Arts & Entertainment
Catchy soundtrack keeps ’Trash’ moving
The musical comedy plays at Reel Affirmations

‘Girl Trash’ (Photo courtesy of Reel Affirmations)
‘Girl Trash’
Friday, 6:30 p.m.
Human Rights Campaign
1640 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.
Reel Affirmations, a program of the D.C. Center
$10 general admission
$30 VIP pass for all four films this weekend
$50 host committee tickets
“Girl Trash: All Night Long” is a movie with a fitting title. For the duration of the 85-minute musical comedy from Angela Robinson, the writer and executive producer of “True Blood,” five female leads spend their entire night looking for a hook up, each with varying degrees of success.
The film, based on Robinson’s successful web series sponsored by Showtime, features a cast almost entirely of women, including Lisa Rieffel, the lead singer of Killola; Michelle Lombardo from “Quarterlife”; Gabrielle Christian and Mandy Musgrave from “South of Nowhere”; Rose Rollins, Kate French and Clementine Ford from “The L Word”; and Megan Cavanagh.
Scenes range from a car chase to drunken debauchery in a sorority house. And all the while, the girls sing in harmony about love, sex, breakups and dating fantasies.
A number of twists and turns make it somewhat unclear which girls will end up hooking up before the night is out. But by and large, the plot is predictable and the acting generic, failing to present anything regular viewers of romance flicks haven’t already seen.
A bizarre, borderline racist sub-plot entails Rollins’ character, Monique Jones, who spends her airtime chasing down the other girls for money — at one point even stealing their car — though it remains unclear what they owe her for unless you’ve also seen the web series.
“Girl Trash,” released on DVD June 3 and shown at Reel Affirmations at 7 p.m. tonight, does have its redeeming qualities. The songs performed throughout are catchy. The lyrics, while often trite, are easy to sing along to. And the movie has a degree of social value in that it portrays a wide range of lesbians — ranging from a butch, lanky punk rocker to a virgin sorority sister in a jumpsuit — some of whom fulfill the time-tested stereotype and some of whom, refreshingly, do not.
The musical’s saving graces are the few serious conversations that take place between musical performances, including one where two lesbian sisters talk about the difficulties associated with coming out, especially to family members who are less than receptive.
Just don’t expect this film to win an Oscar anytime soon.
The 2026 World Pride March was held on Saturday, Aug. 8 in Amsterdam. Tens of thousands of participants marched from Martin Luther Kingpark to the grounds of the Pride Village at Museumplein.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)








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The weekly drag show “Daddy Issues” was held at Kiki on Wednesday, Aug. 5. Performers included Evry Pleasure, Indiana Bones and Tiara Missou-Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)









Books
Something’s off about Dad. When is it time to step in?
‘When Memory Fades’ can help when families face dementia
‘When Memory Fades’
By Nathaniel Chin, MD
c.2026, St. Martin’s Essentials
$30/422 pages
Mom called you in a panic the other day.
She’d lost her keys and by the time you arrived to help, she’d found them. In the refrigerator.
These kinds of things keep happening, not often but often enough, and you don’t know quite what to worry about. But in the new book “When Memory Fades” by Nathaniel Chin, MD, you’ll learn about the journey ahead, for both of you.
You can’t remember why you walked into a room. You got lost last week, going to the bank. Popular wisdom says that things like that are normal as we age, but Chin says that’s not true – although the answer may not be a worst-case scenario, either. Yes, memory problems could just be signs of stress, dehydration, or lack of sleep – or is it time to see a doctor?
Chin says maybe, yes.
He was working his way through medical residency when his father, a geriatrician in Madison, Wisc., was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Chin, now a geriatrician, was blindsided, but that diagnosis also changed his life.
Here, he writes about the brain, and how Alzheimer’s and dementia are diagnosed, explaining that dementia has many faces and, depending on a doctor’s evaluation, memory problems might be slowed or improved. He shares his father’s illness with readers, but he also writes about his mother, a steadfast, steady caretaker.
Her story reminds reader-guardians to care for themselves, too.
Know how to talk the talk, so that you can have “a more productive” conversation with your doctor. Understand that there’s nothing “normal” about dementia or Alzheimer’s. Know the statistics – African Americans are affected with dementia twice as much as whites – and know how to lower your risks. Learn here what questions to ask, how to break the news to everyone, and any legal matters that will be important soon. And know how to tend to you.
Says Chin, “The best action you can take is to educate yourself… The more you understand, the better equipped you are to make sound judgments.”
Something’s off about Dad, just a lot of little things that don’t add up. When is it time to step in? “When Memory Fades” can help you decide.
Wise, wide-spread, comprehensive, and compassionately helpful, this is a book you can read and then take it to the doctor with your loved one. It’s a book that makes sense when nothing else does, and its biggest feature is that it smoothly transitions from easy-to-grasp science and charts, to gentle coaching for caregivers. Author Nathaniel Chin, MD writes with storytelling, humility, grace, and experience from both sides of the Alzheimer’s/dementia issue, and his words are reassuring but also urgent. Learn, but don’t wait, he says. Know how to safeguard yourself. See your doctor, and don’t fear testing. Watch for signs of depression. And never, ever stop asking for help.
Read those last seven words, and find “When Memory Fades” now. It’s a book to have on your shelf, whether you’re 45 or 95 because, as you’ll see, dementia happens and knowledge is key.
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