#88 - The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love

Since his passing, I've had John Hughes on my mind a lot. His movies have always had this quality about them that made them memorable and relatable even in the most extreme of cases. He got you laughing, but also thinking.

I bring him up now because thats the exact same feeling I had after watching The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love (try saying that 5 times fast). This movie is right up there with The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. In the best of times and worst of times in the movie, there was this undertone that served as a reminder that these kids were still in high school and had all to face all the things that go along with that.

Plot/Setting

This movie wasn't a lesbian movie, and it wasn't a teen movie, it was just a movie about two teens and their first love, and the wild things that result from it. That's enough of a summary for you. I will also add that I loved the way that the director treated the characters lives outside from each other, and their relationship. From the note passing near the lockers, the awkward hand holding, and the strict parents that no longer understood, and the oblivious, often hurtful "friends" - everything was so iconically high school that it was perfect.

Characters

I loved all the characters in the movie. The main character Randy is this butch lesbian who is self conscious, vulnerable, but also very strong. She stands firm even in the worst of cases and has a good heart.

I wish I had seen more of her leading lady, Evie. Evie is a little bit sheltered, very sweet and smart, affluent African American. She starts the movie as a straight girl and as the movie progresses, so does she. The reason I wish I could have seen more of her is because she had to deal with many things at once in high school. Not only was she trying to figure out her sexuality, but it was also obvious that she was always very aware of her race, and interracial relationships. She talks about her mother's disapproval of her father's new white wife, and asks Randy if her aunt (Randy does not live with her mother) does not like her because she is black. Clearly, Evie was dealing with many pressures from many sides and I would have really liked to have seen a little bit more from her perspective.

The more minor characters were equally as rich in character development and equally as entertaining to watch. You got to see a little bit of everyone and it was really great how it all came together at the end. I especially loved Randy's best friend, Frank, the gay Hispanic male in the movie.

After watching It's in the Water, and having decided that I would not be including that in the newly updated version of the Amazon positive lesbian movie, I was looking for a movie to replace that film. This is certainly it. You cannot really go wrong with this movie. It's funny, its decent, its leaves you smiling at the end. While the ending does not really provide much of a resolution, it does provide enough for the viewer to know that everything will be alright. The dedication at the end of the movie, showed that too.