Category: LGBTQ+

Flashback Friday: Hunters (2020-2023)

Alternative history is fascinating. It asks “what if?” while reminding the audience of what was.

Hunters premiered in 2020 on Amazon Prime and ran for two seasons. In 1977 in Brooklyn, Jonah Heidelbaum (Logan Lerman) is a young man living with his grandmother Ruth (Jeannie Berlin). After she is murdered, he is approached by Meyer Hoffman (Al Pacino). Meyer is an old friend who was in the camps with Ruth.

Meyer is the leader of a diverse underground group whose goal is to undermine Operation Paperclip and prevent the Fourth Reich from taking power in the US. Jonah eagerly signs up to avenge his grandmother’s death and protect his country from a potential Nazi takeover.

I enjoyed this series. Produced by Jordan Peele, it feels like a companion piece to Inglorious Basterds. It is bloody, violent, and enjoyable. Though some episodes did drag on a little, it is, overall, an enjoyable series. Pacino’s accent feels authentic without bordering on being a caricature.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Hunters is available for streaming on Netflix.

P.S. There is a Yiddish cover of “Milkshake” that makes me happy beyond reason.

Thoughts On the Announcement of Bridgerton Season 5

If it is anything like the previous seasons, it will be worth the wait.

Calf Scramble Play Review

Our teenage years are a time of growth, change, and trying to figure out who you are in a complicated world.

The new play, Calf Scramble, by Libby Carr, follows 5 teenage girls as they grapple with growing up while competing in a calf scramble in small town Texas. Anna Lee (Ferin Bergen), Maren (Maaike Laanstra-Corn), Vivvy (Marverlyn Ramirez), Sofi (Elisa Tarquinio) and El (Gabriela Veciana) are each facing their own issues. On top of that, there are interpersonal conflicts and the potential prize money that comes with winning the competition.

At a perfect 90 minutes, this play feels both timely and universal. Each girl both stands out while fitting in perfectly with the rest of the characters. At the end of the day, it is about friendship, learning the accept another’s flaws and appreciating the other person as they are.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely.

Calf Scramble is playing at 59 E 59 theater in New York City until April 12th, 2026. Check the website for tickets and showtimes.

The Rebel Girls of Rome Book Review

The secrets of our forebears past can (depending on the individual) be catnip to the younger generations.

The Rebel Girls of Rome, by Jordyn Taylor, was published last year. Lilah is a college student who recently lost her mother. Her grandfather, who is a survivor, has been mum on his experience during the war. Both are drawn to Rome via an heirloom that was believed to have disappeared decades ago.

In 1943, Bruna comes from a family of Italian Jews whose lives are slowly being squeezed into nothingness by the German invaders. When they receive the expected knock at the door, they notice that her younger brother, Raffa, has vanished into thin air. Her decision to find him leads her to join the underground, fall in love, and fight for what remains of her world.

I enjoyed this book. As she did in her previous novel, Taylor perfectly intertwines the present with the past. It is a reminder that even small acts of resistance can go a long way. The best part was the ending. I won’t give it away, but I will warn that you should have a tissue or two nearby.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

The Rebel Girls of Rome is available wherever books are sold.

Jewish Priorities: Sixty-Five Proposals for the Future of Our People Book Review

No community (despite what some may say) is a monolith. There are a variety of opinions, beliefs and practices.

Jewish Priorities: Sixty-Five Proposals for the Future of Our People, edited by David Hazony, was published in 2023. Among the writers are Dara Horn, Yossi Klein Halevi, and Mijal Bitton. They come from across the spectrum of the Jewish community: Orthodox to assimilated, gay, straight, Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Mizrahi, etc.

I firmly believe that this book is a must-read. Not just for those of us who are MOT, but for the outside world. If we (as human beings) are to make this world better for ourselves and future generations, we must be willing to listen and understand that not everyone who identifies a certain way thinks the same.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Jewish Priorities: Sixty-Five Proposals for the Future of Our People is available wherever books are sold.

Flashback Friday: The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

Envy can send us into dark places.

The 1999 film, The Talented Mr. Ripley, is based on the book of the same name by Patricia Highsmith. Originally published in 1955, it is the first in the Ripley series. Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) is on a mission. He has been sent from New York City to Italy to bring the errant ultra-wealthy playboy Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) back to the States. But Dickie and Marge Sherwood (Gwyneth Paltrow), his sophisticated fiancée, are content to stay on their extended vacation.

Tom then turns to extreme measures to get the job done, and while doing so, takes advantage of the luxuries of the 1%.

The film starts off a little slow, and when it picks up, it picks up. Damon was perfectly cast as the titular character, a man who is willing to go to any lengths necessary to get what he wants. Even if it means crossing a few moral boundaries.

Law was equally well cast as Dickie, a spoiled man-child who is content to live on his parents’ dime without taking any real responsibility. Paltrow’s Marge trusts Tom at first, but starts to suspect that he may not be telling the truth.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

The Talented Mr. Ripley is available to stream on Netflix.

It is Illegal to Drive While Trans in Kansas

A politician can say all the right things about what they will do once in the office. The actions they take after they are elected are far more important than what is said leading up to the polls.

In Kansas, it is now illegal to drive if one identifies as transgender. Residents received letters that their driver’s licenses were revoked.

This law seems to be particularly and deliberately cruel. Instead of focusing on the real issues, lawmakers have chosen to target a small group of citizens simply because they can. This is discrimination, pure and simple.

Let’s suppose that a person earns their living behind the wheel. How are they supposed to take care of themselves and their families if they are denied the right use a vehicle? Not everyone lives in a community where public transportation is easily accessible and reliable.

If this is where this country is going, we are in serious trouble.

Happy Monday.

The Emperor of Gladness Book Review

A blood and/or DNA test does not always dictate who we consider to be family.

The Emperor of Gladness, by Ocean Vuong, was published last year. It is the story of an unlikely friendship between a young man named Hai and Grazina, an older woman who is suffering from dementia. After literally talking him off the ledge and preventing him from jumping off a bridge, Grazina invited Hai into her home. He becomes her caretaker and lives with her for a year, creating a bond that forever shapes the rest of their days.

This is another title in which the premise drew me in, and the text pushed me away. I enjoyed this unorthodox friendship, but the tale does not hold up to what it could have been.

Do I recommend it? No.

The Emperor of Gladness is available wherever books are sold.

Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model Documentary Review

Many girls say they want to be models when they grow up.

The new Netflix documentary, Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model, was recently released. This three-part documentary introduces (or reintroduces) audiences to the early 2000s reality show, America’s Next Top Model. Among the interviewees are creator/host/mentor Tyra Banks, her fellow judges/consultants, the behind-the-scenes team, several contestants, and critics of the show.

Hindsight, it is said, is 20/20. This is the main theme of the film. Though it’s only been twenty-plus years since it hit the airwaves, certain things have changed for the better. The smartest thing that Banks (and those who worked on the program) admitted was that mistakes were made. It’s hard (specifically when they are in your face, figuratively speaking), but necessary when it comes to healing old wounds and moving on from what was.

Do I recommend it? Yes.

Reality Check: Inside America’s Next Top Model is available for streaming on Netflix.

Throwback Thursday: Someone Great (2019)

As bad as a breakup is, it can also be a new opportunity to start over.

Someone Great was released in 2019. Jenny Young (Gina Rodriguez) is a music journalist who is about to leave NYC for a job in San Francisco. On the heels of her breakup with her long-time boyfriend, Nate Davis (LaKeith Stanfield), Jenny is determined to have one last hurrah with her friends. Blair Helms (Brittany Snow) and Erin Kennedy (DeWanda Wise) are more than up for adventure before they lose Jenny to California.

I liked the idea of this film. It’s more than her relationship with Nate. It’s about the bonds with her besties, even when they are in different time zones. The problem is that the narrative tapered off quickly, and I was no longer interested in the story. Though I did appreciate the diverse cast, which is still too infrequent in our culture.

Do I recommend it? No.

Someone Great is available for streaming on Netflix.

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