The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love

I really enjoyed this movie. Back in 1999 I wasn't even allowed to watch movies like this... I thought it was beautiful. I enjoyed both the main characters. I noticed one of the main characters is also a main character on the Showtime show called The L Word. A very beautiful coming-of-age story deals with losing friendships as gaining them and being accepted for who you are. They should make more movies like this today.

This movie is one that I can watch over and over again. It is something fresh and new. The screenwriter/director does a great job of bringing many different

aspects of young lesbian existence. For example, by bringing together people of different races, social economic status, and different family make-ups; it opens one's eyes to different possibilities. It is quite opposite of what is usually thought of when one thinks of a gay or lesbian film. This movie does not stay in a box; it busts the box instead. Every time I see this movie, I am able to pick up on

something that I hadn't seen before. Although this is a movie where you don't really have to think much; I tend to analyze regardles. I found that it is not the what actually happens on the surface that really keeps me coming back for

more. It is the intricate underlying messages that the screenwriter/director is trying to get across that engages me.

In terms of cuteness, this movie is equivivalent to a Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan romance, which isn't a bad thing at all. The two leads are sensitive and funny in their portrayals of Evie and Randy. Interesting that Laurel Holloman and Nicole Parker both wound up in the cast of Boogie Nights, no? I especially loved the character of Frank in this movie. A sweet date movie for couples of all orientations, in my opinion. :)

The ultimate charm of this movie is that though it is a lesbian movie, it truly is about two teenagers from very different backgrounds falling in love. This is the what the movie is actually about and the lesbian aspect of it is actually almost secondary. Think about it ... replace the girl falling in love with girl concept and replace it with some other socially challenging category (perhaps a cross-culture or cross-religion love story), and it would still work. [In fact, ironically, the director/writer eventually married a guy, much to some people's chagrin! lol]

The movie is rough as many an indie film is and the actors are young (this was Nicole Ari Parker's first film) or somewhat amateurish. Still, the basic relationships hold true. The girls and their mom/aunt, the other romances that don't quite work out, and their friends all are believable, though some match up better than others. How Randy and Evie connect through "Leaves of Grass" might be a bit trite, but I believed it -- imagine, a film that respected the power of poetry!

And, I did accept them as a couple. Young love is pretty well portrayed, and in fact, how many films these days really portray it? Not too many really -- the films are often more concerned with stereotypical plot complications than the romance, and even those come far and long inbetween. This alone makes the film a pleasure, though the lesbian aspect supplies an additional layer.

And as to that layer, this is probably one of the superior films of the genre. To compare, for instance, this is better than "Better Than Chocolate." Again, it can very well be a matter of taste (lol). The ending is a bit silly though, but the scene before the final reel (the mom freaking out) is priceless. Still, the ending suggests that this is first love, not necessarily forever. A good thing too.

-j

PS It was suggested that this was eye candy for men or just for lesbians. I beg to differ in both respects. There is a quick love scene and mild kissing, but if men want to leer, there are better films in the genre than one that cares so much about character.

This is a movie that manages to please despite itself. A lot of the dialogue is flat, a lot of the direction is stilted, most of the supporting characters are inept, the plot goes nowhere as often as not, and the music is practically AWOL. But the sheer whimsy of the unusual tale of a pair of teenage girls falling in love and the sincere, skittish performances by the two young actresses playing them very nearly makes up for all of it. Evie is a wealthy, popular, intelligent girl pampered by her affectionate mother; Randy, a boyish, school-hating aspiring guitarist growing up in a all-lesbian household. Both will have to face certain aspects of themselves and others in their lives so that they may be together. It's very, very sweet, and I don't mean that in a bad sense. It glows with the innocence of first infatuation, and the awkward tenderness of nervous young lovers, only slightly tinted by the shadows of the "real" world. This movie was about two young lesbians, but it is really the universal story of anyone and everyone who sincerely fell in love at 17.