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.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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