Broad Sheet: Why We Want to See this Woman Half Naked and Other Lesbianish Things We Like

This week's can't-miss, female-centric entertainment highlights includes a hot Goth lady guitarist, a beach read perfect for Christmas, gender-ambiguous snails, at least three women we'd like to bang, and a great new Kelly Clarkson album. 

10. Book: The Missing Juliet
Author Sam Cameron’s latest queer teen mystery, The Missing Juliet (Bold Strokes Books) is like the perfect beach read in the middle of winter, and it has great way of speaking not just to LGBT teens but to their straight pals as well. In this latest Fisher Key Adventure, Robin McGee should be planning for college, sticking to her summer job and her activism. But when the movie starlet she’s crushed out on is kidnapped from her Key West, Fla., movie set, Robin and her friends turn all Scooby gang and try to find her themselves. It’s light, breezy, fun, gayer than Judy Blume, and a great gift for anyone under 21. —Diane Anderson-Minshall

9. DVD: Therese

Audrey Tautou (Amélie, The Da Vinci Code) shines in director Claude Miller’s final film. Based on the 1927 novel by François Mauriac, this sensual film revels in the stunning scenery of southwestern France. Tautou’s Thérèse marries the arrogant Bernard (Gilles Lellouche) mostly out of convenience, but the relationship becomes less and less convenient as her husband becomes more distant and her intimate best friend — who happens to be her sister-in-law — falls madly in love with a handsome young Portuguese man. Thérèse is inspired by and envious of the passion and fire of true, unbridled love she sees in her friend. As Bernard’s family tightens its oppressive grip around Thérèse and her best friend, Thérèse takes matters into her own hands to fight for the freedom she deserves. Tautou expertly conveys the heartache, sorrow, joy, and love demanded by the role. A “gamine goddess,” the actress “gives what may be her most powerful screen performance,” New York Times critic Stephen Holden wrote earlier this year. After a well-received theatrical release, Thérèse comes to DVD Tuesday. Order here, and watch the trailer below.—Trudy Ring

8. TV: Musical Chairs

Musical Chairs, a romantic comedy from Susan Seidelman (Desperately Seeking Susan), premieres tonight on HBO Latino. Armando (E.J. Bonilla) is a Latino man working in his family's Bronx restaurant who teaches wealthy older ladies how to tango at a Manhattan dance studio. Mia (Leah Pipes), an Upper East Side ballroom dance instructor, is the object of Armando's affection but way out of his league. A life-changing accident brings together these two unlikely partners and offers Armando a chance to show Mia how he truly feels about her by entering Mia in a wheelchair ballroom dance competition. But face it, if you're like us,  you're watching it for Laverne Cox (co-star of Orange Is The New Black),who is as wonderful as you'd expect. Catch Musical Chairs on HBO Latino Friday, November 15 at 8 p.m. —Nicholas Cimarusti

7. Music: One-Eyed Doll’s New Video for “Be My Friend”
If you haven’t heard of One-Eyed Doll, who opened for the lesbian-fronted metal band Otep last year, you are missing something remarkable: Kimberly Freeman. The absolutely captivating guitar-wielding frontwoman in this two-person DIY goth punk band, Freeman’s chops are amazing, her stage personae magnetic, and the music is always surprising. Take this new video, “Be My Friend,” which is absolutely creepy but so much fun. Next up: A remixed, remastered, and “re-Monstered” version of the band’s classic 2008 album, Monster, which is in pre-order now. —Diane Anderson-Minshall

6. Blu-ray: Turbo
From DreamWorks Animation, the creators of Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda, comes Turbo, the fun-filled, spirited adventure of the world’s fastest snail. (Yes, you heard that correctly!) This visually stunning and sort of queer animated comedy takes us all the way to Indy with an underdog snail who can’t help but wear his heart on his shell. True to the DreamWorks format, this film will keep you laughing just as much as your little ones, if not for completely different reasons. Featuring an incredible voice cast including bisexual actress Michelle Rodriguez, lesbian favorite Maya Rudolf, and a bunch of dudes (Ryan Reynolds, Snoop Dogg, Samuel L. Jackson), it's the perfect holiday gift for your gayby or her mom, and it comes with an official pullback toy racer if you don’t already have your own snail. But really, who doesn’t? —Michael Regula

5. Music: Wrapped in Red, Kelly Clarkson

Clarkson’s huge lesbian following will undoubtedly celebrate the release of her first Christmas album, Wrapped in Red, available now. The album features new songs, such as first single “Underneath the Tree” and the title track, along with perennial favorites including “White Christmas,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and “Silent Night,” the latter with guests Reba McEntire and Trisha Yearwood. (If you have any doubt about Clarkson’s significance for lesbians and bi women, that should be erased by the bookLetters to Kelly Clarkson, in which queer poet Julia Bloch ponders the cultural meaning of Kelly, offering both affection and critique.) Watch the video for “Underneath the Tree” below, and get the album here.—Trudy Ring

4. DVD: Tutu Much

For a very different take on young girls dancing than you’ll get on Dance Moms, check out this documentary about nine girls from around the world on a four-week-long audition to get into Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. “TuTu Much is full of excitement and disappointment, tears and laughter and hard decisions regarding years of sacrifice and pain,” Ballet News said of the film. “And it’s all from the mouths of children.” Now out on DVD from First Run Features; also downloadable at iTunes. Watch the trailer below.—Trudy Ring

3. TV: The Returned

If you're looking for a thoughtful, artistic foray into the current worldwide fascination with zombie thrillers, look no further than French drama The Returned, which airs on the Sundance channel Thursdays at 9 p.m. Four years after a tragic bus accident, victims long thought dead begin turning up in their small Alpine town. The show avoids standard brain-gnawing tropes, but does feature a cannibalistic serial killer who at least appears to be a living, breathing psychopath. The line between life, death, and what comes next is used to explore faith, isolation, and a host of other eerily human topics. Once you factor in the oh-so-French soundtrack (from Mogwai) and the artistic lighting — including upon two cat suit-clad lesbians in a passionate make-out session — the series emerges as "a haunting tribute to the lost loves who feed on your brain forever," as Entertainment Weekly so aptly phrased it. —Sunnivie Brydum

2. Dance (on Film): Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

Go down the rabbit hole like you never have before with the film of choreographer Christopher Wheeldon’s innovative, definitely grown-up take on the Alice story, performed by the U.K.’s Royal Ballet. The movie will screen for one night only, Tuesday at 7 p.m. local time, in theaters nationwide, from Anchorage to Zanesville. View the trailer below, and get info and tickets here. —Trudy Ring

1. Fashion: Carmen Carrera as a Victoria’s Secret Model
She shot to fame on RuPaul’s Drag Race prior to her public transition, and now transgender model Carmen Carrera has a fan base that includes everyone from fashion industry bigwigs to plain old queer girls like me. One of those fans started a petition to get Victoria’s Secret to cast the soon-to-be-super model in their annual televised festival of bras, the Victoria Secret Angels Fashion Show, which would make her the first trans woman to walk in the show. We were already signing the petition but the noticed NewNowNext shared her previous W magazine shoot with Linda Evangelista and we just had to share the dykiest of the shots from Steven Meisel (courtesy of NewNowNext.com) with SheWired’s readers. Why? Because everyone needs a little perk on a Friday afternoon. Oh, and because you should sign the petition too. —Diane Anderson-Minshall

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