Better Than Chocolate

Better Than Chocolate is a 1999 Canadian romantic comedy movie shot in Vancouver directed by Anne Wheeler.[2][1]

Better Than Chocolate
Directed byAnne Wheeler
Produced bySharon McGowan
Peggy Thompson
Written byPeggy Thompson
Starring
Music byGraeme Coleman
CinematographyGregory Middleton
Edited byAlison Grace
Distributed byMotion International
Trimark Pictures
Release date
February 14, 1999
Running time
102 mins
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.6 million.[1]

Plot

Maggie (Karyn Dwyer) has moved out on her own and has started a relationship with Kim (Christina Cox). Maggie's mother Lila (Wendy Crewson) and brother are forced to move into her loft sublet with her, but unaware that she is a lesbian. Maggie's freedom is compromised, and she believes she must keep her blossoming affair a secret. The clandestine romance introduces Maggie's family to a host of new experiences, many of which are "better than chocolate".[3] The story features Judy, a friend of Maggie's who is a transgender woman. Judy develops a friendship with Maggie's Mum and helps her to repair her relationship with her daughter. Judy's love interest is Frances, owner of the book shop in which Maggie works and purveyor of lesbian literature.

Cast

The cast also includes Ann-Marie MacDonald as the bisexual Frances, the owner of a LGBT bookstore where Maggie works, and Peter Outerbridge as Judy, a trans woman with a crush on Frances.

Background

The film was created with a budget of $1.6 million.[1] It was co-produced by Peggy Thompson and Sharon McGowan.[4]

The film takes its name from a lyric in Sarah McLachlan's song "Ice Cream", "Your love is better than chocolate". Veena Sood, the sister of McLachlan's then-husband Ashwin Sood, has a small role in the film as a religious protester.

The plot line about the bookstore is a fairly direct reference to Vancouver's Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium and its travails with Canada Customs. The bookstore is thanked in the credits. Ann-Marie MacDonald, who plays the bookstore's owner, is a well-known Canadian author.

The movie poster, which shows two women embracing and one woman's naked back, was banned by the Hong Kong Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority as it was deemed "offensive to public morality, decency and ordinary good taste."[5] An advertisement in the San Diego Union-Tribune was also removed, due to the word "lesbian" being present on the movie poster.[6]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film was released as a CD in 1999 on Lakeshore Records.[7]

Track listing
  1. Sexy - West End Girls
  2. When I Think Of You - Melanie Dekker
  3. 32 Flavors - Ani DiFranco
  4. Julie Christie - Lorraine Bowen
  5. Perfect Fingers - Tami Greer
  6. Let's Have Sex - Studio Kings 2.0/Trippy
  7. In My Mind - Trippy
  8. My Place - Edgar
  9. I'm Not A Fucking Drag Queen - Peter Outerbridge
  10. Stand Up - Ferron
  11. Night - Feisty
  12. Long Gone - Kelly Brock
  13. Pure (You're Touching Me) - West End Girls

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 39% based on reviews from 23 critics.[8]

Stephen Holden of the New York Times gave the film a positive review and wrote: "the movie gushes with so much romantic optimism and good humor that it has the effervescence of an engaging musical comedy".[3]

Awards

The film screened at film festivals around the world and was ranked 31st on The Hollywood Reporter's Top 200 independent films list of 1999.[9]

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See also
  • List of LGBT films directed by women

References
  1. George Melnyk (2004). One Hundred Years of Canadian Cinema. University of Toronto Press. pp. 173, 339. ISBN 978-0-8020-8444-6.
  2. "Review of Better Than Chocolate". AfterEllen, Aug 13, 2007
  3. Holden, Stephen (13 August 1999). "FILM REVIEW; The Many Flavors of Love, For Just About Any Taste". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2015-05-27.
  4. "Nothing better than Chocolate for veteran director Wheeler". Toronto Star - Toronto, Ont. Walker, Susan. Aug 13, 1999. Page: E1
  5. Statement for the decision on a poster for a Category III film
  6. San Diego Union-Tribune Refuses to Run The Word 'Lesbian' in Advertising
  7. "Original Soundtrack Better Than Chocolate". AllMusic, Review by Stacia Proefrock
  8. "Better than Chocolate (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2020-05-04.
  9. "The Sixth Sense to Fight Club (August - October 1999)". Pop Matters, 24 March 2009
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