I have to admit that I was really excited when I first heard about this project. I really enjoyed the first mini-series, and the prospect of a similar concept but with lesbians instead sounded excellent on paper. Unfortunately only two-thirds of it really delivered. It is easiest to deal with this film as three separate films, because quality varied quite dramatically over the course of the three stories. 1961 Edith Tree (Vanessa Redgrave in a heart wrenching performance) and Abby, her partner, have lived together since they were young women, sharing every aspect of their lives, being truly married in everything but law. When Abby dies, Edith not only gets forgotten at the hospital, but is invaded by Abby's next-of-kin who insist on selling the house and everything she and Abby have built from under her. While it isn't really clear if Abby's relatives (with a particularly acid-filled performance by Elizabeth Perkins) know of the nature of Edith and Abby's relationship, it clearly makes no difference to them. The supreme dignity Edith projects whilst faced with such tragedy had me speechless. It was a powerful beginning.
Linda (Michelle Williams) is a feminist, strong willed and a proud lesbian. She lives with her equally hard headed friends (including Natasha Lyonne in an underwritten and pretty annoying role), decrying the forces of discrimination and prejudice. When Linda falls for young butch Amy (Chloë Sevigny, looking nothing less than supremely sexy) she is forced to face her own prejudices against those lesbians who don't fit her feminist ideals. Michelle Williams was the real find here. I have never been a fan of Dawson's Creek, and I was dubious at the thought of seeing her in this type of role, but the change in hair colour does wonders (I'm serious!) and her willingness to put everything on the line for the role really pays off. Despite what I thought was some pretty unrealistic and clunky dialogue, the two leads managed to maintain enough chemistry between them to keep the story pumping along. However, it just didn't have the power of the first instalment. That being said, the sex scene between Linda and Amy was amazing. It is just a joy seeing this kind of representation on television. I thought it would never happen.
The two play Fran and Kal, a couple who are desperate to have a baby, and they decide to get artifically inseminated. Thus follows a series of hijinks involving the sperm bank, and some nauseating scenes where Kal basically gives a speech on gay rights to the camera with Fran cooking aimlessly in the background. If this was a novel I'd be reminding the writer of the "show not tell" principal. People watch shows for the characters and the story, but in between the weak comedy sequences and politicising there wasn't much to watch here. I was especially amused at how Degeneres and Stone managed to have a sex scene for a good five minutes in which the two women seemed like they were utterly embarrassed by having to touch each other intimately. Give me Chloë and Michelle's sizzling scenes any day. In summary... Got a comment? Write to me at nancyamazon@gmail.com
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