This episode, the retro reviewers (minus Rina) decided to take a new approach to tackle classic romantic comedy Better than Chocolate (1999) – an actual production studio. We’ll see if the more professional approach works.

The movie is a campy, cute, occasionally cloying story of two girls (Maggie and Kim, played by Karyn Dywer and fan favorite Christina Cox) who fall in love.

With a slightly wacky (and mostly lovable) cast of stereotypical characters, some of the cheesiest dialogue this side of a James Bond flick, and plenty of "creative" love scenes, the ratings were all over the board with this one.

Next up, the retro reviewers check out Go Fish!

I'm not going to pretend to understand the legalities here. I suspect that like most of us educated in the U.S., my knowledge of Canadian politics and history is sorely lacking, but I have that nostalgic liberal (and that's not a four-letter word, Fox News!) American tendency to view Canada as a little more sane than the land of my birth. You know, health care, gun control, laws that occasionally recognize LGBT citizens as human beings.

But it looks like more than my delusions of utopia could be at risk. Working its way through the Canadian government right now is a bill that would give the Canadian Heritage minister the right to ax promised funding for any film project it deems “offensive.” This apparently includes “gratuitous violence, significant sexual content that lacks an educational purpose, or denigration of an identifiable group.” That would seem to include films like these:

When Night Is Falling

Exotica

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I'm a visual person. I think in images. I can't really help it. It just happens. I'll be sitting at my desk or driving around town and something I hear will cause an image to pop into my head. Usually, such images spring to life when I hear a song from a movie soundtrack. For example, Simple Minds' "Don't You Forget About Me" causes Ally Sheedy and the Breakfast Club gang to appear in my brain. Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" causes visions of John Cusack's boom-box serenade for Ione Skye in Say Anything to dance through my memory. I try hard to avoid Celine Dion, but at least when I hear "My Heart Will Go On," Kate Winslet appears to make it all better.

The other day, while driving aimlessly about town, I was listening to one of my homemade CDs when Erasure's "A Little Respect" started playing. As always, visions of Jordana Brewster dancing with a pool cue overwhelmed my senses.

I really should keep that CD out of my car. Such images tend to make driving hazardous. In any event, it got me thinking about other tunes from lesbian-themed flicks that cause pleasant images to wander through my mind. I decided to see if I could create a playlist to keep my overactive imagination occupied for a while. Here are a few of the options I came up with. I'm hoping you can help me round out the list. I promise to keep these tunes out of the car for safe driving purposes. … continue reading

In the first segment of our video blog this week (watch the second segment here), Lori and I talk about a disturbing trend we've identified in movies and TV shows: the popularity of lesbian seduction scenes that take place in public (or semi-public) restrooms.

No, we can't believe we're talking about this, either.

But from South of Nowhere to The L Word, Claire of the Moon and Femme Fatale to Wild Side and Love on the Side, lesbians are hooking up in bathrooms all over the big and small screen — and that's not even counting the NFL cheerleaders incident!

Here's our take on it: … continue reading

Over the weekend, I saw an ad for a new Lifetime movie called My Name Is Sarah, starring none other than Jennifer Beals. I'm often told that Beals is a second-rate actress and I should stop praising her so much in the L Word recaps, so I hate it when she proves those naysayers right by doing crappy Lifetime movies.

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I just watched the trailer for Away From Her, the new film starring Julie Christie and Olympia Dukakis and directed by Sarah Polley. It's based on the short story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain" by Alice Munro.

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It looks like the film just might live up to the expectations fostered by those big names.