That was the theme written on the slip of paper. I assume by the subsequent conversation that I had with Mr. X that these are all movies involving cross-dressing and that the "criss" part was just some stray wordplay. In the event that one of these movies in fact features the 90s child rapping prodigies known as Criss Cross OR features characters engaged in the "backwards pants" fashion style forwarded by the aforementioned kiddies, I ask that you sign my asylum papers swiftly.
I love the idea of this month's theme, but I also approach it with some trepidation. Because I have seen a startlingly large number of movies that prominently feature cross-dressing. This is mostly due to my love for sketch comedy, and one of the basic tenets of sketch comedy (comedy in general, really) is that Dudes in Dresses are Hilarious. My two favorite sketch comedy troupes are Monty Python and The Kids in the Hall, and if you've ever seen those troupes then you know about Dudes in Dresses.
It does go deeper than laughs, however. I sought out both To Wong Foo and its progenitor, Priscilla Queen of the Desert. I wanted desperately to like Flawless despite the director's frequent hackery. I was disappointed in Stephen Rea's initial reaction of disgust in The Crying Game . What it comes down to is that I find cross-gender identification FASCINATING. One of the best (and most criminally dropped) storylines of Showtime's "The L Word" was the transition of female Moira to male Max. Instead we got more Jenny Schechter nonsense and Shane's incessant inability to commit despite multiple seasons during which we watched the character DEVELOP into the kind of person who COULD COMMIT. Or the stupid gambling addiction and prison sex of an otherwise fun character. Grrrr.... goddamit, L Word, why couldn't you just be awesome the whole time? Why couldn't Shane have ended up with Carmen, or ended up adopting her little brother? Who gave a shit about Jenny's writing career or her movie? Why did we spend any time at all on the cheating Angus? Why was Max shoved off into a narrative corner once he got a job? Ugh, L Word, you were so awesome sometimes and so goddamn stupid other times!
..... Sorry. Got off-topic. Anyway, as I was saying, I find something fascinating about cross-gender identification. Most real life stories about the subject break my heart. There's so much confusion and social ostracization involved in cross-gender identification, even moreso than homo or bisexuality. Indeed, it's the tendency for homosexuals to act in stereotypically cross-gender ways that gains them the most negative attention. I'm not saying that gender confusion is the entire basis for homophobia, but it covers a LOT of that ground. And just as I'm infuriated by anyone's inability to accept homosexuality, I'm infuriated by anyone's inability to accept cross-gender identification. The fact that anyone takes someone else's sense of self as a personal affront to their own sense of self is ludicrous in the extreme. And I'm aware that me being affronted by gender-and-sex-traditionalists is itself ludicrous. But the difference is you'll never see me dragging one of those assholes behind my pickup truck until he's dead.
Incidentally, I think the Dil character in The Crying Game is very alluring. Nong Toom, whose story was portrayed in the film Beautiful Boxer, is a beautiful post-op former ladyboy (indeed MANY ladyboy beauty contest winners are stunners). And I've perused transgendered profiles on dating sites a few times. Not sure there's a point to me saying all that besides taking personal amusement in confession, but there you go.
Anyway, first up in our Criss-Cross-Dressers theme? Brian De Palma's Dressed to Kill
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