The Incredibly True Adventure of 2 Girls in Love (1995) was written and directed by Maria Maggenti. We watched this movie because we had enjoyed director Maggenti's later film, Puccini for Beginners (2006). Unfortunately, this film didn't have the charm of Puccini for Beginners.
The movie stars Laurel Holloman as Randy Dean, a 17-year-old woman who is an out lesbian. It co-stars Nicole Ari Parker as Evie Roy, who is a classmate of Randy's.
It is said that opposites attract, and that's the plot of the film. Randy is lesbian, poor, and doesn't think beyond tomorrow. (Actually, maybe not beyond today.) Evie is straight, rich, and has her life planned out.
OK--let's accept the attraction between the two. However, the movie still doesn't work. First of all, both actors are too old for the plot. You can sort of accept Holloman as a high school senior. However, Parker is obviously older. (She was 25 when the film was made.) Evie's three so-called high school friends all look as if they're also in their mid-20's, and their acting is wooden. If you're making an independent film on a shoestring, why not hire younger women who can act?
Yes, it's a lesbian film, with a lesbian director, and an (almost) all woman cast and crew. However, the two men who appear are both stereotypes--an aggressive brute and a hapless gay man. Cheap shots.
Finally, in a coming of age movie, the characters are supposed to come of age. This didn't happen.
There are great lesbian films out there. Check out The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister (2010). There are many, many more, which we see each year at ImageOut, the Rochester LGBT film festival.
Incredibly True Adventure has some flashes of brilliance, but only a few. I wish I could recommend it, but I can't. The movie has an anemic IMDb rating of 6.5, which strikes me as about right.
The movie stars Laurel Holloman as Randy Dean, a 17-year-old woman who is an out lesbian. It co-stars Nicole Ari Parker as Evie Roy, who is a classmate of Randy's.
It is said that opposites attract, and that's the plot of the film. Randy is lesbian, poor, and doesn't think beyond tomorrow. (Actually, maybe not beyond today.) Evie is straight, rich, and has her life planned out.
OK--let's accept the attraction between the two. However, the movie still doesn't work. First of all, both actors are too old for the plot. You can sort of accept Holloman as a high school senior. However, Parker is obviously older. (She was 25 when the film was made.) Evie's three so-called high school friends all look as if they're also in their mid-20's, and their acting is wooden. If you're making an independent film on a shoestring, why not hire younger women who can act?
Yes, it's a lesbian film, with a lesbian director, and an (almost) all woman cast and crew. However, the two men who appear are both stereotypes--an aggressive brute and a hapless gay man. Cheap shots.
Finally, in a coming of age movie, the characters are supposed to come of age. This didn't happen.
There are great lesbian films out there. Check out The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister (2010). There are many, many more, which we see each year at ImageOut, the Rochester LGBT film festival.
Incredibly True Adventure has some flashes of brilliance, but only a few. I wish I could recommend it, but I can't. The movie has an anemic IMDb rating of 6.5, which strikes me as about right.