Yum Yum: "Better Than Chocolate"

By Steve Chivers

In the mood for a sweet, old-fashioned love story? Then Better Than Chocolate might hit the spot. But be forewarned: It's about two women, and it's got more sex toys than you can shake a...stick at. No matter. It's still an old-fashioned love story.

This engaging romantic comedy follows the adventures of Maggie (Karyn Dwyer) a 19-year-old woman who struggles with first love and her fear of commitment.

The object of her affection is a woman named Kim (Christina Cox), a free spirited artist who, although they've only known each other a few hours, agrees to move into Maggie's new apartment when the van she lives in gets impounded. (It's partly Maggie's fault since they were having sex in the back of the van when it got towed.)

To make matters worse, Maggie's mother Lila (a hilariously fragile Wendy Crewson) calls and announces that she's just learned her husband has been having an affair. Mistaking Maggie's attempt at sympathy for an invitation, she packs up the car and (Maggie's teen-aged brother) and decides to move into Maggie's place.

Lila doesn't know her daughter's a lesbian and since she's constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown, it's hard for Maggie to find the right time to tell her. It also becomes clear that "coming out" to her mother means admitting she's in love with Kim. She's not struggling with her sexuality so much as she's struggling to be independent. In fact, if anyone in this movie needs to come to grips with her sexuality, it's Lila. She finally does connect with herself and all I will say about it is it involves opera and the aforementioned sex toys and it had people in the theater screaming with embarrassed laughter.

Maggie has a colorful circle of friends, the most vibrant of which is Judy, a transgendered person (a man about to have his final sex change operation) brilliantly played by Peter Outerbridge. If you aren't sure of the difference between a transgendered person and a transvestite, Judy explains it all in a song entitled I'm Not a F@&*+&$ Drag Queen.

Meanwhile, Judy, the soon-to-be-man, is in love with a lesbian, (a marvelously uptight Anne-Marie MacDonald). What's a feminist lesbian to do when the woman who's in love with her used to be a man? It's interesting territory and the filmmakers explore it with a nice balance of sensitivity and humor.

Writer Peggy Thompson and director Anne Wheeler also explore homophobia from several angles. Numerous films have dealt with a gay man facing prejudice from society. But how about a transgendered person dealing with prejudice from the gay community? While there are several scenes of lesbians being harassed by skinheads, there's also a scene where Judy is assaulted by a lesbian in the ladies room of a bar. An interesting twist. Skinheads are a stock character. One immediately recognizes them as evil. But by showing that even oppressed people can oppress those who are different, Better Than Chocolate moves to another level.

Despite the political plotlines, the film ends with everyone pairing off in a great big feel-good happy ending. If there's anything to fault this movie for, it's that it tries to cover a little too much ground.

With uniformly strong performances, a great soundtrack featuring Ani diFranco and Sarah McLaughlan and an engaging girl-meets-girl story,Better Than Chocolate is surprisingly filling and is sure to leave a sweet taste in your mouth.

Rated R. Running time 103 minutes.

*** (3 out of 4 stars)

Cast: Wendy Crewson, Karyn Dwyer, Christina Cox, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Mary Delver, Kevin Mundy and Peter Outerbridge. Director: Anne Wheeler, Screenwriter: Peggy Thomson.

Steve Chivers is a Los Angeles-based screenwriter and journalist. He's written sitcoms for Warner Bros., Disney and Fox., and he's a frequent contributor to the Writers Guild of America website, www.wga.org.