June 30, 2023
FILM: ART AND PEP
STARRING: ART JOHNSON, PEPE PENA
DIRECTED BY MERCEDES KANE
RATING: 3 ½ STARS Out of 4
By Dan Pal
As we reach the end of Pride month and, as of today, the Supreme Court has shown its prejudices, it’s important to keep hearing the stories of the LGBTQ+ community that have supported and inspired us. Any LGBTQ+ person who has lived in Chicago for the past 40 years knows Sidetrack. It’s that famous, multi-level, ever-expanding, video bar that represents a major part of our histories. The documentary Art and Pep chronicles the partnership, both business and personal, between Art Johnson and Pepe Pena who have owned the bar since it opened in 1982. To think that this is just about Sidetrack would be doing a disservice to what director Mercedes Kane has done here. The filmmaker has created an historical portrait of the bar, a couple that has been together for almost 50 years, the social/political crises effecting the LGBTQ+ community since the early 1980s, and an entertaining look at our changing culture.
Some of us remember those early days of Sidetrack which was so small that we had to sit on boxes of beer bottles and let our knees “accidently” touch all the gay men that walked by. This was a LITTLE bar and a VERY tight space! Today it is the center of so much of LGBT life on North Halsted Street that it’s almost surprising there hasn’t been a detailed documentary about its existence before. There is plenty of footage here from inside the bar and, most notably, its 1982 opening. What a rare treat it is to see that small space again!
But again, this is more than just a history of the city’s most popular gay bar. At the heart of it all are Art and Pepe who take us through all of the stresses, strains, and good times in its lifetime. They discuss the effect AIDS had on its customers and staff, the neighborhood homophobia, the celebratory Human Rights ordinance, the legalization of same sex marriages, and the shocking arrival of COVID-19. Yes, the bar has been through it all.
Even further, Art and Pepe have been at the center of all the major political and social issues related to the LGBTQ community during the past 40 years. Both men were involved in confrontations with Mayor Daley about AIDS funding and they became heavily involved with the ACT-UP movement. Basically, they have been at the forefront of LGBTQ+ history in Chicago.
Kane does a fine job of combining archival footage from the era along with interviews with some of the major social/political leaders within the community, including Lori Lightfoot – the city’s first Lesbian mayor. Kane also uses comic book-like cells and animated images to bring to life situations where footage is unavailable. It all makes for a very informative and entertaining film.
If there is any quibble I have with the film it is that the chronology jumps around a bit much. Some of this is to make connections between the various social movements. At times, the focus strays a bit from Art, Pepe, and the bar but this seems to reflect how much they are all a part of a significant history.
There’s no question though that Art and Pep is a major documentary for Chicago and the LGBTQ+ community. It’s a film that people in other cities should relate to as well for the struggles faced by the couple, the bar, and the community can be found anywhere in the U.S.
Art and Pep is available to stream on Peacock.