With over 1500 reviews of LGBTQ+ films under our belt, QUEERGURU has been through the gamut of queer cinema. It’s been a sheer joy discovering some excellent movies that have not only entertained us so well but have made such powerful contributions to the continuing dialogue about so many aspects of the LGBTQ spectrum.
We try and be positive about well-meaning films that for one reason or another fall well short of their ambitions, often because of the sheer difficulty of financing queer cinema. Then there are others e.g. comedies that simply are so-unfunny that are best left unspoken.
Even all of them are far more acceptable movies than A Change of Heart. This movie was filmed in 2014 and has been sitting on a dusty shelf somewhere since then, and to where it will no doubt return for good very quickly. The story plays stereotypes to the hilt trying to milk this rather sorry mess of such a contrived plot for any humor it can and failing miserably. Being unfunny is no crime, it happens often in the cinema, but patronizing both the LGBT and the Latino communities in such a clumsy manner is nothing short of insulting.
Miami’s OUTSHINE LGBTQ film festival screened the movie once in 2015 and that’s where we got totally enraged. After sitting through a rather painful 105 minutes of this seriously unfunny comedy we were totally surprised that it’s star Jim Belushi didn’t have his own change of heart about being involved in such a disappointing movie. However, what it is even more disturbing is that the movie which is produced by Emilio Estefan and features his wife Gloria and takes a very dated stereotype view on Miami’s LGBT community which positively reeks of homophobia.
The saddest thing is that the film is about to be dusted off again and being screened as part 0f the prestigious Miami Film Festival. The Estefans may be important members of the local community but that alone is not enough to justify the film being programmed.
Check out the queer films at Miami Film Fest that we do recommend HERE and if you are more curious to know why A Change Of Heart should never ever leave that warehouse again, you can read our review HERE.
