Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss
Encyclopedia
Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss is a 1998 American
independent
, gay
-themed romantic comedy film
written and directed by Tommy O'Haver
and starring Sean P. Hayes
, Brad Rowe
, and Meredith Scott Lynn
. The film was a breakthrough performance for Hayes, who would go from this film to his role as Jack McFarland
on the hit television show Will & Grace
.
This film is a remake of writer/director O'Haver's earlier short film Catalina.
) is an aspiring photographer in Los Angeles
who has had little artistic success and much romantic frustration. He comes up with the idea of recreating iconic screen kisses from Hollywood movies (such as Burt Lancaster
and Deborah Kerr
's in From Here to Eternity
) using drag queen
s in the female roles. While out for coffee with his roommate Georgiana (Meredith Scott Lynn
), he meets Gabriel (Brad Rowe
), the server. That night at a party, Billy's friend Perry (Richard Ganoung) agrees to finance Billy's Screen Kiss project and Billy serendipitously
runs into Gabriel. Billy recruits him to model and the two develop a friendship (although Gabriel says that he has a girlfriend in San Francisco).
Billy quickly becomes infatuated with Gabriel, but cannot figure out if Gabriel is really straight; Gabriel does little to help, continually sending ambiguous signals. At Perry's invitation, the two attend an exhibit by photographer Rex Webster, who tries to poach Gabriel as a model (and potential trick). Webster offers to take Gabriel to Catalina Island
for an underwear ad shoot, sparking Billy's jealousy. Back at Gabriel's place, Billy and Gabriel seem to be getting closer but their rapport is interrupted by a phone call from Gabriel's girlfriend Natalie.
Billy shoots his first setup with Gabriel, the Lancaster-Kerr kiss. Following the shoot, Gabriel tells Billy that his relationship with Natalie is over. Billy mentions the Kinsey scale
, on which Billy describes himself as a "perfect six," but Gabriel admits he does not know where on the scale he falls. Back at Billy's apartment, they continue to talk and drink and Gabriel asks if he can spend the night on the couch. Billy suggests that Gabriel sleep in his bed (ostensibly because of Gabriel's height), to which Gabriel eventually agrees. When the two are in bed, Billy makes tentative overtures, to which Gabriel seems to respond initially; however, Gabriel suddenly pulls away, after which Billy apologizes and gets up to sleep on the couch.
Gabriel gets the underwear modeling job and goes to Catalina. Billy follows after him to Catalina with Georgiana, who, on the rebound from her boyfriend, Andrew (Christopher Bradley), hooks up with drug-addled island resident "Gundy" (Carmine D. Giovinazzo
). Billy crashes Rex Webster's (Paul Bartel
) underwear shoot looking for Gabriel, but does not find him.
Billy eventually tracks Gabriel down at Rex's party later that night and the two talk on the beach. Billy relates to Gabriel how confused he was when he came out
, saying, "I swore to myself that if I could ever be there for somebody, I would, so that that person wouldn't have to go through all the shit I went through. What I'm trying to say is, if you're having problems figuring out where you stand, even if you're not sure of what you're supposed to want-" Abruptly, however, before Billy can finish, one of Gabriel's fellow male models walks up to them. Billy instantly realizes that the two of them are in some kind of relationship with each other and Gabriel tells Billy straightforwardly, "Billy, I'm pretty sure what I'm supposed to want." Gabriel tries to soften the blow, but Billy rebuffs him. Billy feels hurt and even wonders if Gabriel used him to get his modeling career off the ground. Later, Perry tries to console Billy, telling him that a few years earlier Perry had similarly fallen for someone who did not return his affections; Perry confesses that that man was Billy. The next morning, Georgiana has ditched Gundy. Billy and Georgiana then head back home.
The movie ends with the opening of Billy's "Hollywood Screen Kiss" series exhibition in Los Angeles, which includes his photos of Gabriel. The exhibit appears to be very successful and Billy receives many congratulations from various visitors. Perry shows Billy a magazine with an underwear ad featuring Gabriel and suggests that Billy give him a call. Billy demurs, saying he needs some time away. Toward the end of the night, after his friends have gone, Billy meets a handsome young man named Joshua (Robbie Cain) who enthusiastically admires Billy's photographic work. It is suggested that along with his newfound artistic success, Billy may at last find romantic fulfillment as well.
The film is punctuated with Billy's fantasy sequences of himself and Gabriel in pastiches of romantic film scenes, including the aforementioned From Here to Eternity and the films of Fred Astaire
. Billy carries a Polaroid
camera with him everywhere, and his reminiscences are illustrated with Polaroid photographs. The film in fact opens with such a monologue, with Billy relying on a series of Polaroids while relating how he grew up gay "in a small town in Indiana, where there's plenty of corn, fast cars, and straights. Lots and lots of straights. I mean, a lot." Billy's opening narrative demonstrates his awareness that he is in a film and breaking the fourth wall
.
Several scenes in the movie are backed up by classic songs of bygone times sung by notable and lesser known divas; these are lip-synced by more or less the same troupe of drag queens, a running gag throughout the film.
on December 22, 1998.
* original score written by Alan Ari Lazar
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
independent
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
-themed romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...
written and directed by Tommy O'Haver
Tommy O'Haver
Tommy O'Haver is an American film director and screenwriter. He grew up in Carmel, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Journalism and Comparative Literature. During the mid-nineties, he attended the MFA Film program at the University of...
and starring Sean P. Hayes
Sean Hayes (actor)
Sean Patrick Hayes is an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Jack McFarland in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, for which he won an Emmy Award, four SAG Awards, one American Comedy Award, and six Golden Globes nominations.He also portrayed comedian Jerry Lewis in the...
, Brad Rowe
Brad Rowe (actor)
Brad Rowe is an American film and television actor who began his career in movies such as Invisible Temptation and Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss ....
, and Meredith Scott Lynn
Meredith Scott Lynn
Meredith Scott Lynn is an American actress, producer, and director. She attended the High School of Performing Arts in New York City.-Filmography:-Television:-Producer:* Designing Blind TV series...
. The film was a breakthrough performance for Hayes, who would go from this film to his role as Jack McFarland
Jack McFarland
John Philip "Jack" McFarland was a fictional character on the American television sitcom Will & Grace, played by Sean Hayes.-Character personality:...
on the hit television show Will & Grace
Will & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
.
This film is a remake of writer/director O'Haver's earlier short film Catalina.
Plot
Billy Collier (Sean P. HayesSean Hayes (actor)
Sean Patrick Hayes is an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Jack McFarland in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, for which he won an Emmy Award, four SAG Awards, one American Comedy Award, and six Golden Globes nominations.He also portrayed comedian Jerry Lewis in the...
) is an aspiring photographer in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
who has had little artistic success and much romantic frustration. He comes up with the idea of recreating iconic screen kisses from Hollywood movies (such as Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
and Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr, CBE was a Scottish film and television actress from Glasgow. She won the Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago performance as Laura Reynolds in Tea and Sympathy, a role which she originated on Broadway, a Golden Globe Award for the motion picture The King and I, and was a three-time...
's in From Here to Eternity
From Here to Eternity
From Here to Eternity is a 1953 drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and based on the novel of the same name by James Jones. It deals with the troubles of soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra and Ernest Borgnine stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the...
) using drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
s in the female roles. While out for coffee with his roommate Georgiana (Meredith Scott Lynn
Meredith Scott Lynn
Meredith Scott Lynn is an American actress, producer, and director. She attended the High School of Performing Arts in New York City.-Filmography:-Television:-Producer:* Designing Blind TV series...
), he meets Gabriel (Brad Rowe
Brad Rowe (actor)
Brad Rowe is an American film and television actor who began his career in movies such as Invisible Temptation and Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss ....
), the server. That night at a party, Billy's friend Perry (Richard Ganoung) agrees to finance Billy's Screen Kiss project and Billy serendipitously
Serendipity
Serendipity means a "happy accident" or "pleasant surprise"; specifically, the accident of finding something good or useful without looking for it. The word has been voted as one of the ten English words hardest to translate in June 2004 by a British translation company. However, due to its...
runs into Gabriel. Billy recruits him to model and the two develop a friendship (although Gabriel says that he has a girlfriend in San Francisco).
Billy quickly becomes infatuated with Gabriel, but cannot figure out if Gabriel is really straight; Gabriel does little to help, continually sending ambiguous signals. At Perry's invitation, the two attend an exhibit by photographer Rex Webster, who tries to poach Gabriel as a model (and potential trick). Webster offers to take Gabriel to Catalina Island
Santa Catalina Island, California
Santa Catalina Island, often called Catalina Island, or just Catalina, is a rocky island off the coast of the U.S. state of California. The island is long and across at its greatest width. The island is located about south-southwest of Los Angeles, California. The highest point on the island is...
for an underwear ad shoot, sparking Billy's jealousy. Back at Gabriel's place, Billy and Gabriel seem to be getting closer but their rapport is interrupted by a phone call from Gabriel's girlfriend Natalie.
Billy shoots his first setup with Gabriel, the Lancaster-Kerr kiss. Following the shoot, Gabriel tells Billy that his relationship with Natalie is over. Billy mentions the Kinsey scale
Kinsey scale
The Kinsey scale, also called the Heterosexual-Homosexual Rating Scale, attempts to describe a person's sexual history or episodes of his or her sexual activity at a given time. It uses a scale from 0, meaning exclusively heterosexual, to 6, meaning exclusively homosexual...
, on which Billy describes himself as a "perfect six," but Gabriel admits he does not know where on the scale he falls. Back at Billy's apartment, they continue to talk and drink and Gabriel asks if he can spend the night on the couch. Billy suggests that Gabriel sleep in his bed (ostensibly because of Gabriel's height), to which Gabriel eventually agrees. When the two are in bed, Billy makes tentative overtures, to which Gabriel seems to respond initially; however, Gabriel suddenly pulls away, after which Billy apologizes and gets up to sleep on the couch.
Gabriel gets the underwear modeling job and goes to Catalina. Billy follows after him to Catalina with Georgiana, who, on the rebound from her boyfriend, Andrew (Christopher Bradley), hooks up with drug-addled island resident "Gundy" (Carmine D. Giovinazzo
Carmine Giovinazzo
Carmine Dominick Giovinazzo is an American actor and singer, best known for his role as Detective Danny Messer in CSI: NY.-Early life:Giovinazzo was born and raised on Staten Island, the son of Nancy and Dominick, who was a police officer. He comes from a family of policemen and has Italian,...
). Billy crashes Rex Webster's (Paul Bartel
Paul Bartel
Paul Bartel was an American actor, writer and director. Bartel was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy Eating Raoul, which he wrote, starred in and directed.-Life and career:...
) underwear shoot looking for Gabriel, but does not find him.
Billy eventually tracks Gabriel down at Rex's party later that night and the two talk on the beach. Billy relates to Gabriel how confused he was when he came out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
, saying, "I swore to myself that if I could ever be there for somebody, I would, so that that person wouldn't have to go through all the shit I went through. What I'm trying to say is, if you're having problems figuring out where you stand, even if you're not sure of what you're supposed to want-" Abruptly, however, before Billy can finish, one of Gabriel's fellow male models walks up to them. Billy instantly realizes that the two of them are in some kind of relationship with each other and Gabriel tells Billy straightforwardly, "Billy, I'm pretty sure what I'm supposed to want." Gabriel tries to soften the blow, but Billy rebuffs him. Billy feels hurt and even wonders if Gabriel used him to get his modeling career off the ground. Later, Perry tries to console Billy, telling him that a few years earlier Perry had similarly fallen for someone who did not return his affections; Perry confesses that that man was Billy. The next morning, Georgiana has ditched Gundy. Billy and Georgiana then head back home.
The movie ends with the opening of Billy's "Hollywood Screen Kiss" series exhibition in Los Angeles, which includes his photos of Gabriel. The exhibit appears to be very successful and Billy receives many congratulations from various visitors. Perry shows Billy a magazine with an underwear ad featuring Gabriel and suggests that Billy give him a call. Billy demurs, saying he needs some time away. Toward the end of the night, after his friends have gone, Billy meets a handsome young man named Joshua (Robbie Cain) who enthusiastically admires Billy's photographic work. It is suggested that along with his newfound artistic success, Billy may at last find romantic fulfillment as well.
The film is punctuated with Billy's fantasy sequences of himself and Gabriel in pastiches of romantic film scenes, including the aforementioned From Here to Eternity and the films of Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
. Billy carries a Polaroid
Instant film
Instant film is a type of photographic film first introduced by Polaroid that is designed to be used in an instant camera...
camera with him everywhere, and his reminiscences are illustrated with Polaroid photographs. The film in fact opens with such a monologue, with Billy relying on a series of Polaroids while relating how he grew up gay "in a small town in Indiana, where there's plenty of corn, fast cars, and straights. Lots and lots of straights. I mean, a lot." Billy's opening narrative demonstrates his awareness that he is in a film and breaking the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
.
Several scenes in the movie are backed up by classic songs of bygone times sung by notable and lesser known divas; these are lip-synced by more or less the same troupe of drag queens, a running gag throughout the film.
Cast
- Sean P. HayesSean Hayes (actor)Sean Patrick Hayes is an American actor and comedian. He is widely known for his role as Jack McFarland in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, for which he won an Emmy Award, four SAG Awards, one American Comedy Award, and six Golden Globes nominations.He also portrayed comedian Jerry Lewis in the...
as Billy Collier - Brad RoweBrad Rowe (actor)Brad Rowe is an American film and television actor who began his career in movies such as Invisible Temptation and Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss ....
as Gabriel - Meredith Scott LynnMeredith Scott LynnMeredith Scott Lynn is an American actress, producer, and director. She attended the High School of Performing Arts in New York City.-Filmography:-Television:-Producer:* Designing Blind TV series...
as Georgiana - Richard Ganoung as Perry
- Matthew AshfordMatthew AshfordMatthew Nile Ashford is an American actor best known for the long running role of Jack Deveraux on the NBC soap opera Days of our Lives.-Personal life:...
as Whitey - Armando Valdes-Kennedy as Fernando
- Paul BartelPaul BartelPaul Bartel was an American actor, writer and director. Bartel was perhaps most known for his 1982 hit black comedy Eating Raoul, which he wrote, starred in and directed.-Life and career:...
as Rex Webster - Holly WoodlawnHolly WoodlawnHolly Woodlawn is a Puerto Rican-born transgendered actress and former Warhol superstar, who appeared in his movies Trash and Women in Revolt .-Early life:...
as Holly - Christopher Bradley as Andrew
- Robbie Cain as Joshua
- Carmine D. GiovinazzoCarmine GiovinazzoCarmine Dominick Giovinazzo is an American actor and singer, best known for his role as Detective Danny Messer in CSI: NY.-Early life:Giovinazzo was born and raised on Staten Island, the son of Nancy and Dominick, who was a police officer. He comes from a family of policemen and has Italian,...
as Gundy
Awards and nominations
- Deauville Film Festival Grand Special Prize (nominated)
- Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film FestivalThe Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
Grand Jury Prize - Dramatic (nominated) - Verzaubert - International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival Rosebud Award for Best Film (won)
DVD release
Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss was released on Region 1 DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on December 22, 1998.
Soundtrack listing
- Ramsey LewisRamsey LewisRamsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. is an American jazz composer, pianist and radio personality. Ramsey Lewis has recorded over 80 albums and has received seven gold records and three Grammy Awards so far in his career.-Biography:...
- "Do What You Wanna" - Nina SimoneNina SimoneEunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
- "Love Me or Leave MeLove Me or Leave Me (song)"Love Me or Leave Me" is a U.S. popular song from the 1920s.The music was written by Walter Donaldson and the lyrics by Gus Kahn. The song was introduced in the Broadway play, Whoopee!, which opened in December 1928...
" - "The Harem of Guadaloupe/Mystic Tango"
* - Petula ClarkPetula ClarkPetula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
- "Happy Heart" - "The Love Slave of Catalina"
* - Petula Clark - "This Is My Song"
- "Theme for Rex Webster"
* - "Moon over Quito"
* - Xavier CugatXavier CugatXavier Cugat was a Spanish-American bandleader who spent his formative years in Havana, Cuba. A trained violinist and arranger, he was a key personality in the spread of Latin music in United States popular music. He was also a cartoonist and a successful businessman...
- "Cuban Love Song" - "Gabriel's Room"
* - Petula Clark - "Happy Heart" (Junior VasquezJunior VasquezJunior Vasquez, , is an American club DJ and remixer/producer.-Career:...
remix) - Carmine D. GiovinazzoCarmine GiovinazzoCarmine Dominick Giovinazzo is an American actor and singer, best known for his role as Detective Danny Messer in CSI: NY.-Early life:Giovinazzo was born and raised on Staten Island, the son of Nancy and Dominick, who was a police officer. He comes from a family of policemen and has Italian,...
- "She Calls Herself Georgiana" (hidden track)