‘Small Town Gay Bar’ or “I like dicks, men just happen to have them.” (DVD Review)

Posted by danhacker
March 19, 2009

249240_aa

Making a well-crafted documentary it not an easy thing to accomplish. For every one outstanding documentary, there are about 20 more boring ones that get stuck in the documentary clichés. Boring, dull, stale camera work, uninteresting subjects, etc. Thankfully ‘Small Town Gay Bar’ rises above all of these documentary stereotypes. This is one of the best documentaries I’ve seen recently and one of the most enjoyable too. This is a film where it doesn’t matter what your sexual orientation is, you can still enjoy and take something away from it. As long as you’re an open-minded person that enjoys quality human stories, this is a must-see documentary.

‘Small Town Gay Bar’ is a film by Malcolm Ingram that focuses on two gay bars in rural Mississippi. Malcolm Ingram is an openly gay filmmaker who is close friends with filmmaker Kevin Smith, which is why this film was released by Smith’s production company ‘View Askew’ productions.

In this film Ingram sets out to tell the story of the only gay bar in Mississippi, known as “Rumors” in rural Shannon, Mississippi. The film also focuses on the closed gay bar “Crossroads” in Meridian, Mississippi and its story. The film explores the history of gay bars in Mississippi in general and even touches upon the brutal and disgusting hate crime/ murder of Scotty Joe Weaver in Alabama.

Ingram does a very powerful job of showing the difference in mindsets that exist in Mississippi. He does this by opening the film showcasing interviews of people who attend the local straight bar down the road from Rumors. Those folks are so close-minded in their analysis of Rumors that it’s just plain scary. Not the type of people I would ever want to run into on a dark country road. In stark contrast, it’s beautiful how the Rumors patrons who Ingram interviews are so friendly and welcoming. They are obviously in such a closed minded environment not by choice, but by circumstance; and for many, Rumors is the one place where they can be themselves without fear.

Once Ingram switches to interviewing the patrons of Rumors you can’t help but find these people fascinating. These are people who want nothing more than to simply live their lives openly, and not have to fear being hated for their sexual orientation. It’s sad that they have to endure so much in their daily lives by fearing that they might be ostracized at their job or in their community. I can’t imagine having to live in such an awful, hate-filled place. We get a glimpse into the private lives of various patrons of Rumors and are shown that these people are no different from you and me. They are not deviants as other members of the community might label them. Just because some of them happen to enjoy having a drag-queen alter ego doesn’t mean they should be afraid to leave their houses.

Documentaries are always hard films to review since these are not characters written by a screenwriter whose hoping to make his big-break in LA. These are real people who face real adversities, and real dangers. The people in this film are far more intriguing then half of the written characters I’ve seen in films recently. I live in a very liberal part of the South (yes, Liberal parts are spotty but they exist), and I’ve realized after watching ‘Small Town Gay Gar’ that is something I take that for granted. I can’t fathom how these people must endure living in such a painfully closed-minded environment, but honestly, it’s apparent that those struggles do make them stronger people. This comes through in the interviews that Ingram does with the patrons of these small town, gay bars. This is a very special film, and I have a feeling that it has been overlooked by many and hasn’t yet found the audience that it deserves.

Tags: , ,
Reviews

If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.

  • Striking documentary. I have a feeling that it has been overlooked by many and hasn’t yet found the audience that it deserves.
  • I had been a fan of documentaries but this documentary is outstanding. And regardless of your sexual orientation, you can still enjoy it and take something away from it. Props to Malcolm Ingram for coming up with this tasteful masterpiece that is highly recommended to mature audiences.
  • You have great review, though you say reviewing documentaries is hard. It's an interesting film.
  • Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to "document" reality. Although "documentary film" originally referred to movies shot on film stock, it has subsequently expanded to include video and digital productions that can be either direct-to-video or made for a television series.

    Thanks
  • I am a fan of documentaries, I think they are more truthfull, than any other forms of media exposure. Isn't Mississippi one of the most discriminating place in US?
  • Documentary is excellent, making a document is very difficult for that we need enough creativity then only we can make one good documentary otherwise we cannot make any good and successful documentary.

    I like your good documentary.
  • Fascinating. The people in this film are far more intriguing then half of the written characters I’ve seen in films recently.
  • This documentary is outstanding. And regardless of your sexual orientation, you can still enjoy it and take something away from it. Props to Malcolm Ingram for coming up with this tasteful masterpiece that is highly recommended to mature audiences.
blog comments powered by Disqus

Similar Posts