Soldier's Girl

I watched the movie Soldier's Girl today. I guess this is technically a spoiler alert, but it's all in the movie description, and it's based on a true story, so we already know what happens.

It's about a soldier (during peacetime) who is stationed in Tennessee and who has a kind of screwed up roommate. I think he has some mental health issues. Anyway, Barry (the main character) ends up falling in love and having a relationship with a transwoman and drag queen who he met at the gay bar his roommate dragged a bunch of them to (as a "test"). Characters and developed and introduced, everyone kind of knows that Barry is in love with a tranny, and the plot begins to develop. His roommate talks a new recruit, who gets in fights with Barry often, into beating Barry while he sleeps with a baseball bat. Barry dies. We see the reactions and reflections of people. End of movie.

I was fucking bawling my eyes out.

The movie as a movie was not that great. The story that is in the movie however, is so heartbreaking. The things that make a movie good were lacking and actually made the movie rather dull. However, the movie allows you to imagine what is really happening inside these people's heads and lives that they don't show in the movie. Which is what made me burst into tears and sob for a good 10 minutes while Barry got his head bashed in with a baseball bat.

Overall, bad movie, good story. If you have an imagination and care about the issues faced by soldiers and transpeople, and the people who love soldiers and transpeople, it's a good movie. If you're apathetic and unimaginative, it's a bad movie.

Speaking of soldiers/sailors, my brother moved out again. He was home for about a month. It was really nice. I had someone to talk to, and joke with, and who didn't mind driving me places, and while he can be really judgemental about my choices, is generally a nice, polite, funny brother. He is now living with my cousin in Snobville. His impetus for moving today? His local gym membership expired yesterday, and his Snobville gym membership starts tomorrow. My brother the bodybuilder. What a weirdo. We have always had very opposite interests.