Its in the Water

Made and directed lovingly by Kelli Herd, It's in the Water tells the story of Alex Stratton, trapped in a loveless marriage due to the expectations of her family and the town she lives in. Reacquianted with her old best friend Grace Miller, she begins to question herself and who she is. Herd throws into the mix a crazy cast of characters, from a domineering mother Lily, to glorious drag queens, all adds up to a film that's both fun and heartwarming.

Offering a more inclusive story, Herd includes men coming out on their own terms as well. Mark Anderson is a man struggling with coming to terms with his homosexuality and attends a hilarious group "Homo No Mo" group, only to meet the incredibly sexy Tomas, a painter with a heart of gold. Both Derrick Sanders and timothy Vahle should be commended on their honest and touching portrayal of two men coming out and into each others arms. I liked seeing a "lesbian film" more inclusive; a route more "gay men" films need to do as well.

Herd manages to tackle with her short hundred minutes of film the insanity of small town thinking, ex-gay ministry groups, religious hypocrisy, and AIDS. She manages to do it without the usual preachiness and brow beating that this film could have become. By keeping the film from becoming too serious, the messages hit home more strongly. By the end of the film, with it's absolutely stunning choir rendition of "I'll Fly Away" sung by the Marsalis Avenue Church of Christ Choir, you are carried away with everyone as well.

Especially fun on the DVD was listening to the commentary track done by Ms. Herd, and the films two stars, Keri Jo Chapman and Teresa Garrett. Offering many insights and fun stories, listening to them was almost as enjoyable as watching the film itself. You can tell from their comments that this movie truly was a labor of love.

I highly recommend this movie. Don't take it too seriously, but allow yourself to be carried away to Azalea Springs, and while you're there, go ahead and drink the water.

The first - it's great for a genre that rarely gets the funding to produce anything at all, much less something this inventive.

The second - compared to movies outside its genre, it's poorly written, poorly acted and poorly filmed. Hate to say it, but it's true.

The third (and probably the most reaslistic) - it's an endearing enough idea that could have been better had the budget been there to hire someone to write a better script to be performed by better actors (perhaps some who are actually gay instead of beautiful straight women who seem more like they're experimenting than actually coming to terms with their sexual orientation). As it is, there was no budget, so some of the better actors overcome the dialogue that isn't so great, making this a fine and somewhat enjoyable way to kill a few hours just before bed. At least they tried, huh?