#23- D.E.B.S.

D.E.B.S. is one of those movies that despite the poor acting, somewhat unrealistic plot, and low production costs can still be called a wonderful, campy, feel good movie - with gorgeous main characters, dressed in all girls uniforms.

I wish I could do this movie justice, but somehow I feel the summary from the DEBS website would do a better job:

"Recruited by the U.S. government for their unique ability to lie, cheat and fight, Amy, Max, Janet and Dominique join an underground academy of secret agents known only as D.E.B.S. These crime fighting hotties set out to save the world and keep their lipstick perfectly applied while doing so. Now the girls must combine their skills for their most important mission- to capture vexing vixen Lucy Diamond, the deadliest criminal the world has ever known. When D.E.B.S. star player, Amy, falls for Lucy, chaos erupts and the D.E.B.S. loyalty is put to the test."

Awesome, yes? If that's not enough to reason to watch the movie. Perhaps I should go into further detail on how adorable the relationship between Lucy Diamond and Amy is. The chemistry is incredible, and the whole strong, hot lesbian villain seducing the confused school girl is pretty hot.

As for the rest of the characters, they really add to the rest of the movie. All of the colorful characters are amusing and just a smidge unrealistic, which makes their actions even funnier. From the "snap snap" black girl to the cool and a times haughty french girl, the movie is chock full of harmless stereotypes that will have you laughing.

While it is a bit unrealistic at times, its heartwarming and leaves you feeling good. But, its not all romance - the action side also leads to some blood pumping good times. There are some decent fighting scenes, and the low budget action only makes the movie even better.

Without fail, you'll have a good time watching this movie. Its a pleasant movie experience and really, how wrong can you go with Jordana Brewster?

#45 - Imagine Me and You

Ohh, Imagine Me and You. What to say about this movie? Well, I should start off by saying that this is neither the first time that I've seen this movie, nor would I think that this is it the first time that you readers have heard of this movie. It's on those movies that is usually mentioned as one of the better known, queer films,. Then again, it has Piper Perabo (Lost and Delirious) in it, so how could it not be mentioned?!

I'll start off by saying, that it's not one of my favorite movies. Time and time again, I fail to see why lesbians love this movie to pieces. I won't lie - it is a good movie, and it is heartwarming, but it's not memorable. You don't fall in love with any of the characters, you may feel for them, but honestly, this movie just feels like it tries too hard to be a good romantic comedy.

Summary:

Rachel is getting married to Heck. On the day of her wedding, she feels an unexplicable attraction to Luce, the female gay florist. After the wedding, she befriends Luce (invites her to dinner, etc) in the hopes of setting her up with Cooper, Heck's friend. However, sparks fly between the two ladies, and although neither of them do anything about it, you can tell that there is an attraction. The next day, she learns that Luce is gay, and is now even more interested in learning about Luce, and begins to do some "research" on lesbians on her own (cue in the hilarious scene at the movie rental place). From here, there is a lot of events that lead up to the romance between the two ladies. I won't give too much away after this, but it's definitely a journey that quite nice to watch. Although there isn't much of a sexual, physical intimacy between the two characters, you definitely get enough emotional intimacy to make up for the loss.

Relationships:

The relationship between Rachel and Luce is one of the sweeter ones that I've seen. They are adorable from the start, and the two actresses definitely had a lot of chemistry. You see why they fall in love, and every time I watch this movie, I always catch something between them that I missed the last time I saw them.

As for all of the relationships in the movie, they all are pretty realistic - as far as romantic comedies go. There are plenty of one liners between all the characters that are just friggen adorable. You are left touched, and at times also pensive.

Characters that were just too unrealistic:

The characters are charming, and completely fleshed out. You definitely understand their motivations and do feel empathy for their situations. While I don't completely agree with all of their actions, I can see why they are made - and I appreciate them for it. I'm also sure many people find the little girl adorable, I however cannot stand her. But, that's a rant for another day.

I think one of the problems with the movie is that everyone is just too friggen nice. Yes, they may be angry every now and then, but they are all together too forgiving. Heck. Really? Come on, you've just found out that your wife has fallen in love with a women, and thats all the emotion that you show? Come on. To quote Paulie "rage more." Then, let's look at Rachel's mom. You have a problem with your daughter's new attraction, but you seem to get over it within a few hours. That's pretty unrealistic, and just downright stupid on behalf of the writer.

I understand the need for a happy ending, but how about some realism, yea?

If you are in love and are watching this movie - you would definitely enjoy the affection between the characters, and the plot in general. I wouldn't recommend this as one of those movies that are going to be a fan favorite, but for a rainy saturday afternoon, this movie hits the spot. For those of you going through a break up, there is some peace to be reached after watching the movie. It's cleansing in a way.

#68 - Producing Adults

So what better way to break this blogger's rut than by reviewing a Finish queer movie from 2004. There's a better way you say? Lies!

So, what to say about this film? Well, Variety does get it right - it was entertaining, and it was also charming, but it also was dark. It is by no means a happy go lucky movie. The themes are indeed for mature audiences. The viewer grows like the characters, even if you are left pretty much frustrated by all of them.

I guess the best way to describe the film is by saying that it was like it captured a group of people in a particular moment in time. There is not a lot of exposition, but that doesn't mean that it's not hard to figure out what is going on in the film. Near the end, there isn't a lot of wrap up, just a lot of things left unsaid, and not entirely resolved for the future. However, this does not detract from the actual film itself. This in itself does make the movie charming and since there is this humane quality to the film, it also makes it easier to forgive that characters for their transgressions, which believe me - there are plenty.

Summary

The film starts off focusing on the long term relationship between Venla and Antero. She finds out that she is pregnant, but soon after miscarries, which wasn't so accidental. This however, has left Venla wanting a child. Meanwhile, that would be the last thing in Antero's mind, especially since he is focusing on his Olympic dreams. A good portion of the movie is spent with both willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that their desires are achieved. The extremes that both characters are willing to go are pretty comical, but on the hand, when one begins to think of the desperation in both of the, one is left feeling sorry for them.

One such extreme lands Venla receiving help from her co-worker, Satu. Here is where the real romance begins. The two women fall in love with each other and try to prevail despite the baggage that both of them carry.

Like I previously mentioned, the ending of the movie does a provide some kind of resolution, but nothing is completely left closed. The audience is left to assume the fate of the characters, albiet it - it is a happy fate.

Criticism

This was a good movie and I don't really have many negative things to say about it. The acting and cinematography were both really great. A small problem I had with the film was the way that men were treated by the film. For most of the movie, they were portrayed as jackasses or idiots. At the end, most do receive a reprieve, and they are shown as multi-dimensional people, but I feel like the damage had already been done.

All in all however, it was a decent movie and I would look into into it and see what you think of it.

Back!

Okay so after a long hiatus, Damaged Room is back! Classes took their toll this semester, and I barely had time to juggle all the things in my life. But, fortunately, winter break is upon us - and with it... more movies!

So come back! Visit! Thanks to my broken external hard drive, I have been forced to go find movies to watch again, rather than plugging in the familiar ones. So expect to see periodic movie reviews of the lesbian persuasion!

- Arco Iris