Better Than Chocolate

Better Than Chocolate
April 22, 1999
British Columbia Film etc.
Comedy, Romance
DVD
B

This Canadian movie, with an appealing cast that has no overlap with any other movie in my collection, remains a little gem.  I don't want to oversell it because I think the writing is a little weak.  Even by the U-haul standards of some lesbians*, Kim and Maggie get involved and "in love" very fast.  And the ending is a bit rushed, although I suspect that the "Where are they nows" are somewhat tongue-in-cheek.  But the movie is undeniably chocolate-like, in that it's sweet and likable.  It's also sexy in a non-exploitative way, unlike Different Strokes.  This film wasn't made for straight male porn-consumers, although it appeals to people of various sexes and sexualities.  It's also one of the few "queer" movies, particularly for its time period, to have a sympathetic trans character and a somewhat sympathetic bi character (well, Carla is "omnisexual," but close enough).  The soundtrack is good, especially the songs that are lip-synced, like "Sexy" and "Julie Christie Makes Me Go Misty."  Most of all, the film is funny, especially the character of Frances the bookstore owner.  And Karyn Dwyer as red-haired protagonist Maggie is absolutely adorable.

Better than chocolate?  Well, no, but better than a lot of its big-screen peers.

*The U-haul joke as told me by a gay male housemate, a few years before this movie was released:
Q: What do lesbians bring on a second date?
A:  A U-haul.
Q: What do gay men bring on a second date?
A: What second date?