'Adam and Steve' Returns After 20 Years with Palm Springs Screening

Twenty years after the 2005 LGBTQ+ rom-com "Adam and Steve" made its mark on queer cinema, the beloved characters are back in "Adam and Steve: The Second Coming" — and Greater Palm Springs will get the first-ever screening.

Writer-director Craig Chester brings the sequel to the Mary Pickford Theatre on Thursday, November 6, just in time for Greater Palm Springs Pride. The film catches up with the couple as married men in New York City, where a Biden-Trump debate viewing party leads to an unexpected journey.

"It's sort of like the Wizard of Oz. It's sort of a satire of this moment," Chester told NBC Palm Springs' Manny the Movie Guy. "They wind up wanting to go to Palm Springs and settle down there... To me, that's like gay Mecca."

Chester, who lived in Palm Springs during the pandemic, explained his deep connection to the desert. "Whenever I would get writer's block in LA, I would drive to Palm Springs," he said. "Something about the wind, the ions — it just was always like something that cleared my writer's block."

The screening begins at 5 p.m., followed by "The Fall Gay Shorts" collection from 7-9:30 p.m. Manny will host a special Q&A after the film.

Watch the full video above for more from Craig Chester about the long-awaited sequel and his creative love affair with Palm Springs.

Tickets are available here.