Mar 10, 2006  |  By: GREG MARZULLO  | COMMENTS     

Big studios gave gay themes the green light in 2005. Movies like "Brokeback Mountain" and "Capote" found critical and box office success to the delight of gay film fans, even if Oscar ultimately snubbed "Brokeback."

Although 2006 is getting off to a slow start in terms of big studio pictures that deal with gay issues, smaller, edgier movie companies are stepping up to fill the void.

The production elements in independent films can be less slick, but the themes are often more challenging and reflective of a wide range of gay experiences.

FEW BIG STUDIOS are releasing movies about specifically gay characters, preferring instead to integrate gay men and lesbians into broader stories.

As if she didn’t create enough turmoil the first time around, bisexual novelist Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) returns in "Basic Instinct 2," which hits theaters on March 31.

As in the original, Tramell is suspected of a crime but this time she enchants a psychiatrist (David Morrissey) who is sent by Scotland Yard to investigate her. Stone said that there will be as much girl-on-girl action in this one as in the first installment.

In 1992, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation protested the release of the original, saying it portrayed lesbians and bisexuals as psychologically damaged killers. So far there has been no organized opposition to the sequel.

From Universal films, "United 93" is a semi-fictional account of the 9/11 flight that crashed in Pennsylvania before reaching its intended target in Washington, D.C. Mark Bingham was a 31-year-old gay publicist and former college rugby player who reportedly joined three other men in helping to bring down the plane.

Cheyenne Jackson plays the heroic rugby player in "Flight 93." Although Jackson, a gay actor, has only appeared in one short film, "Curiosity" in 2005, he has a strong background as a Broadway musical theater actor, playing leading roles including Radamés in Elton John’s "Aida."

Mixed gender identity is the theme of another romance film in Dreamworks’ "She’s the Man," a modern, teen adaptation of Shakespeare’s "Twelfth Night." Viola’s (Amanda Bynes) brother Sebastian (James Kirk) wants to escape to London to sing with his band. He asks his twin sister to cover for him at his English boarding school, disguising herself as him. She cross-dresses and passes at the school as her brother. Trouble ensues when she falls in love with her gorgeous roommate, Duke Orsino (the very hot Channing Tatum). He, straight as an arrow, is infatuated with the lovely Olivia (Laura Ramsey), and once Viola-in-drag arrives, Olivia falls in love with the new "boy."

As in the original play, themes of gender-bending love permeate the story. Olivia falls in love with the disguised Viola, because the new drag king can relate to her as a woman. Keep a watch on the relationship between Orsino and Viola. In the Shakespearian classic, homoeroticism laces every interaction between these two, but you might not see that in a mainstream film aimed at the teen audience.

Arriving in April, decked out in thigh-high patent leather heels, Miramax’s "Kinky Boots" promises to be a feel-good film. Charlie Price (Joel Edgerton) is hoping to get out of his English industrial town, but his father suddenly dies, leaving Charlie a teetering factory specializing in clunky, sensible shoes. Charlie soon meets Lola (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a drag queen with a heart of gold, and when worlds collide, dreams come true.

The two go into business together, creating fabulous shoes for female impersonators. The company takes off, and all the factory workers are transformed through the experience, especially when they head to a Milan fashion show.

Sony Pictures Classics will be releasing Nicole Holofcenter’s girl power film, "Friends With Money," on April 7. Starring Jennifer Aniston, Frances McDormand, Catherine Keener and Joan Cusack, the movie revolves around three middle-aged, wealthy, married women meddling in the life of their younger, non-attached friend (Aniston). Their scrutiny of her life leads each of them to nitpick her situation, and according to the gossip from the Sundance Film Festival, one of the ladies in the film questions her sexual orientation. The identity of the character is shrouded in mystery, however, so if you’re curious, make sure to see the movie.

Funny Boy Films, the gay movie studio that created the wildly successful "Latter Days," a gay movie about love between a typical club queen and a Mormon missionary, is trying to replicate its success with "Adam & ...