Taco Chick, Salsa Girl, Mimi the Donkey & Deliriously Jen!

It's astonishing how easily StinkyLu can forget the importance of "movie therapy" (without which StinkyLu quickly devolves into a StinkyMeanie). Gratefully, as part of StinkyLu's personal contribuution to The Sophia Sorority's Season of Celebration, MrStinky & Lu took in a pile of flicks toward the beginning of the week.

Starting with the "Boys Shorts" bill at the increasingly impressive 2005 Southwest Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. The Lu does love the assemblage of gay short films (indeed, as a child StinkyLu's favorite kind of dinner was "smorgasboard" and, while a roster of 6-10 gay films will inevitably provide some disappointments, there's inevitably at least one delectable delight to savor). And -- without doubt -- the prize of StinkyLulu's favorite short gay film ever (or at least since Monday) goest to Kurt Koehler's freakin'ilarious Taco Chick and Salsa Girl.

Mexicamp queerness at its finest: Oscar Quintero (as "Kay Sedia") and J.P. Torres (as "Anita Nacho") are simply brilliant in the title roles -- the whole production reminiscent of a latin episode of StinkyLu's favorite teevee show (& lunchbox) circa 1977: ElectraWoman & DynaGirl.

Other highlights of the festival included the sweet, sexy & surreal Sadness of Johnson Joe Jangles -- a movie that is possibly the only genderfuck Cowboy romantic soap opera -- the forthcoming Brokeback Mountain notwithstanding -- where the title character gives birth to a donkey puppet (named "Mimi"). The birth of Mimi the donkey, the pivotal musical number, the striptease in front of a bunch of drunken frontierswomen -- Jeffrey St. Jules' strange little film is extraordinarily effective. See it if you can. (StinkyLu was just as pleasantly surprised by Oedipus N+1, a queer-cyborg-dystopic romantic thriller from France! Dare ya to buy a ticket for that at your nearest googaplex...)

But the unexpected surprise of the festival had to be Angus Oblong's Deliriously Jen, a tv pilot featuring the impossibly funny Jen Manley in the title role. Now, this movie/tv show/whatever has had MrStinky choking with laughter all week. All the Lu has to do is repeat a line ("I'm making a poo--" or "No thanks, I'm really good at this--" or "From the homeless--") and MrStinky's wheezing & gasping with giggles all over again. As the credits finished, MrStinky's uncharacteristically loud sustained laughs got the crowd chortling all over again. (And, truth be told, StinkyLu thought the film funny but nothing special at first glance.) But now? Having witnessed its impact on MrStinky over this past week? Priceless... So, count StinkyLu a huge fan of not only of Mr. Oblong's short-lived animated series, The Oblongs, but also of his latest creation of wrongess, Deliriously Jen... (see the delirum of Jen for yourself by clicking the previous link).

That was some of the fun had on Monday night alone. And, think, StinkyLu's not even had the chance to recap the amazing movie Junebug or the brilliant work of ex-con Martha Stewart on her new reality show... Good things all.