilian kids' show), and... "The Muppets?" (Well, okay, Miss Piggy is nothing if not a glamorous gay icon.)
While some of the selections on offer seem only glancingly gay — take "Michelle Buteau: Welcome to Buteaupia," a standup comedy special by Michelle Buteau, who proved her ally creds with a recurring role on last year's "Tales of the City" reboot, or Susan Stroman's 2005 musical remake of "The Producers," starring out actor Nathan Lane — others have got the goods, if not spilling of the closet, then at least tucked fondly in our hearts. (How can gay viewers not swoon for the camp fest sequel "The Babysitter: Killer Queen?")
EDGE takes a quick look at some of the more notable films and TV shows Netflix invites us to view with a queer eye, all in order to bring you the down low... er, the lowdown.
Showing Now
"Magic Mike" (2012)
Adam (Alex Pettyfer) is only 19, but he's feeling ready for his close-up... up close and personal as a male stripper, that is. Hunky 20-something-ish Mike (Channing Tatum) might still be young, but he's already an old hand at this particular game, and he's happy to show the new kid the ropes. Steven Soderbergh's 2012 film is ostensibly straight, but hey... eye candy is for everyone. Matt Bomer, Matthew McConaughey, and a bevy of other assorted studs also star. Streaming now.
"Not Another Teen Movie" (2001)
Chris Evans stars in an early (pre-"Avengers"; for that matter, pre-"Fantastic Four") role as teen sports hero Jake in this Joel Gallen-directed parody from 2001 that mashes up all the '80s Brat Pack and teen sex farce movies you can think of, plus some from the '90s. The LGBTQ stuff may be relegated to the corner (with a lesbian May-December romance) and some homophobic humor that hasn't exactly aged well ("Hey, Arthur," indeed) but... did we already mention that eye candy is for everyone? Streaming now.
"Grease" 1978)
Nostalgia never goes out of style — especially nostalgia for the 1950s, a time when teenagers were on the rise, America had made the world safe for Democracy, and the middle class was, you know, a thing. The LGBTQ civil rights movement wasn't even in its infancy yet, and heteronormative conformity was the watchword, but strutting rebellious guys don't always need a cause... and when Danny (John Travolta) and Kenickie (Jeff Conaway) forget themselves and fall into a bromantic hug, you've just gotta be there to see it for yourself. Also stars Olivia Newton-John, along with Stockard Channing and... speaking of nostalgia!... Sid Caesar, Frankie Avalon, and Joan Blondell. Streaming now.
Coming Up
"Away"
(Season One; 10 episodes. 2020)
While the LGBTQ content of much of this month's Netflix slate pretty much boils down to the stuff of dreams, fantasy, and the occasional flicker of implication (much of it seen through the male gaze), "Away" — the new sci-fi/family drama from Andrew Hinderaker — focuses on a mission to Mars led by Commander Emma Green (Hilary Swank), a strong and talented woman whose first great challenge is to unite her skeptical, divided crew. This Netflix original largely avoids going where other strong female astronauts in movies and TV have gone before — you won't find much Sandra Bullock-in-"Gravity" style adventure here, and Green is far from Katee Sackhoff's tough-as-nails commanding officer in "Another Life" — preferring to draw drama from more domestic (and, dare we say, down to Earth) sources. But there is a storyline touching on LGBTQ romance, and while it's a relatively minor thread in this first season overall, it's a decidedly important component to this ambitious Hilary Swank vehicle. Premieres Sept. 4.
"Ratched"
(Season One; 10 episodes. 2020)
Perhaps the month's most overtly LGBTQ offering is another new Netflix original series, the Evan Romansky-created, Ryan Murphy-developed "Ratched" explores the mysteries of the nurse from everyone's nightmares. Part Angel of Mercy and part Angel of Death, Mildred Ratched (played with absolute conviction by frequent Murphy collaborator Sarah Paulson) has wardrobe straight out of Todd Haynes' "Carol," but she's not afraid to go head to head with crazed serial killers, drug-addled doctors, or the phalanx of formidable female characters the series bristles with. There's more than one same-sex romance threading through the wild twists and over-the-top turns of "Ratched," and they stand in stark relief against the show's blend of film noir and classic camp. Premieres Sept. 20.