Milk

Last night I had the great pleasure of catching the new Harvey Milk biopic, Milk, at Cinema City, a very cozy and well-kept independent theater in downtown Norwich. I'd previously only seen Sean Penn as classic stoner Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and to say this was a step up in performance would be a huge understatement. His portrayal of Harvey Milk is strong, passionate, positive, and so very humorous in the face of incredible adversity. "How does one teach homosexuality?" he asks the homophobic, conservative Senator Briggs, who makes just such an allegation in a public debate. "Is it like French?"

I could go on, but suffice it to say I was crying in the end. What the movie made me truly realize is how much I support freedom of sexual orientation, and also how scary religious fundamentalism can be.

Also, the "Twinkie Defense" could be the biggest crock of a legal move I've ever heard. My goodness.