Retro Reviewing: "Better Than Chocolate"

yeah this movie is royally bad,except for the sex part(hehe).

"your greeting is good but i need cash"

I watched it in the theatre when it came out. got a bunch of good reviews, being one of the very few lesbian movies that hit the big screen.  and i was quite diasppointed.

Frances was a bit in shock when Judi made advancement to her, I wonder how much was she really interested (initally). maybe she was a desperate to take whatever comes her way

and that "put down then half eaten choclate and play with sex toy" scene was also strange..

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This movie was good but the sex part was better :) so I am with you on that...

well i'd give this movie a 2.... as u said too much melodramaticness and the stereotypes.... i don't really remember the movie it was that bad, to me at least.

there was one scene that was really, seriously ick that the brother did. who watches their sister have sex?? gross much??

nice vlog :) i totally agree on the awful, campy stereotypes of better than chocolate, but i can't help but smile when i watch this movie, hehe.

very much looking forward to your thoughts on go fish!!!

"don't ever say it's too late, you know you'll regret it. just when you're sure of your life, it can change right before your eyes"
"turtle" by alana davis

this film is SO canadian. i remember watching it in film school of all places. i love how c.cox was all serious throughout the entire movie. she took herself too serious for someone who rode around in that van.

best character: the close minded italian. fanfreakintastic.

at a Gay Lesbian Film Festival in 1999.  I remember enjoying it, despite a few flaws.  I thought the mom's sex toy scene was funny.

I enjoyed your review, especially the reenactments. 

I forget which one of you said, "This was the worst movie I've ever seen", but it made me think, "Hasn't she ever seen 'Go FIsh'?"  So, I look forward to next week's review. 

:-)

When I saw you where going to review 'Better Than Chocolate' I went out and found it. And I can't believe you gave it so low on the 'Gay Magic Scale'... I would give it a 4.5 because I love it, it opened my eyes to just how hot Christina Cox really is...

 'I'm Not A F**king Drag Queen' - best song EVER... I don't think Judi would have stood up for herself in the bathroom... She only stood up for Maggie at the end because of being drunk, and finally because she had just helped (Maggie's mum understand everything)... Plus it was Frances store and she loves her.

Those guys didn't try to set fire to the store - that was partly because of them and party because of the guy from next door...

Katie looking good thanks for the shout you rock

was a horrible movie when I first watched it, and I don't intend to watch it ever again. I'm with Caroline - point five gay swishes is perhaps even more than it deserves. Christina Cox didn't really come across as butch to me, the sex scenes weren't even hot, the plot with the mum and brother was just plain strange. BUT, Ann-Marie McDonald as Frances really saved the whole thing, I loved her, though I didn't buy her romance with Judy.

Then again, I probably have bad taste in lesbian movies - I love Go Fish! Even with the pretentious poetry and the bad hats.

   I watched this movie a while ago and I hate it, not only because of the ugly stereotypes and implausible story, but I also didn’t think  that there was any chemistry between the two lead actresses.

The sex scenes are passable, but not enough to justify the torture of seeing this movie. I would give it a 2/5 if only because of the work involved in making a movie (and the lesbian theme of course)

  Looking forward to Go Fish review  

And the gay magic rating for Better than Chocolate is....3.

I mean it is cheesy and stereotypical, but it is pretty gay magical. Uhauling, closeted drama, the cat's ass, the slutty bisexual, the homophobic skin heads, the WARDROBE! What more magical gayness could we ask for?

As for Go Fish.....well I stomached it once. That is all.   

I am my very own shade of grey.

The first time I watched this I was a closeted baby dyke unknowingly re-enacting that scene from It's in the Water where she rents out the entire lesbian section at the video store, and compared to a lot of other really painful stuff I sat through, this one was a very bright spot.

I've always been a fan of both campy, cheesy, and absurd, so unbelievable storylines and stereotypical characters just makes me like it more. It would bother me more if it was a movie aimed primarily for straight audiences unfamiliar with the difference between actual lesbians and lesbian stereotypes, but as this feels more like 'for lesbians by lesbians' all that stuff just makes me laugh. And I do feel like it has its heart in the right place. I dug it out again last year after Blood Ties hit me over the head with a mad crush on Christina Cox, and it still makes me happy. It's warm and sweet and makes me laugh a lot, I don't care if it has ridiculous storylines.

Awesome vlog! Loved the re-enactments!

(Although, it was Tony who said that line "What is art really about? Illusion?". Kim then mocks him with a deadpan answer peppered with complicated art terminology, at which Tony looks gobsmacked, and it makes me laugh every time.)

Julie Christie song was my favourite moment. I just ADORED that song with the wierd black lighting. This film is an odd mish mash, with some very good and very bad performances. Liked Christina Cox, but the best performance was from Peter somethingorother as tranny Judy. He gave a fab performance and was the best thing in it. The woman playing the bookstore owner was one of the only out lesbians in the film I believe, but she was a terrible actor and along with the horrible Italian guy, really pulled it down.

I still like the film, flawed as it is, and the sex scenes were rather tasty!

perhaps it's just the "Silly Canadian" in me but i actually loved this movie.

apparently the Canadian humour is lost on some .. such a pity. Canada is proud to claim Christina Cox and her adorable chin dimple to boot.

I laughed a lot AT this movie the first time I saw it. Some movies can pull off "campy" like But I'm a Cheerleader because you know the whole purpose is to come off that way, but this was supposed to be serious and just failed in every way. This movie was so awful that it became funny from the horrible writing to Christina Cox playing butch. I love the re-enactments though and I think you girls should tackle Lost and Delirious soon because there would be some really ridiculous scenes to re-enact in that one... I come back for re-enactments and Katie, of course ... can't wait til the next one!

...mainly hot girls, some 'interesting' sex scenes, and weird humor.

However, quoting: "...some of the cheesiest dialogue this side of a James Bond flick" - I'd compare it more to the "Our Man Flint" series - an even cheesier 60's spoof/rip-off of the Bond flicks! (gawd, I watch too many cable oldies!)

However, I saw this with 6 or 8 other girls, mostly gay or bi, all LGBT-friendly, and we had loads of fun pointing, laughing, and making snarky comments - Good friends and good wine/beer helped too, so we had a great silly evening! I wouldn't want straight people to see this as the reality of lesbian life, but if you enjoy making fun of movies, it could be fun! We knew going in that it wasn't realistic, so we weren't expecting much - Just a whacky evening with friends!

Props for your re-enactments - in some ways, just as entertaining as the movie, hot chicks and all! (sentence abiguity is intentional)

Stereotypes= very bad

Sex= good

over all not soo bad... its kinda just a campy film u watch when ur in college with a bunch of friend n laugh with... But thats about it...

But have you seen "go fish" yet... if u think this film is remotely bad... U haven't seen anything yet lol looking forward to the next review 

Ameara <3

Oh the cruelty of youth! ;) This movie is one of my favourites. It is a flat-out farce, which requires suspension of belief in timelines, truth, and reality but has a happy ending. It was just so much fun to watch and Christina Cox was a revelation. Maggie (and Mom and bro) came from small town Canada (Swift Current, Saskatchewan, sort of how I imagine Fargo, ND to be) and had all that baggage to carry. Iconic actresses Wendy Crewson (Mom, wearing her pearls at all times) and Anne Marie MacDonald (Frances), of Oprah Bookclub fame ("Fall on your knees") as well as Peter Outerbridge (Judy) who is everywhere in Canadian film and tv, were wonderful. The fight with the customs agent reflects a true and very long drawn out battle between Canada Customs and the Little Sisters Bookstore in Vancouver, so it was a nice tie in to reality.

So, until another lesbian film comes along that is as funny and has a happy ending for all , I will fight the good fight for this one.

I thought all the characters were likable. They struck me more as a reflection of people than stereotypical, but maybe that is just different words for the same thing. I liked Kim's charisma, but interestingly enough it was Judy who felt the most real and endearing to me. I thought her song, "I'm not a f--ing drag queen" was awesome. It was funny, it was kick ass, it was expressive, and it was defining, all at the same time. It is my favorite part of the movie. With it the character defines herself, expresses her struggle to be understood, and actually defies stereotypes. I think it was in the extra features that I saw an interview with the actor, who is straight and before the role had little or no experience with gay people or playing gay characters. I thought he did an amazing job of portraying Judy and engendering empathy and understanding for the difficult journey of a transgender person.

I find the movie in general cute and fun. It is one of a handful of movies that I have watched repeatedly and will enjoy again.

i think some people aren't getting the Canadian humour in this movie.

p.s. Canadians don't dress funny.....

I like the movie for pure mindless entertainment! And it was totally nasty that the mom used someone else's sex toys without washing them.  Judy's performances at the club were good too!!

PS. The years have been kind to Christina Cox because she is hott!!! Love her as a "LadyCop" on 3Way!!! 

Is completely awesome and saved this movie's ass. For those who don't know any of her work, I highly reccomend checking it out.

She's written two novels with prominent lesbian characters/relationships (Fall On Your Knees; The Way The Crow Flies). Both are excellent works. She's written plays and acted in quite a few things, as well as worked with the CBC in canada on Life and Times. Think she made some cameo apperances on The L Word as someone Bette chatted with about Buddhism. 

A comedic short film she was in called Interviews With My Next Girlfriend (2001) is avaliable to view at planetout here: http://www.planetout.com/popcornq/db/getfilm.html?64005

It's not too terrible as long as you have a good drink in your hand for the whole movie.

But you're right on with the review, retro ladies. ^_^

I actually really enjoyed this movie, despite the cringeworthy setpieces I felt it delivered some amazing scenes (Frances taking on the customs officer, Judy's 'I'm not a f**cking drag queen song). I give it 4 swishes

As always, an enjoyable review, I'm loving the reenactments and the 'good, bad and ugly' format. keep it up!

I watched this film a while a back and found it funny and kind of cute, despite the stereotypes.

I think the stereotypes escaped my attention so much because I'd just watched All Over Me. Maybe you guys should review that? It's pretty abismal, despite the Leisha Hailey appearance. >.<

Another great review! You guys are getting all professional with the lighting and re-enactments :P

3 - This movie is good for sex and heckling... and the found-dildo incident >.< nasty!

Would you consider reviewing Fucking Amal (Show Me Love) in the future? It's similar to American Beauty but with a gayer more relatable plot. Not much sex but a whole lot of cuteness!

One thing you all found the most interesting was the interconnectedness and multiple story lines. I found this to be a huge problem. As well all know, this movie takes place over a few days. How plausible is it that all these things can happen, seemingly all at once: Kim and Maggie fall in love, Frances and Judy find that they actually quite like each other, and Maggie's brothers finds out he likes a little anal play? This movie seems much more "queer" than lesbian orientated. I guess i'm just wondering what was the point? That butch's fall for femmes, when we're lesbians we can't ever make our parents happy, a mother gets to deals with the totality of her recent divorce, a teenage boy gets sodomized by an omnisexual, etc. That's where the movie fails. It refuses to make a point by trying to make too many. That is also where the paradox beings... the characters had the potential to shine if there was a stronger focus, but since they were pretty one-dimensional, the relied way too heavily on each other. Then again, hasn't the point of all of these lesbian movies been a manifestation of what we see in heterosexual based love stories? Sex. Consider if Maggie and Kim had never had sex. Would we even watch it, or consider it as a lesbian movie? At that point in time lesbians were trying to figure out how to express their lives in a way that was similar to what we had seen in "mainstream" cinema. Unfortunately, I don't think we were there in 1999. This movie's only purpose was for my RA in college to seduce me during orientation weekend, and for one of my later girlfriends to pull the soundtrack from. 

over it and out,

jc 

I totaly agree with carol - that rating for me as well - ive only seen it once back in high school, but there were too many ulglies for it to rate any higher! 

Although the costume stereotypes were halarious and i did love frances and judy- it was too cringe worthy for me to want to watch it again.

And just so katie's head doesnt get too big - my shout-out for crush on a vlog-er goes to Danielle :)

I give this movie a 3. I loved the sex scenes...especially the one of them on the couch, where Paul spies on them and Maggie is about to climax, but then Kim says "Oh sh**, shhh..." and then Maggie says "Nevermind.", then Kim says "You're an animal."...I LOVE that part! Another reason I gave this movie a 3 and not any lower is 'cause of Christina Cox and her amazing body! I freakin love her!

Okay, two questions, in Retro Reviewing, who's the girl on the right of the screen with the faded rainbow shirt on? Just wondering 'cause she is f**kin HOTT and she seems to be my type of girl! *wink wink* =D Does anyone know if she's single??

i know its campy, but guys, its a farce and it works. yes stereotypes suck but i think we're in the know enough to laugh it off. and go Frances!

ps. marry me Danielle...grr. 

myspace.com/jendii

I'm going to be the pig in the group.

Have you seen Christina Cox now!!! She was nice as a butch, but she is FINE as a femme!!

You know you look good when your picture looks good in both Black and White AND Color!!! Lord have Mercy on me!!

PARTY like a ROCK STAR and FUCK like a PORN STAR!