Better Than Chocolate
film — Canada — 1999

8
What`s wrong with me? I suddenly find myself enjoying a film about lesbians even if it doesn`t show much of hot naked bodies. And I suddenly have nothing against a transsexual in a film. What has happened to me and where have my homophobic feelings for murdering Jake Gillengaal with a sledge hammer twice in a row? "Better than chocolate" may indeed not be better than "Chocolate" but it`s still a very good film. Maggie has just quit the college and taken up a jub at a Lesbian book shop when she meets a travelling painter named Kim whom she falls in love with, they move together and everything seems to go nicely, until Lila - Maggie`s mother - and her brother Paul come to live with them. Needless to say, that Lila doesn`t know about her daughter`s orientation and that she doesn`t make coming out with it particulary easy (not that she`s that agressive, she just always has to speak herself and she`s far from a good listener). Apart from her not knowing that her daughter doesn`t need or want to impress boys, Lila also doesn`t notice that her new best friend Judy Squires is in fact a transsexual named Jeremy. And this Jeremy who passionately loves Frances, the owner of Maggie`s book store, is the kindest transsexual I`ve ever seen on film. Not that I`ve seen that many, I dare say, and as far as I know I haven`t met a single one of those in person so far (at least I`m almost sure that there wouldn`t be any of them amongs my friends, for I`ve known them since we went to school together and I would have noticed, had for instance a fellow named Andrew been written in the class book by the name of Andrea. Anyhow, the place where those people live does seem a bit odd - I doubt that Vancouver mostly consists of gays and neo-nazis, but who knows. Still this is a very warm love story, never mind the gender question - and in some ways I find it better than Brokeback mountain (maybe because it`s women that are making out and not men; or because I liked the song "I`m not a fucking drag queen" sung by Judy/Jeremy at a gay club).
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