Better than Chocolate (directed by Anne Wheeler)

IMDB page

Starring: Wendy Crewson, Karyn Dwyer, Christina Cox, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Marya Delver, Kevin Mundy

She said:

This was a new film to me but James had seen it as a teenager. He kind of sold it to me as this semi-porn film about hot lesbians (thats the impression I got) but it wasn't that at all. Trust a teenage boy to remember only the nude bits huh? It was actually a sensitive comedy film exploring the rights of lesbians and transgendered people in Canada.

What I enjoyed most was the good balance of comic relief with passion and sensuality. I guess the film to me was about being who you are, standing up for what you believe in but without making it this big, heavy war on society. The characters were all likable from the mum who has become lost in her own life, to Judy who is yearning for acceptance of being trans gender, to Francis the gender-ambiguous lesbian erotica shop.

Another theme in this film that I enjoyed was the importance of art from singing and performing, to fine and conceptual art. It tied up the sense of free spirits and the self expression so important and integral to this film. I was impressed. I give it {{{4.5 out of 5}}}

He said:
I absolutely adore this film, I think that my memories of watching it when it first premiered on HBO are slightly tainted by the hot lesbians making out. [seriously I mean body paint took on a whole new meaning] (which to be honest is a lot tamer than I remember)

As Helen says this really is a very sweet movie about figuring out who you are and what that means. All of the characters are handled very well and and at no point does one character out shine the other.

One of my favorite scenes involves Judy and a song that she sings in the local alternate lifestyle bar. This scene has one of my favorite lyrics of all time, "My tender trans gender heart." Which I can be heard muttering frequently when ever anyone says tender or heart.

I honestly can not say enough good things about this film other than to tell you it is worth watching, though there are scenes that are a little too blatant for the younger audiences it is a great film about equality and accepting yourself and those around you for who you are. I give this film [[[4.5 out of 5]]]


They said:

This is a gem of a find and you should give it a go... unless you are a homophobe... in which case there may be a problem.I can't think of anyone I have ever know that hasn't dealt with a crisis of self that wouldn't benefit from this film. We give this film {{{9 out of 10}}}