FRISKY ROMANTIC COMEDY EXCLUDES NO ONE.Byline: Stephen Holden The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times What could be more delicious than chocolate? Why sex, of course, preferably combined with dreamy romantic love. And in Anne Wheeler's giddy, occasionally dopey but extremely good-hearted comedy ``Better Than Chocolate,'' which opened Friday, that combination comes in more flavors than Baskin-Robbins ice cream, with an array of mechanical accessories thrown in to provide extra pleasure for everyone, even those without partners. If it weren't so deliriously frisky frisk·y adj. frisk·i·er, frisk·i·est Energetic, lively, and playful: a frisky kitten. frisk , the movie, which follows the erotic adventures of a group of Canadian women and one young man in a bohemian town in British Columbia, might have had the haranguing tone of a tract preaching sexual tolerance and diversity. But the movie gushes with so much romantic optimism and good humor that it has the effervescence ef·fer·vesce intr.v. ef·fer·vesced, ef·fer·vesc·ing, ef·fer·vesc·es 1. To emit small bubbles of gas, as a carbonated or fermenting liquid. 2. To escape from a liquid as bubbles; bubble up. 3. of an engaging musical comedy in which girl meets girl, girl loses girl and girl gets girl back, multiplied by three. The main character, Maggie (Karyn Dwyer), is an attractive 19-year-old college dropout (1) On magnetic media, a bit that has lost its strength due to a surface defect or recording malfunction. If the bit is in an audio or video file, it might be detected by the error correction circuitry and either corrected or not, but if not, it is often not noticed by the human who holds jobs as a clerk in a women's bookstore and a dancer in a lesbian bar that is the movie's social center. Early in the movie, Maggie falls in love at first sight with Kim (Christina Cox), a sleek, penniless street artist and body painter who is drifting around the West Coast in her van. Having met her true love, Kim decides to stay with Maggie for a while in her subleased apartment. No sooner has she settled in than Maggie's mother, Lila (Wendy Crewson), telephones from back East to announce she's getting divorced and coming for a visit along with Maggie's teen-age brother, Paul (Kevin Mundy). Since Maggie hasn't told her mother she's gay, this presents problems. Meanwhile, Judy (Peter Outerbridge), a gentle, transgendered lesbian nightclub singer, pines for Frances (Ann-Marie MacDonald), the bookstore's shy, owlish owl·ish adj. Resembling or characteristic of an owl. owl  ish·ly adv.owl owner. In one of several cabaret songs that punctuate punc·tu·ate v. punc·tu·at·ed, punc·tu·at·ing, punc·tu·ates v.tr. 1. To provide (a text) with punctuation marks. 2. the film, Judy delivers an anthem in which she proclaims that she is not a drag queen and makes a forceful distinction between people like her and gay men who dress up as women. Once Lila and Paul arrive, Maggie tries absurdly to conceal the truth about her relationship with Kim. Her adamant refusal to come out to her mother seriously threatens her new relationship. Lila, who functions as the movie's likable but clueless clue·less adj. Lacking understanding or knowledge. clueless Adjective Slang helpless or stupid Adj. 1. square, finds her own sexual salvation in a box of sex toys she discovers under her daughter's bed. Meanwhile, Paul is pursued by Maggie's bisexual coworker, Carla (Marya Delver). If now and then ``Better Than Chocolate'' tries to generate some serious drama, its heart just isn't in it. In one subplot the life of the bookstore is threatened when a shipment of lesbian erotica erotica - pornography is impounded at the Canadian border. But instead of grappling with the issue of censorship, the movie jokes about how ``Little Red Riding Hood'' is one of the books in the shipment. Late in the movie a band of gay-bashing skinheads Noun 1. skinheads - a youth subculture that appeared first in England in the late 1960s as a working-class reaction to the hippies; hair was cropped close to the scalp; wore work-shirts and short jeans (supported by suspenders) and heavy red boots; involved in attacks appears out of nowhere to stir up trouble. But the movie's one scene of real violence is over almost before it begins. For all the real problems faced by its characters, ``Better Than Chocolate'' is finally a comic rhapsody to romantic love, the possibility of happily ever after The term happily ever after is used in association with many works of children’s fiction and romantic fiction. It describes a happy ending, often a cliché in which all the good characters have emerged victorious and all the evil characters have been punished. within an all-accepting subculture. For everyone there's a someone, it insists. And once you have found her, never let her go. THE FACTS The film: ``Better Than Chocolate'' (not rated). The stars: Wendy Crewson, Karyn Dwyer, Christina Cox, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Marya Delver, Kevin Mundy and Peter Outerbridge. Behind the scenes: Directed by Anne Wheeler. Written by Peggy Thomson. Produced by Sharon McGowan and Thomson. Released by Trimark Pictures. Running time: One hour, 43 minutes. Playing: United Artist Warner Center in Woodland Hills, Laemmle's Sunset 5 in West Hollywood, Landmark's Rialto Rialto, city (1990 pop. 72,388), San Bernardino co., S Calif., a residential suburb of San Bernardino; inc. 1911. The city has greatly expanded as a result of the economic and demographic growth of the southern California area. in South Pasadena. Our rating: Three stars. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Kim (Christina Cox, left) and Maggie (Karyn Dwyer) meet up in ``Better Than Chocolate.'' |
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