- Actors: Wendy Crewson, Karyn Dwyer, Christina Cox, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Marya Delver
- Directors: Anne Wheeler
- Writers: Peggy Thompson
- Producers: Christopher Adkins, Peggy Thompson, Rosamond Norbury, Sharon McGowan, Wolfram Tichy
- Format: NTSC
- Number of discs: 1
- Release Date: Sep 30 2003
- Run Time: 101 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B0000AYK35
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#3,324 in DVD (See Top 100 in DVD)
- #17 in DVD > Art House & International > Canadian Cinema
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Product Description
From Amazon.com
Many 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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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
funny, touching satire,
By Clover (Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Better Than Chocolate (DVD)
I laughed most of the way through this movie... although several people have criticized this movie for its lack of realism and superficial characters, I think they've missed the point - that's *precisely* what makes this film so entertaining - the characters are beautiful satiric exaggerations, yet they are still handled with a gentleness that allows them to be both likeable and sympathetic. And while the plot tends toward sugary optimism, its sharp humour carries the film through. Thoroughly enjoyable!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Screwball romance meets '90's lesbian chic,
By Tcaalaw "Tcaalaw" (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: NEW Better Than Chocolate (DVD) (DVD)
This movie will seem very familiar to most long-time movie watchers as it is in many ways a remake of the vintage screwball comedies of the early '30's but with a decidedly '90's twist. The heroine of the film is Maggie, a young woman who has dropped out of university to try and find herself as an artist. She also supplements her income from painting by working at a bookstore which serves the LesBiGayT (Lesbian-Bisexual-Gay-Transsexual) community of a small British Columbian town. Maggie's life is greatly complicated when, on the same day, she begins to fall in love with an itinerant painter named Kim, and she receives word that her mother and teenage brother are going to be coming to town to stay with her. This is particularly problematic because Maggie hasn't disclosed her sexual orientation to her family. A certain amount of predictable hijinks ensue as Maggie tries to keep her family from deducing the truth about her relationship with Kim. She also, of course, must keep them from figuring out that anything is "out-of-place" about her friends and co-workers. As well, there are several sub-plots introduced to give the film more political relevancy, including Canada's strict censorship laws and the subject of anti-transsexual discrimination in the LesBiGayT community, however they are not especially well developed. In conclusion, this film is very funny at some points, but moves very predictably at others. It is a rather light-hearted take on lesbian romance and coming-out issues, but the sub-plots occasionally weigh it down. Since most of the sub-plots contained enough potential to be films of their own, the film-makers could have dropped some of them from this picture to spend more time exploring Maggie and Kim's relationship. That said, I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys romantic comedies and has an open mind.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Better Than Chocolate,
By "sbblessed56" (Virginia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: NEW Better Than Chocolate (DVD) (DVD)
This little gem is a delight whether you are gay or straight. The characters are beautifully portrayed by the well chosen cast. Peter Outerbridge is brilliant as Judy. His wonderful performance placed him on my "most admired" actors list. All the characters were not only lovable but believable. What a marvelous blend of laughter, tears, and insight into a world that is so misunderstood and much maligned. A triumph for all involved, and a must for women everywhere who need chocolate to survive life's ups and downs.
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