Profit,
The Complete Series
A short-lived series on Fox that debuted in 1996 (only
9 episodes total were produced), Profit follows
the exploits of Jim Profit (Adrian Pasdar), a ruthless
businessman willing to use any means necessary to get
ahead at his multinational corporation--including blackmail,
fraud, and murder.
There
are three episodes which deal with a lesbian relationship
between one of the main characters (Lisa Blount) and a
guest star (Teryl Rothery, from Stargate SG-1).
The show's three-episode lesbian storyline is part of
a plot by Profit to split up his boss's marriage by reuniting
the wife with her ex-girlfriend in college.
Aside
from the computer technology used, which is now dated
to the point of cheesiness, and the occasionally annoying
voice-overs, Profit is an engrossing and entertaining
show about greed and ambition in the corporate world--and
sure to be unlike anything you've seen before. Also check
out the fun featurette "Greed Kills," and commentary
by Pasdar and the show's creators. Buy
Nip/Tuck,
Season 2 First, let's get this out of the way: Roma Maffia's
anesthesiologist character Liz, the show's token lesbian,
gets stuck with a crappy storyline this season revolving
around her wanting to get pregnant via artificial insemination.
Sound familiar? That's because we've seen some variation
of that storyline on almost every TV show with lesbians
in the last five years. But, between the always bizarre
goings-on in Christian and Troy's plastic surgery practice,
Famke Janssen (Eulogy,
X2) as a life coach with a secret, and Jessalyn Gilsig
(Boston Public) as sex-addict Gina, you almost
don't even mind that Liz is wasted this season.
Due
to the graphic surgery and sex scenes, this DVD is not
for the faint of heart--and the extras are slim, amounting
only to several deleted scenes and a "women who love
Dr. Troy" featurette. But if you're looking for edgy
and unpredictable, and don't mind your female characters
on the neurotic and insecure side, this season of Nip/Tuck
definitely delivers.
Girlplay
An indie romantic comedy based on the real-life experiences
of its writers and stars, Lacie Harmon and Robin Greenspan,
Girlplay is about two women cast to play lovers
in a theatrical production who unexpectedly fall for one
another off-stage, as well--despite the fact that Robin
is in a six-year relationship, and Lacie has never been
in a relationship longer than a few minutes.
Directed
by Lee Friedlander, the film's theatrical roots (the movie
was adapted from Harmon and Greenspan's play Real
Girls) are apparent from the very beginning, when
the two women alternate talking directly to the camera.
For
some, this blend of theater and film will be too distracting,
but those who don't mind that technique--and skimpy extras,
which area limited to the movie's trailer and a behind-the-scenes
featurette--will likely enjoy this well-made lesbian romance.
Lackawanna
Blues Set in the 1950s, this indie film includes a
butch African American lesbian among the characters (in
both senses of the word) who inhabit a boardinghouse run
by Nanny (Law and Order's S. Epatha Merkerson).
Directed
by openly gay George C. Wolfe, with a diverse supporting
cast that includes Jimmy Smits, Macy Gray, and Jeffrey
Wright, the movie is a multi-character drama that tracks
many of the characters and their relationship to Nanny
over the course of several years.
A
hit at film festivals last year, Lackawanna Blues
debuted on HBO in February, and is finally available for
viewing by a wider audience now that it's out on DVD.
Deleted scenes, a making-of featurette, and commentary
by the director are also included.
