(Dir. Fred M. Caruso. US, 2011. 84 mins).

Pic about backstage backstabbing, fragile egos and fame hunting at a local go-go dancing contest is a bit of a step down for The Big Gay Musical co-creator Fred M. Caruso, but his cast of Broadway actors give it their all.

Ricky Gervais TV show The Office might make it look easy, but ‘mockumentary’ is the hardest kind of screen comedy to pull off – overdo it and it becomes arch-spoofery; underdo it and it’s just dull. Go Go Crazy doesn’t always succeed, especially at the beginning, and at times it’s difficult not to lose interest, but the cast inhabit the characters so well and their playing to camera feels natural enough.

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(Dir. David Lewis. US, 2011. 90 mins).

Brokeback Mountain meets American Pie in the sexiest gay comedy of the year!

Writer/director David Lewis (Redwoods) graduates to the next level with this, his third gay movie outing and proves a deft hand at comedy with a charming, early-80s-set frat house romp. Lewis takes a slight story and squeezes every joke and confused sexual situation out of it, making a satirical point about homoerotic jock behaviour along the way.

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(Dirs. Mark Harriott & Mike Matthews. UK, 2010. 89 mins).

Creepy, tongue-in-cheek horror movie Unhappy Birthday might not go down too well with the English Tourist Board, but it’s a lot of fun to watch and will feed the appetite of genre fans.

Film starts with young bisexual Rick driving his girlfriend Sadie to a remote corner of the British Isles for her birthday surprise, the surprise being that he believes he’s tracked down the family she never knew. Along the way they pick up childish Johnny, who’s sleeping with both of them behind the other’s back, and we learn that Sadie has a fear of water, specifically drowning.

Their final destination, a tidal island called ‘Amen,’ is accessible only by a causeway which won’t be above tide until the morning, so they spend the night at an unwelcoming hotel – cue watery nightmares for Sadie and secret butt sex for Rick and Johnny.

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(Dir. Robert Oppel. US, 2011. 78 mins).

The image of gay artist and activist Robert Opel streaking the 1974 Academy Awards show behind a smiling and unfazed David Niven will either bring instant recollection or, if like me you weren’t yet born, will probably draw a blank. Either way this is a fascinating documentary and will act as a ‘what happened to…’ piece for anyone familiar with Opel’s televised stunt and a good introduction for those who aren’t.

Documentaries about controversial figures are usually best made by impartial outsiders and it’s clear from the outset that Uncle Bob’s writer/director – the subject’s nephew, also called ‘Robert Oppel’ (but with two ‘p’s) – is angry about what happened to the famous streaker after his ‘fifteen minutes’. However, Oppel Jnr serves as an excellent narrator and it’s clear he shares some of the same DNA. He goes further than the call of duty by re-enacting events and making new interpretations of some of his uncle’s lost art films.

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(Dir. Caytha Jentis. US, 2011. 90 mins).

This gem of a movie from writer/director Caytha Jentis is a pleasant surprise, taking a simple and common story and dressing it with wit, charm and plenty of passion.

Tommy is an impestuous and confident gay lawyer who likes to be creative with the truth; handsome Daniel is the grown-up jock who Tommy lusted after in college and Jen is the ‘perfect’ woman Daniel is all set to marry. Tommy picks up philosophy graduate and former school lacrosse captain Daniel – now a stranger – in a sports bar and takes him home for a one-night-stand, except it’s not that simple: Tommy wants more and gay virgin Daniel doesn’t know what he wants.

After having sex the two men lay in bed, talking and swapping childhood stories, and as they start getting to know one another, it’s clear the two have a connection beyond pure lust… So far this might sound vaguely familiar to anyone who’s watched Andrew Haigh’s movie, Weekend, but Jentis is as much concerned with the third person in this messy situation: Daniel’s well-meaning, but naive fiancee who Tommy finds out about at the end of their night together.

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