When I heard that a new lesbian film was out in theatres I of course considered it my queer civic duty to pay homage by attending a screening. Sometimes I think it is the plight of the queer community to support events and businesses that in the world of equality we wouldn’t toss a penny at, but here in our none too equal existence we spend millions every year to support them.
Unfortunately, Imagine Me & You is no exception. Sure the movie has a warm and fuzzy ending, sure it tries to tackle the moral dilemma of relationships ended by new love entering one or the other’s life, and sure it throws in an adorable little girl (Sharon Horgan) who gets a safe and friendly environment to talk about sexual orientation, but I think these might be part of it’s short comings. To me it felt a little like an after school special.
When I go to see an R rated film with queer content I want to see an adult movie, instead what I got was a formulaic love story with a weak plot, and an even weaker script. The extent of the girl on girl action was an interrupted potential make out session, and a scene where Luce (Lena Headey) is teaching Rachel (Piper Perabo) how to yell from her diaphragm… and no, I don’t mean the little white kind. At least that would have made me giggle!
How rating systems apply to queer content is hot on my mind these days and I am left to wonder, are we as North Americans so Victorian in our views on sex that a little gay kiss renders a movie restricted to audiences 18 years and older? Even Roger Ebert makes the statement that “the sex in the movie is so mild that I assumed the R rating was generated primarily by the gay theme, until I learned the R is in fact because of too many f-words… If Rachel and Luce were of opposite genders, what they do together would be rated PG-13, and they’d have to hold on tight to keep from sliding into PG.” I have a hard time believing the motivation for this rating was the cursing. I mean seriously, even Degrassi students use the f-word from time to time.
I will say these good things about the movie. Matthew Goode who plays Heck, Rachel’s husband, demonstrates that true love is about not standing in the way of his partner’s happiness, even if that means his own sadness. Despite Coop’s (Darren Boyd) best efforts at wooing Luce, this is not another lesbian movie where the girl ends up with the guy. If you like cheese (and I do) this movie is full of cute one liners, and despite the lack of girl on girl action the actors, both men and women, are none too shabby to look at. I think on the whole my favorite character was Rachel’s father, played by Anthony Stewart-Head (the former Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer), who used humor and loving support when his daughter came out to both him and her mother, reminding me of my own coming out experience with my dad.
All in all, I give the movie 6 ½ out of 10. It’s worth a rent, and is very family friendly despite it’s R rating, but if you’re looking for something provocative and sexy as opposed to warm and fuzzy then I would suggest you give this one a pass.
