Yet Another Lesbian Movie Review...





It's In The Water



It seems to me that I have really high expectations when it comes to my cinematic entertainment. I expect the same high quality storylines and acting, as well as originality and good scripting as I would from the mainstream films I watch. I am constantly setting myself up to be disappointed because the majority of lesbian movies I have seen range from acting talent only marginally better than that viewed in porn to mediocre. As a result of this I will have to judge lesbian films on a completely different level. (Read: sub-standard).

It's In The Water is predictable. In a small Texas town, a rumour circulates that something in the water is making the population gay. Added to the plot are several characters struggling with their sexuality and the town's general homophobic attitude and fear of AIDs patients in the local hospice. All the elements of a crappy gay movie. Can't have a gay movie without mentioning AIDs (Side note - do you know that the President of Gambia can cure AIDs in THREE days? Really.) . Or some church group protesting against something gay. Or some church group organising a "we-can-cure-your-gayness" class. The acting borders on the ridiculous. The film should really have started somewhere towards the end, when the real action started (married woman falls in love with lesbian friend - as if that hasn't been done to death). Clearly these script writers have not been attending my creative writing workshop.

On the gay scale... Measured against the worst lesbian film ever seen by me (Claire of the Moon - score 0) and the most acceptible (ie could be mainstream) lesbian film seen by me (Bound and If These Walls Could Talk 2 - score 10), this film scores 2.

Wikipedia states that this film was given the Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival - Audience Award (1997). WHY?

I despair.