Better Than Chocolate
by Anne Wheeler
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DVD details
Actor: Ann-Marie MacDonald, Christina Cox, Karyn Dwyer, Marya Delver, Wendy CrewsonDirector: Anne Wheeler
Brand: Lions Gate
Cinematographer: Gregory Middleton
Producer: Christopher Adkins
Producer: Peggy Thompson
Writer: Peggy Thompson
Producer: Rosamond Norbury
Producer: Sharon McGowan
Producer: Wolfram Tichy
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Spanish (Original Language); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 101 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-12-28
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Lions Gate
DVD Reviews of Better Than Chocolate
DVD Review: Better Than Most
Summary: 5 Stars
This was a cute little lesbian romance that covered issues that many young people experience in their lives. There is Maggie's desire to make her own life as a writer instead of going to college like her mother wants, and her hesitation about coming out to her mother. Her mother is dealing with feeling rejected and not sexual due to her husband's affair. The bookstore owner is having a censorship battle with customs in B.C. and confusing feelings for Judy, a mtf transexual. Judy must deal with her parents disowning her and some not too friendly lesbians at the dyke bar. I loved that every character in the movie had their own conflicts and found happiness in the end. Kim and Megan experience relationship problems, and the bookstore and Maggie come under attack by homophobes. Great story of triumph over many problems, and shows the importance of sticking together with family and friends. The romance between Maggie and Kim is sweet as well. Anyone could probably identify with at least one character in the movie if they are gay or straight. Love the music and performances of Judy as well. One of the better lesbian movies I've seen. DVD Review: One dimensional and clich?-ridden
Summary: 1 Stars
Rarely have I seen a movie this bad. I wanted to like it and kept waiting for it to redeem itself, but it didn't. The characters are flat and the story line is predictable and slightly annoying.DVD Review: 2 stars out of 4
Summary: 3 Stars
The Bottom Line:
Better than Chocolate means well, but the movie isn't very well-written and all the LGBT trappings can't hide a painfully formulaic romance between the main pairing; if you're in the mood for a lesbian romance please watch something good like Show Me Love instead.
DVD Review: One of the Best Lesbian Movies
Summary: 5 Stars
Better than Chocolate is surely one of the best lesbian films ever made. The movie shows the many facets of the lesbian world, both good and bad. The lesbian love story begins early on and the thread of this romance continues throughout the movie. The lesbian characters are comfortable with both their sexual identity and their sexuality, unlike the vast majority of movies where the characters spend most of the movie struggling with these factors. The sex scenes are realistic and extremely erotic, among the best I've seen in a lesbian movie. Best of all, all the major characters live "happily ever after" in their own unique way.
The acting is excellent. My favorite character was Kim (portrayed by Christina Cox). She is an independent free spirit who is totally at ease with her sexual identity. In addition, the character is quiet, mildly brooding, as well as sultry and sexual. However, all the characters have their uniqueness and it is as if each one was destined to play that particular role... even the minor ones.
One of the things that separates this movie from so many others is the music. Every major scene seems to have a musical score that enhances the beauty of that moment.
If you're like me, after watching a movie a few times you want to know more about the making of the movie and the actors involved. In her commentary, film director Anne Wheeler did something unique. Instead of giving a monologue, Anne shows an abbreviated version of the film while adding tidbits about the actors, the shooting of a particular scene, as well as comments about the making of the movie itself. I was totally shocked to find that this film was made on an extremely low budget and shot in a mere 21 days. According to the commentary most scenes were done in only one or two takes. The film's content, the acting, the music and lighting are of such high quality the big budget film directors could take direction from Ms. Wheeler.
Better than Chocolate is sure to become a classic, like Desert Hearts and Tipping the Velvet. If you're looking for a lighthearted erotic view of lesbian life, this is the movie to see.
Better Than Chocolate
DVD Review: Interesting Enough
Summary: 3 Stars
A good enough movie for a part of entertainment that is lacking (lesbian love stories)...
Description of Better Than Chocolate
A sexy rom of love and lust with surprising results. Maggie meets the woman of her dreams kim just hours before her mother lilia and brother paul move in with her. When the four end up sharing a loft maggie believes she must keep her affair a secret. Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 02/05/2002 Starring: Karyn Dwyer Wendy Crewson Rating: Ur Director: Anne WheelerMany lesbian movies are long on charm and short on production values; Better Than Chocolate has a solid dose of both and steamy sex scenes to boot. Our heroine Maggie (Karyn Dwyer), a clerk at a lesbian bookstore, meets footloose butch Kim (Christina Cox) and, after Kim's van is towed away, they move in together. Unfortunately for their romantic bliss, Maggie's mother, Lila (Wendy Crewson), and teenage brother move in that very evening thanks to Lila's impending divorce. But what really complicates matters is that Maggie can't bring herself to come out to her mother; even when she tries, Lila steamrolls through the conversation, like she knows what's coming and doesn't want to hear it. Interwoven with this is the struggle of Judy (Peter Outerbridge), a male-to-female transsexual who's in love with the bookstore's owner, Frances (Ann-Marie MacDonald), who's freaking out because customs officers are holding a list of books at the border that they claim are obscene. The overlapping plots are deftly juggled, the personal and political are compellingly interwoven, and, most satisfying of all, the characters have problems that aren't going to be easily resolved. A handful of candy-colored lip-synching musical numbers give the movie some flash and the sex scenes give the movie some heat, but it's the elements of sorrow and ambiguity that really make the joy in Better Than Chocolate something to savor. --Bret Fetzer
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