Cruising Cinema: Mutt, Monster and Mother Mary
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Queer and Now
Everything new in the world of queer TV and film
— The War Between The Land and The Sea is not as gay as you'd expect, unless you consider a human man loving a fish lady queer. If so, The Little Mermaid might just be the greatest LGBTQ+ story of our lifetime.
Saying that though, this Doctor Who spinoff does tease some intriguing queer threads (in the first two episodes made available to press). Plus, Russell Tovey is in it. Catch me looking (disrespectfully) when the BBC show arrives on December 7th in the UK (and early 2026 in the US).
— Not to be confused with Eva Green's horny bisexual movie The Dreamers, this Dreamers stars Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo as a Nigerian migrant who's waiting for her asylum request to be accepted. Detained in the Hatchworth Removal Centre, Isio navigates this impossible situation with the help of her roommate, Farah (Ann Akinjirin), until their connection develops into something more. As gorgeous and sensual as it is vital, Dreamers is an absolute must-see in UK cinemas (from December 5th). Just don't go in expecting a threesome with Eva Green.
—Netflix's The Boyfriend is returning with ten new future husbands for me and me alone. The difference this time around is that the Green Room has been relocated to the snowy backdrops of Hokkaido. Watch them all keep each other warm from January 13th on Netflix. (There's no season two trailer just yet so reacquaint yourself with my nine previous husbands below).
— Spartacus: House of Ashur is as absurd as it is horny. Set in an alternate timeline where Ashur (Nick E. Tarabay) didn't lose his head, get ready to lose yours watching a sword and sandals epic where the men only wear swords and sandals and very little else. No, really. There's more sausage here than you'll find in a bratwurst factory working overtime. Throw in a Lucy Lawless cameo and you've got yourself a contender for the gayest straight show of the year. Check it out now on Starz in the US and on MGM+ in the UK from December 6th.
— Night in West Texas blends true crime and gay drama in this documentary about a gay apache man who was framed for the murder of a closeted Catholic priest. Forty years later, justice might finally be won. If you're looking for an emotional doc, check this one out in New York from December 5th (Quad Cinema) and LA from December 10th (Laemmle).
Celluloid Closet
Must-see queer classics no one should be without
With news that Hirokazu Kore-eda is directing a live-action adaptation of Fujimoto's Look Back, now's the perfect time to look back at his queer masterpiece, Monster.
Kore-eda's 16th feature begins through the eyes of Saori Mugino (Sakura Andō), a single mother who grows concerned that her son Minato (Sōya Kurokawa) is acting strangely. It soon becomes apparent that things might not be right at school, so Saori marches in only to get the weirdest response from Minato's teacher and principal.
Conflicting interpretations of the same event comprise the film's entire structure which uncoils slowly, layer by layer, until a devastating puzzle box is revealed at its centre. It's in Monster's final third where this unravels when Minato's friendship with classmate Yori Hoshikawa (Hinata Hiiragi) finally comes into focus.
Together, the boys escape to an abandoned train carriage that they decorate with makeshift handmade ornaments. This secret haven becomes a safe space where they can sort through their developing feelings without fear of pressure or judgement. It's there that they refine a secret written language for themselves, as so many queer people often do.
Monster explores these ideas with an elegant poise embodied by standout performances from everyone involved. That's especially true of the two child actors, Kurokawa and Hiiragi, who perfectly capture that liminal space between innocence and desire that's still so rarely seen anywhere, let alone in Japanese cinema.
Queer Awakenings
Long before I knew I was gay, stories about outsiders and people who don't belong really spoke to me as a kid. And I know I'm not alone in that. So I'm asking you, the beautiful, talented subscribers reading this right now; which queer stories inspired you growing up?
Let's share a warm welcome to podcaster Neil Vagg, the editor and co-host of Get Your Comic Con, who's sharing his 90s queer awakening:
Like most of my generation, I gravitated towards stories of outsiders. X-Men: TAS, the films of Tim Burton, sci-fi stories like Star Trek were where I found my people on screen. Free thinkers and the oppressed.
It’s why now — as a guy just having turned 40 — I appreciate stories like Heartstopper for being brave enough to tell positive stories about the British queer experience. Because the lived version, particularly in the 90s, bore no resemblance. Rather than being celebrated for being authentic, I was one of those told to bury it. Ugly. Unloveable. Better off not existing.
Even the American movies and series which seemed to dominate UK pop culture in the era avoided queer stories. The rare exceptions stood out. It’s why we appreciate Buffy so much for telling the story of Willow’s sexuality so bravely when absolutely nobody else would…
But in 1998, watching brand new campy horror The Faculty, my story found its hero. Josh Hartnett’s Zeke. The jawline, the cheekbones, the grungy skater-look of the tee over the long-sleeve shirt (a style I’m still rocking in 2025). He absolutely gave zero fucks and did it beautifully. Oh and there was something about him fighting aliens too…
The film itself is incredibly queer-coded with its sense of otherness and heavy theme of conformity. Amongst all of that was the beautiful Hartnett, not playing a queer character, but giving a young queer audience everything it wanted. In an era when subtext was all we had, The Faculty taught me to give authority, bigots and bullies the middle finger. It also gave me Hartnett, still a poster boy to this day. That jawline… 🫠
Follow Neil Vagg here and Get Your Comic Con here for more entertainment news and features.
Please send in your own stories, those early examples of shows and films that shaped who you are today, and I'll share them right here in the free edition of this newsletter (Don't worry, your accounts can be anonymous).
Send them to this email address: cruisingcinema7@gmail.com.
Mother of the Week
Where Mothers Come To Mother
Mother Mary was always going to be a Mother convention, especially with Anne Hathaway leading the pack as a pop star named Mary. But now that the first trailer is out, it looks like Michaela Coel will give the Princess of Genovia a run for her money in that department.
