review: "go fish"

a rambling review of guinevere turner and rose troche's 1994 lezzie film go fish...

guinevere turner and rose troche are, of course, the creators of the l word.

let's get the most conspicuous detail out of the way. see the cover? the airbrushed glam photo of guinevere turner in pastel tones... it's a lie. you will get none of that fabulous power femme "l word" style here. in fact, you won't even get anything in color. this film is shot entirely in black and white for no discernable reason (in a manner reminiscent of a student film, not like, say, a visual powerhouse like "pi"), and the characters resemble your stereotypical awkward butch lesbians who don't have real jobs and live in perpetually messy bachelor pads. the only thing they seem to be blessed with (from a hollywood standpoint at least) are exceptionally large vocabularies. the "cutie" is played by guinevere turner, who manages to transform herself into the archetypal slouchy "boi" -- i.e. wearing a backwards baseball cap and pants four sizes too big. however, her love interest makes her look like angelina jolie.

in other words, if you love the style of the l word, this is the exact opposite of that. if you're looking to drool over the characters, because you assume turner and troche will deliver on the "luscious babe" quotient, look elsewhere. (i fully admit that my girlfriend and i picked up this film partly for that reason. five minutes into the film, she had already said the word "EWWW!" enough times in my ear to make me regret going to blockbuster.)

this isn't a hollywood-style film; it resembles the less glamorous and some would say more "realistic" (or more "stereotypical," if you ask others) slice of lesbian life. if you pick up the DVD knowing this, then you'll know what to expect. don't get me wrong; there are good things to be said about this film, but this is a case where the book does not match its cover. however, in defense of troche and turner, you have to remember when this film was made: the early 90's, when grunge was in bloom, big black boots were in, and no one was looking "fabulous." furthermore, when this film was made, depicting any lesbians on screen was considered "edgy," and so, the edgier and more "alternative," the better. being part of the "fringe" was cool. now, in 2005, lesbians on screen have become more commonplace, public perceptions have warmed, and lesbians "in real life" from all walks of life are popping out of the closet to reclaim the lesbian media image from the stereotypical "awkward bookish butch" outsider archetype. that image from the 90's is simply dated.

if you can get past the aesthetic qualities and are simply looking to watch a film for lesbians by lesbians, you'll have to get over one more hump. and this one is much harder to get past, in my opinion.

the one thing i couldn't get over was the narrative. if you watch the l word and love jenny's stream-of-consciousness montages narrated in that "i'm like SOOOO self-aware yet SOOOO clueless" otherworldly tone (you know, like those carnival scenes in the last season where she is making wholehearted yet misguided attempts at "writing" and everyone in your party starts groaning and makes for the refrigerator to get beer refills) (1) seek help and (2) you'll get plenty of that here. in fact, if jenny were to have lived in chicago in the early 90's, this would be her student film. this means, for the average l word jenny-hater, "go fish" would be utterly painful to watch.

this film is not without its merits, however. once you ignore the obvious distractions, much of the dialogue is witty and perceptive, if delivered poorly. and at some points, if you concentrate, it can even become engrossing.

if you like avant-garde theater, this film is for you. (this film would actually work better on stage, in my opinion.) if you're currently enrolled in a liberal arts institution, are currently going through your coming-out process and are going through the whole nine yards of slicing your hair off and immersing yourself in queer theory, you might want to watch this film. if you want to see how far we've come, check this out.

but if you're a lesbian who doesn't define herself by her sexuality (nor is it apparent to anyone else), still look like you did and retain the same friends you had when you were "straight," doesn't get or have the patience to sit through artsy films, listens to top 40 radio, doesn't get the "outsider" mentality, works in a mainstream career, and/or never wore a black turtleneck and sipped cappucino with dour and depressing compatriates on a regular basis... and that describes 90% of the lesbians that i know in 2005... you won't understand this film at all, much less like it (seriously, just pass it by -- you'll just bitch about it afterwards), and i would suggest getting "d.e.b.s." (a stupid fluffy but somewhat enjoyable film) instead.