Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8012 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-01-21
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 97 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Many lesbian movies are long on charm and short on production values; Better Than Chocolate has a solid dose of both and steamy sex scenes to boot. Our heroine Maggie (Karyn Dwyer), a clerk at a lesbian bookshop, meets footloose butch Kim (Christina Cox) and, after Kim's van is towed away, they move in together. Unfortunately for their romantic bliss, Maggie's mother, Lila (Wendy Crewson), and teenage brother move in that very evening thanks to Lila's impending divorce. But what really complicates matters is that Maggie can't bring herself to come out to her mother. Even when she tries, Lila steamrollers through the conversation, as if she knows what's coming and doesn't want to hear it. Interwoven with this is the struggle of Judy (Peter Outerbridge), a male-to-female transsexual who's in love with the bookshop's owner, Frances (Ann-Marie MacDonald), who's freaking out because customs officers are holding a list of books at the border that they claim are obscene. The overlapping plots are deftly juggled, the personal and political are compellingly interwoven, and, most satisfying of all, the characters have problems that aren't going to be easily resolved. A handful of candy-coloured lip-synching musical numbers give the movie some flash and the sex scenes give it some heat, but it's the elements of sorrow and ambiguity that really make the joy in Better Than Chocolate something to savour. --Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com

Special Features
4:3
DVD 5
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital Stereo English
Dolby Digital Stereo
Chapter Indexes
Theatrical Trailer

Synopsis
Life is going great for Maggie. She has recently moved out on her own and found the woman of her dreams. However, things quickly change when her mother and brother are forced to move into Maggie's tiny loft sublet with her. All the freedom and space she has gained is compromised, and she believes she must keep her blossoming affair a secret. But it's the clandestine romance that inadvertently introduces her family to a host of new experiences, many of which are better than chocolate. Karin Dwyer and Christina Cox are terrific as the young lovers, and Wendy Crewson is splendid as Maggie's mother, who might finally be ready to break out and start having some fun in her life.

Customer Reviews

curl up in front of this one with your g/f
Decent lesbian films are hard to find, but this one's a real gem. Funny, romantic and that little bit sexy (mmm body painting those curves). Ideal to play at night, and curl up on the settee with your girlfriend. Even some of our straight friends love it. The main plot's a comedy around mum coming to stay and the inevitable coming out after catching her daughter in bed with her g/f. There's some nice little subplots including literary type, Francis besieged by customs impounding all her imports for her bookstore and the efforts of Julie, a translesbian woman not only to woo the shy conservative Francis but also to fight for recognition as a true woman. Overall, it's upbeat and fun to watch again and again. Gritty it isn't, but then if u wanted that, you'd go for All Over Me, Bound or the Monkey's Mask. Finding something else in the way of a film like this so positive about lesbian love and romance is pretty hard, but you might like the second story of If these walls could talk 2 with a wicked portrayal of butch-femme lurve.

Well worth buying,an entertaining film
If you never watch another lesbian film make this one your last.It is really funny,a good story for a change,well acted and directed,the girls in it do not look like an excuse for men,I thoroughly enjoyed this film,give yourself a treat and buy it.

Great - A witty, beautiful love story!!
From start to finish, this Canadian lesbian love story uplifts you up and keeps you there, even through the dramatic turns at the end. The actors are great to look at, are witty and the film covers some realistic and diverse issues. Watch for the mother's hilarious transformation from being stressed out and dumped, to clued up and sexy. An excellent film - highly recommended! Not much in the way of bonuses - but worth it nontheless!