Arts
Fun Home: A Family Tragicomedy
Attack of the Bride Monster
Attack of the Bride Monster
by Peggy Luhrs
Lynn,
OITM’s editor, hands me a DVD to have a look at and review. Attack
of the Bride Monster is the cinematic title and it says written by
Leslie Belt.
“I know Leslie Belt,”
I say, “we were in a lesbian writing group in L.A.” What I
remember most about her is the slightly twisted sense of humor she brought
to her writing. Attack of the Bride Monster makes good use of
that humor and lightens up the question of marriage or not.
Belt has said “The question
at the heart of Bride Monster is not whether GLTG people should have the
right to marry, but whether we should have to get married just because
we can.”
And from that premise Vicki Boone,
the director, and Belt have come up with a very tight, short film that
has been nominated for Best Comedy at the 7th Annual PlanetOut Short Movie
Awards.
The film tells the sad tale of the
bride monster that ate the 25-year relationship of Betty and Stella. Betty
becomes obsessed with the idea that they must get married not only for
themselves, but also as their responsibility to the LGBTQ community. As
the monster gets a firmerand firmer grip on Betty, she begins talking
in clichés and song titles such as “you make me so very happy,”
she tells the reluctant Stella. And Stella tells Mike “you’ve
got to do something, it’s like some force has gotten into her.”
“Forces,” replies Mike,
“patriarchy, the Junior League, Vera Wang.”
The film mixes an animated monster with
the live action. Wellshot, well-edited, with an excellent soundtrack,
the 17-minute film deserves a viewing that too few short features get.
The P.RI.D.E. film festival plans to screen
this. Do yourself a favor, whatever your position on marriage, and have
some fun with this film.
Peggy Luhrs has taught gender variant film at Burlington College.