Classic Lesbian Film Review: IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK 2

Once again I want to start out by saying thanks to my good friend Vanessa Clark for mailing me the DVD of this film. (If you want to see my review of BOUND, --> click here! <--. )

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And now for the second review in my series of 3 classic lesbian films!

If These Walls Could Talk 2 is a series of three short films that follow stories about different lesbian couples in separate decades. It is a sequel of sorts to If These Walls Could Talk, which is a series of short films about abortion. But other than the themes being "controversial," the two movies are not related in any way.

The first story in If These Walls Could Talk 2 is called "1961" and is the most heart-breaking of the three. It stars Vanessa Redgrave who is the surviving partner of her companion of 50 years.

Since the story takes place in 1961, Vanessa has virtually zero rights, from not being able to visit her partner in the hospital to not being able to inherit the home that she and her partner bought and lived in for many years. It was so painful to watch. It just broke my heart!

The second story is called "1972" and stars Michelle Williams and Chloe Sevigny. Williams's character is a strong feminist and out lesbian, and one night she and her lesbian friends decide to go to a gay bar they've never been to. There, Williams befriends Sevigny's character, a confident, lone-wolf butch lesbian sitting at the bar.

 

Williams's friends don't like the fact that Sevigny wears men's clothing. After all, being such strong feminists, they're against anything related to the patriarchy. The episode explores some political themes of the 1970s as well as themes of gender identity, and it also contains a very romantic love story. There is a pretty steamy sex scene in this one as well!

The last of the three shorts is called "2000." It takes place in modern day (although now it's almost 20 years old). Ellen Degeneres and her partner Sharon Stone are on a quest to find the right sperm donor so they can have a baby. This episode was the sweetest and funniest out of the three, and Ellen had me laughing out loud several times. After following Ellen's TV show for many years, it was certainly different to see her topless in a love scene with Sharon Stone! The two make an adorable on-screen couple, though.

All in all, this film is a must-see for fans of lesbian romance. Even though the first episode didn't have a happy ending, the other two make up for it. Each one tugged at my heartstrings in different ways. I wish Hollywood would come out with more sweet lesbian shorts like these! I'd be first in line to watch them!


XoXo

Scarlett

Classic Lesbian Film Review: BOUND

First off, I want to say a big THANK YOU to my buddy Vanessa Clark (VC) for mailing me the DVD of this film, as well as two other films which I'm planning on reviewing here on the blog. Love ya, VC!

And secondly...holy shit, what a movie!

Are you old enough to remember the clout of Siskel and Ebert, and their coveted "Two Thumbs Up"? Well, this 1996 gem garnered two thumbs up, and I am old enough to respect the thumbs, so I was automatically intersted. And I should have known that this would be more than your typical lesbian fantasy thriller due to those thumbs.

And, oh, it was...

Right off the bat, we see Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon play the most delicious "we shouldn't be doing this" lesbian couple. At first, I thought I'd stumbled upon a soft porn with Gina playing the bad-girl plumber, and Jennifer playing the wanton housewife who "lost her earring down the drain." (I had actually heard of this moment that would lead into an infamous lesbian love scene before because it's on a bunch of Top 10 Hottest Lesbian Movie Sex Scene lists... BTW--it delivers!)

But this movie is so much more than hot FF moments!

Now, don't get me wrong, I loved the love scenes. The two leading ladies have great chemistry. I could listen to Gina Gershon dirty talk in her husky, sexy voice all day. But the real story starts when we realize Jennifer's character is hooked up with a member of the mob, played by Joe Pantoliano in one of my favorite performances by him ever. You think you know his character from the get-go, but that son of a bitch is clever... That's all I'll give you on that! I don't want to give away too much of the plot because I want you to watch this movie if you haven't seen it.

But a disclaimer: this film isn't for the squeamish! It is a serious nail-biter! There were a couple of bloody scenes I simply could not watch because I was so anxious! Instead I grabbed my iPhone and played on Instagram to distract me until the scene was over. As the movie went on, the tension just mounted and mounted, and the plot thickened and thickened, and as much as I wanted to hide in my phone, I was glued to the screen. It was a movie so well done that, frankly, I am shocked I hadn't seen it before now.

After a satisfying ending, as the credits rolled, I gave a cheer when I saw that the Wachowski (then brothers - now sisters) directed it! Well, of course they did!

If you haven't seen this classic lesbian film, do yourself a favor and check it out. It made my Wednesday night way more exciting than it normally would have been, in more ways than one!

Have you seen this movie? Are there any other classic FF movies you think I should check out?

Look for more reviews coming soon!


-Scarlett


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