Poltergay

This is a gay/straight film starring straight and gay people. To explain, the subject is sexuality, but presented in a way that straight men can watch it and feel comfortable and understood. For example, the film acknowledges how uncomfortable it is to be a straight/questioning man in a gay bar, it makes jokes about being gay as well as being straight and talks about sexuality so casually, with jokes and a lot of silliness (its called 'Poltergay' for heaven's sake) that it makes everyone feel comfortable without hitting anyone over the head with heavy-handed politics. Political films about sexuality like 'Philadelphia' and 'Boys Don't Cry' are important, necessary, often fantastic and can change people's thinking, but life isn't just about misery and seriousness. Sometimes its about fun (hopefully a lot more than it's about misery). Frankly, if more films and books could hide their serious political arguments in frothy silliness with winged penises and Boney M's 'Rasputin' playing throughout, maybe this'd be a slightly happier world. Because what this film is saying, in the style of Stonewall ads, while dancing in flares and holding snooker balls in the air in a faux-spooky fashion, is 'some people are gay. Get over it!'

It's one of my top five gay films, and one of my top five French films. Because it's a clever, silly, gay- and straight-friendly story anyone can keep up with and it's funny. Occasionally a joke falls flat, and sometimes the acting feels a bit forced. But the psychic with the McDonald's makes everyone I watch this with laugh out loud, and you find yourself really routing for the lead man to sort out his life, and for the gay poltergeists to get what they want too. It's just the right length and it's not off-puttingly filthy (insert dirty joke here). It's just fun.