Family Affair

Equality Forum Film Reviews: Preacher's Sons and Out in the Silence

[ movie reviews ]

Preacher's Sons

The Stewarts are exactly like any other American family, unless you consider that they've defied every societal convention known to man. This insightful documentary chronicles the journey of the Rev. Greg Stewart and his husband, Stillman, as they cart their five black and Latino foster children from the West Coast to middle America and back again in search of a community that will embrace their colorful presence. Along the way, racial and homosexual prejudice rear their busted heads to cast an isolated shadow over the family, but their optimism coupled with hilarious footage of their hectic home life keep the film from being bogged down with too much gloom. Stay-at-home "mom" Stillman provides most of the film's comic relief through his attempts to turn everything into a joke. The camera follows him as he works to keep the kids in check with a list of chores and frequent time-out sessions. "Whoever invented Xanax," he jokes, "it was the best thing." But through all the giggles, the message of equality rings loud and clear. Seeing developmental progress in these troubled children's lives provides proof that the benefit of patience and stability can stem from a loving family, regardless of its sexual composition. (Fri., April 30, 7:30 p.m., $5, Arts Bank, 601 S. Broad St., uarts.edu.)

Out in the Silence

When Joe Wilson got married, he did the natural thing: He sent a wedding announcement to his hometown paper, The Derrick in Oil City, Pa. But Wilson was marrying his partner, Dean Hamer, and the item on the man-to-man nuptials caused a torrent of letters decrying their union. Wilson received a letter from a mother saying that her openly gay son, CJ, was so harassed at school with no protection from teachers that he had to seek alternative forms of education. So Wilson and Hamer traveled from their home in D.C. to Oil City to explore homophobia and growing up out in a small town. Their main challenge is battling the bile spewed by the local branch of the American Family Association, headed up by the taciturn, toadish Diane Gramley. While the changes Wilson and co. effect are vague, CJ is a bizarrely charming subject and Wilson is a warm narrator who came out after he left Oil City and had not yet experienced its injustices. (Sat., May 1, 7:30 p.m., $5, Arts Bank)