Curtain Call: June Favorites

Curtain Call is a monthly roundup column pulling together favorites from film, fashion, culture, and more. Take a gander!

Hello hello,

I’m writing this letter hungover after a Charli XCX x Slayyyter party. A drag queen shot a confetti gun to “CRANK,” and there was an ecstatic remix of “Pink Pony Club” and “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” Prior to that I had dinner at Frankie’s 457 and witnessed a Jewish-Filipino wedding in their backyard. The men wore the stiff Baron Tagalog shirts, beautifully embroidered and sheer. Over meatballs I peeked through the window and saw the happy couple share their first smile alone as husband and wife.

You’ll notice this month’s favorites have a theme since I flew to Venice for a coworker’s wedding. I was lucky to be invited, let alone go to a true Italian wedding. It was held in the groom’s hometown of Bassano del Grappa, where his family has lived for generations. Hemingway and Fitzgerald also spent time there during WWI. We strolled across the main bridge and admired the clear river running through, coming down from the “pre-Alps” as a few Italian aunties described. A few days later, I celebrated the Knicks winning the finals with Aperol spritzes along the Venetian canal. Italy was beautiful, but when it was time to leave, I was ready to return to New York.

Lots of culture, a little food, and of course, movies await below:

1. Leviticus - Australian director Adrian Chiarella’s debut feature not only has a brilliant premise but a very capable cast. Adrift teenager Naim (Joe Bird) has just moved to a small unnamed rural town. He meets a boy named Ryan (Stacy Clausen), and they quickly develop feelings for each other. Yet in this tight-knit Christian community, gayness is met with “healing”, and you can imagine what happens next. My only real qualm was the runtime: The film was too short to allow all the fantastic ideas it had around homophobia, repression, and paranoia to fully come to fruition. I’d gladly watch an extended cut if it ever came out. Also was moved by the forlorn landscape complete with power lines and golden, dried up grass. Anything can look like Ohio for those with eyes to see.

   

2. The 61st Venice Biennale - I have always wanted to go to the Biennale. This has been a fixation of mine since high school (all my fixations either last two weeks or at least a decade, no in between). This year’s installment called “In Minor Keys” was curated by Cameroonian-Swiss curator Koyo Kouoh, who sadly passed before she could see the finished exhibition. The combination of 111 participants she and her team curated was gorgeous: Cauleen Smith next to Nick Cave, Guadalupe Rosales highlighting Latina girlhood in Los Angeles next to Big Chief Demond Melancon and his textile artwork. In the Japan pavilion, my boyfriend and I carried around 10-lb fake babies, which we then had to change to find a QR code for a poem in their diapers. Two gay men next to me asked how to change a diaper. I love Pride.

   

3. The Knicks winning! - Now, I did not see the Knicks win in real time because I was asleep, however, my boyfriend woke up at 6am post-wedding to catch the tail end of the game. We rode the high the entire trip. I, for one, and am forever grateful that I did see the OG Anunoby tip, which is honestly where the whole thing turned in our favor. If you’re still looking for excellent Knicks merch that is reasonably priced, supports a small business, and is, quite frankly, more fun and fabulous than anywhere else, Margot at Misc-en-Scène (@misc_en_scene on Instagram) has what you need. I will be purchasing the Madonna and Samantha Jones shirts.

   

4. Venetian Masks - I went to Ca’ Macana, a Venetian mask shop operating since 1984. It’s main claim-to-fame beyond the craftsmanship is that it was the shop that created the masks for Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut, and every single bit of wall space was filled with hand-made, gorgeous works of art. Not too much for now because I’ll be writing about this later, but my boyfriend and I brought two home and put his and hers on our closet doors.

   

5. Maddie’s Secret - True Showgyrl John Early does triple-duty in this shockingly moving comedy. From moment one, Early plays Maddie in full-tilt melodrama while everyone around her is in an absurd sketch comedy. It shouldn’t work, and yet as they lampoon the Bon Appétit test kitchen and foodie culture, it totally does. I saw this at IFC Center at noon and rode the high of the film and a crispy Diet Coke for the rest of the day. Go see it during the heat wave for a laugh.

   

6. Cicchetti - There’s a tradition in Venice that adds some homeyness to Apertivo hour called Ciccheti: Savory appetizers on crostini or a baguette feel more haphazard and therefore fun than a traditional small plate. I had walnuts on gorgonzola drizzled with balsamic glaze, pesto and cream cheese with fresh tomato, even a mini mortadella sandwich. I’ve already brought this concept back for dinner parties at my house served with goblet-sized Aperol spritzes.

7. Pegeen Vail - The daughter of Peggy Guggenheim whose paintings combine a surrealist sensibility with the visual flourishes of “naive” or “primitive” art. All her scenes are brightly colored, her figures feel childlike, yet the mundane scenes are renewed with a sense of wonder through her depictions. It’s in her ability to disarm that she gets at more universal emotional truths. Raymond Queneau wrote that “the world Pegeen creates is somehow more authentic than the real world because it seems closer to heaven on earth.” I saw her work on display at the Peggy Guggenheim, and I was moved at how her work allowed me to see womanhood in a different way

   

8. Famesick by Lena Dunham - A confession: I had never before engaged with any of Dunham’s work until reading Famesick, the reason being her status as a social pariah that she so dissects in the memoir. Her account of her health, from disordered eating to getting diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos syndrome, is harrowing to say the least, yet she does have a way of charming even when lighting the match that sends her life up in flames. I recommend listening to the audiobook with a soft serve cone on a walk or with a glass of wine at night. I’m also scheduling a first-time GIRLS watch. Better late than never.

9. Ridiculous Sunglasses - Italian women have always fascinated me with their ability to do casual glamor on the day-to-day, or just be casually glamorous and make others feel like they didn’t get the dress code. It’s a sophisticated yet unstuffy sensibility: She is deeply educated and worldly but doesn’t weaponize it. I wanted that Italiano lady moment with full excess and a sense of fun. Think these sunglasses did the trick.

   

Thank you for reading!! Rabbit rabbit Xx