Go Fish
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Movie Reviews of Go Fish
Movie Review: Educational, Entertaining, Lesbians
Summary: 4 Stars
So here's how it happens: Max (Turner) is a young lesbian, not knowing exactly what to look for in a mate. Current qualifications: fashion sense. Needness to say, she's not having an easy time, until her roommate, a more experienced woman, begins to take an interest in finding someone for the lonely girl.This movie portrays lesbian life in a very accurate way. The way the characters speak, dress and gesture all have a strong sense of reality. At the same time, the conversations are frequently quite funny and insightful. It's a wonderful and rare mix of humour and education, thanks to an extreamly well written script.
The only real weakness is the acting. The entire movie feels as though the cast mearly read the script then went and filmed it as soon as they could stumble over the words. However, the acting is at least consistant, which makes it easier to ignore, as opposed to inconsistantly played characters.
If you're into modern and accurate portraits of lesbian culture, "Go Fish" is a movie you will almost certainly enjoy.
Movie Review: I'm not the target demographic ...
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie wasn't made for me. The director didn't cater to my tastes, fantasies, or ideology. Hollywood didn't pour megabucks into this movie, and the acting frequently felt self-conscious, almost like small-town community theater, with roles being enacted and lines being recited. Normally, having said this about a movie, I'd give it only one star, and that grudgingly.But this is a movie about people and about romance and about finding a partner. It's a universal theme, even if the particulars (Chicago lesbians) don't match mine (straight SoCal guy). Most refreshingly, it's a love story told without Hollywood cliche. Told well. Heartwarmingly so. It is a beautiful movie, but don't expect to be able to lean back in the easy chair and let your stereotypes watch it for you. This movie demands attention and pays a handsome reward of emotional gratification.
A solid four stars.
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Movie Review: Educational
Summary: 4 Stars
Go Fish, while small-budgeted, is a glimpse into the life of a group of five women in Chicago. The acting may be a little stiff in places and the movie may seem to move a little slow at times, but if you look beyond the surface, you find a deeply moving educational film about sexuality and the norms that are at times forced upon us. At the center, yes, this film is a traditional love story, yet it is so much more. This film depicts gender, identity, and the confusion we experiece in dealing with these personal issues. The black and white film approach emphasizes the restrictiveness of people in accepting difference. This is an important movie - watch it and keep an open mind while doing so.Movie Review: Judging by the cover...
Summary: 4 Stars
...Once I got over the fact that the cover and the movie seemed to be entirely un-related, I really enjoyed this movie. From the "who is gay?" conversation (face it - don't we all do that?) to the love in unexpected places theme and the interwoven stories of the different characters - I thought this movie was really worth watching.Movie Review: Go Fish vs. The L Word
Summary: 3 Stars
Like many of the other viewers who reviewed "Go Fish," I was initially so repelled by this movie that I shut it off half way through. At the time I had just begun to date women and I was disturbed by the way that this movie represented the lesbian community. I found myself thinking "This is not me. This is not how I want to walk through life. This is not how I want to be seen by others." The experiences of the women portrayed in this film did not (and still do not) represent my experience as a lesbian. Ironically, this is one of the main arguments made by critics of the L-word.
In a way, "Go Fish" is a foil of the L-Word; comparing these two features may be more interesting and enlightening than watching either one alone. It has been argued that the L-word is normalizing or "mainstreaming" the queer community and thereby misrepresenting the actual experience of lesbians--but by only representing a specific subculture of the lesbian community, doesn't "Go Fish" ultimately do the same thing? Wealthy, conventionally beautiful lesbians do exist and have sex with other wealthy, conventionally beautiful lesbians (even if they are a minority).
While in the process of figuring out my own identity and role in the queer community, I found it difficult to stomach a depiction of lesbians who are so completely removed from mainstream society. One reviewer suggested that people who write negative reviews of "Go Fish" have internalized the ideas that this movie is trying to dispel. I can see their point--many people who are gueer struggle with internalized homophobia and may shun a film that depicts lesbians without all the airbrushing. Plainly, many viewers (including myself) do not WANT to see themselves in this movie because it is unconventional and "unattractive."
It's no coincidence that one word which repeatedly comes up in reviews of "Go Fish" is "ugly." The lesbians in the L-word are "hot." Shane is "hot"--people of all genders and orientations want to watch Shane and Carmen having sex. The popularity of this show speaks for itself--I believe that the beauty of the characters in the L-word has contributed to making lesbians (and lesbian sex) appealing to mainstream society, and maybe it's a means to an end (the end being equal rights). But just because people will tune in to watch Shane and Carmen having sex doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to change their minds about gay marriage... And where does this leave lesbians like Max, Ely and Moira (not surprisingly, the LEAST popular character on the L-word!) who don't fit the model?
The big question is... Are we only acceptable to society when we're young, attractive and having hot sex--but not when we want to adopt children, pay taxes together or be politically active? By purchasing and supporting a the L-word and being repelled by "Go Fish" am I just buying into a revised version of homophobia? Do I only watch the L-word because it helps me feel better about being who I am?