Vandeventer Ave., 31), which features a late-night diner. For more, um, cosmopolitan adventures in night life, try the ever-popular The Complex (3515 Chouteau Ave., 31), the piano bar Drake (3502 Papin St., 31), and Magnolia's (5 S. Grand Blvd., 31), or dine on upscale French cuisine at the new Chez Leon (4580 Laclede Ave., 31). Those bars which are doing well have niche markets." Bossaller has his own picks for the city: For a mean martini, visit the Absolutli Goosed martini bar (3196 S. ''I know a few are teetering on the verge of closing. Louis bars' survival these days, says Tony Bossaller, who runs the helpful website ''The problem is all the bars are hurting right now," he says. I was fascinated, but Cher guzzled her vodka tonic at record speed just as I was revved up to see the dance moves to Anita Ward's ''Ring My Bell."Īs it turns out, Attitudes has been catering to a particular crowd, which has been key to most St. We stood awestruck, as if witnessing a train wreck. 'MMMBop' by Hanson?," I screeched to my cousin. We weren't fazed by the men and women clad in Western shirts and line dancing in perfect little rows it was the music. (Note: This is where we rewind to that ''Hee Haw" bit.) Regardless of our upbringings with continuous Loretta Lynn on the hi-fi, Cher and I weren't prepared for the scene at Attitudes. Louis, and our first stop was Attitudes (4100 Manchester Road, 31), a popular lesbian bar. We began our night at 10 p.m., which is standard for St. So what do the locals do around here, anyway? I found out over the summer when I visited the city's haunts with my lesbian cousin, Cheryl (who goes by Cher, for a closer connection to Chastity Bono, no doubt). Metro, the city's public transport system of buses and trains, is efficient, but seriously consider a car rental to pack in all the attractions, which are certainly spread out. Folks land here all the time for weekend conventions, weddings, layovers, a Cardinals game at Busch Stadium, or, for gay men into ''bear" types, an annual soiree called Hibearnation. Louis - famous for its arch and known as the gateway to the West -is a city everyone visits at some point. Louis could have given the world Tina Turner and Josephine Baker. Besides, only a vibrant, gay-friendly city like St. Louis, not to mention that I spent countless weekends club-hopping here as a college student. I'm a proud product of the Midwest, having grown up in Illinois, two hours from St. LOUIS - To the uninitiated, Saturday night fever here can play out like a hillbilly skit from ''Hee Haw." But before you cry, ''Whoa, Nelly! What's your beef with the Corn Belt?," I can explain. Gloria Bell is a mature, character-driven film anchored by an incredible performance.ST. And if that means hanging out with Moore for two hours, then who could argue with that?
When she’s on that dance floor, losing herself to the beat, no matter how daggy her movements or where her elbows are swinging, it’s, well, glorious.īeautifully shot by cinematographer Natasha Braier using filtered light, Lelio has crafted a world you just want to luxuriate in.
Moore is in every scene of this movie and she is perfect in every one of those frames. It’s as complex and understated as its lead character, brought to life by Moore with a lived-in quality, and with texture. It’s a character study of this woman’s life, from bigger moments like embarking on a new romance to the mundane, like handwashing her bras in the bathroom sink.Īll around her things are happening to other people - her son (Cera) has a new baby daughter and an absent partner, and her daughter (Pistorius) is falling in love with a Swedish big wave surfer.īut underpinning everything in Gloria Bell is the volatility and unpredictability of life, the happiness, the loneliness, the fulfilment and the dissatisfaction.
Gloria Bell is not a movie where much “happens”.