Better than Chocolate
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Canada, 1999 (fiction, 101 minutes, colour, English)
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Also known as
"Maggie and Lila", "Meilleur que le chocolat"
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| Image: © annewheeler.com |
Film Description:
"Maggie is a young college drop-out who is working in a lesbian bookstore in Vancouver. She meets and falls for Kim, and her life seems to be stable. Then her mom calls, telling her that not only is she getting divorced for the second time, but she and Maggie's little brother are coming to Vancouver, and moving into Maggie's place. If this wasn't horrifying enough, Mom knows nothing of Maggie's sexuality, and so she and Kim have to concoct a plan to break the news gently."
-- annewheeler.com
(source)
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| Film Credits (partial): |
| Written by: |
Peggy Thompson |
| Produced by: |
Christopher Adkins, Sharon McGowan, Rosamund Norbury, Peggy
Thompson |
| Principal Cast: |
Wendy Crewson, Karyn Dwyer, Christina Cox, Ann-Marie MacDonald,
Peter Outerbridge, Marya Delver, Kevin Mundy, Tony Nappo, Jay Brazeau
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| Cinematography: |
Gregory Middleton |
| Film Editing: |
Alison Grace |
| Music: |
Graeme Coleman |
| Production Company: |
Telefilm Canada, Rave Film Inc., British Columbia Film Commission |
(sources)
Quote by the Director
"This [Better than Chocolate] is a film about censorship—not just of books, but of one's own emotional and sexual self. I want it to be funny without trying to be funny."
-- Anne Wheeler
(source)
Quotes about Better than Chocolate
"With merchandise intercepted at the border and deemed 'obsene', the plight of Ten Percent Books brings to mind the lengthy legal battle between Canada Customs and the West End's Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium, a case that reached the Supreme Court in 2000. However, the fictitious bookstore in Anne Wheeler's Better than Chocolate, with its neighbouring Italian caffè, is clearly rooted in the community vibe of East Van."
-- Diane Burgess
(source)
"Marketed as a romantic comedy with a lesbian twist, the heart of
Better than Chocolate is the mother-daughter story between
Lila (Wendy Crewson), a clueless middle-aged suburban mom, and
Maggie (Karyn Dwyer), her 19-year-old, self-possessed lesbian daughter.
The changing dynamics of this relationship serve as a catalyst for Lila's
transformation into an independent and courageous woman."
-- Kathleen Cummins
(source)
Quotes about Better than Chocolate [in French]
"Malgré certains défauts assez évidents, [Better than Chocolate] reste une comédie pétillante, pleine d'entrain et sans complexes, un divertissement bien intentionné porté par quelques superbes figures comiques et quelques forts instants dramatiques. Celui du numéro de cabaret, où Judy chante I'm not a fucking drag queen, trône au sommet du film, comme la preuve inespérée que l'humour, l'amour et le sexe, sont bien meilleurs que le chocolat."
-- Martin Bilodeau
(source)
"Même si les moeurs ont beaucoup évolué au cours des dernières années, la divulgation aux parents d'une orientation sexuelle différente demeure, encore aujourd'hui, une étape délicate à franchir. C'est du moins ce que nous dit la réalisatrice canadienne Anne Wheeler dans Better than Chocolate, une comédie romantique conjuguée au féminin qui, sans faire preuve de très grande originalité, se révèle tout de même très sympathique."
-- Marc-André Lussier
(source)
Bibliography for Better than Chocolate
Book Chapters
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Burgess, Diane. "Better than Chocolate (1999)."
In World Film Locations: Vancouver, edited by Rachel Walls, 70-71. Bristol: Intellect Books, 2013.
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Stuart, Jamie. "Sex and Violence in the Queer Female Space of Better than Chocolate."
In Performing Queer Female Identity on Screen: A Critical Analysis of Five Recent Films, 120-148. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2008.
Brief Sections of Books
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Waugh, Thomas. The Romance of Transgression in Canada: Queering Sexualities, Nations, Cinemas. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2006.
(pp. 266-268)
Journal Articles
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Ménard, Julie. "Le cinéma lesbien : l'émergence d'une prise de parole." Québec français, no. 124 (Winter 2001-2002): 43-45.
[in French]
Articles from Newspapers, Magazines, or News Websites
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The Advocate. "Her-she kisses." Review of Better than Chocolate. The Advocate, August 31, 1999.
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Bilodeau, Martin. "Pourquoi ne pas rire en politisant la vie privée?" Review of Better than Chocolate. Le Devoir, August 7, 1999.
[in French]
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Elgart, Ellen. "Mother-daughter movies." In the Family, vol. 7, no. 1, 2001.
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Groen, Rick. "Film review: Better than
Chocolate: Gay comedy lays the chocolate on a little too thick. Anne
Wheeler keeps the laughs coming, but the characters end up suffering for
it." Review of Better than Chocolate. Globe and Mail, August 13, 1999.
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Haas, Michael. "Canadian customs." Review of Better than Chocolate. Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide, Spring 2000.
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Huisman, Mark J. "Dykes in the dark: Where have all the lesbians gone?" Front Page, vol. 20, no. 19, 1999.
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Lussier, Marc-André. "Better than Chocolate : Quand l'amour se conjugue entre femmes." Review of Better than Chocolate. La Presse, August 7, 1999.
[in French]
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Maclean's. "A lighter side of life: Filmmaker Anne
Wheeler makes a successful foray into comedy." Maclean's, August 23, 1999.
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McLaren, Leah. "Laughing on the outside: Noted for her sweeping and bittersweet historical recollections, Vancouver filmmaker Anne Wheeler takes dead aim at destroying the numbingly earnest formula of gay films, and discovers that sex toys can be hilarious plot devices." Interview with Anne Wheeler. Globe and Mail, August 12, 1999.
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Stratton, David. "Better than Chocolate." Review of Better than Chocolate. Variety, February 22, 1999.
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Walker, Susan. "Nothing better than Chocolate for veteran director Wheeler." Toronto Star, August 13, 1999.
Dissertations
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Šašinková, Soňa. "The Films That Made It: Independent Canadian Women Filmmakers and the Recipe for Success." M.A. diss., Masaryk University, 2011.
Dissertation Chapters
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Ménard, Julie. "Analyse de contenu du film Meilleur que le chocolat."
In "La représentation de la réalité lesbienne au cinéma à partir d'un univers symbolique subjectif," 68-89. M.A. diss., Université de Sherbrooke, 2002.
[in French]
Web Sites about Better than Chocolate
