“LYKEable Celluloid” vol. 2

All Over Me

Nothing was bringing adolescent girls of the mid-90s out of the closet like Sleater-Kinney, roller-skates, and Leisha Hailey.  However, it wasn’t until 1996’s All Over Me that these things finally came together – aside from in teenage daydreams.

All Over Me is a classical coming-of-age story set to a riot grrrl beat.  After failing to seduce Nicole Kidman in To Die For, a butch Alison Folland (playing the part of “Claude”) sets her goals even higher as she tries her luck with a waifish Tara Subkoff (as “Ellen”).  Claude and Ellen were lifelong BFFs who spent their days sitting in Claude’s bedroom, amidst posters of Patti Smith and Helium, strumming guitars and dreaming of being the next great grrrl band.  But by the time they hit 15 Claude decided that she not only wanted to be Carrie Brownstein, but she wanted Ellen to be her Corin Tucker (at least for that ever too brief period lamented in “One More Hour”).  Unfortunately, Ellen found the world of drugs and gay bashings to be more appealing and leaves Claude behind for her homophobic, drug-dealing boyfriend and nights of walking the streets in CFM heels.  Things turn out okay for Claude though: while at an indie club she runs into a pink-haired Leisha Hailey (“Lucy”) fronting Coochie Pop (a grrrl band nearly as appealing as Hailey’s real-life projects, the Murmurs and Uh Huh Her) and by the film’s end the two are walking hand-in-hand down the street.

Although the film focuses on the decaying relationship of Claude and Ellen, the relationship flourishing between Claude and Lucy is even more significant, as Lucy is the one who finally makes her comfortable in her own LYKEability.  The scenes of Folland and Hailey prove to be not only the most provocative, but also the most powerful.  Claude’s transformation into an self-assured adult is stunning, starting with her breakdown after her and Lucy’s first kiss (beautifully set to the soundtrack of Patti Smith’s “Pissing in a River”) to the first time the two appear in Claude’s room (Ellen’s former sanctuary) kissing and strumming guitars (Claude previously stated “I can’t do [music] without Ellen”).

Leisha Hailey is not the only 90s icon to help Claude along on her journey.  The film also includes My So Called Life’s Wilson Cruz as, you guessed it, a young and naïve gay male; Pat Briggs of Psychotica (whose sound unfortunately wouldn’t have quite fit into this movie) as the fairy godfather to Claude and Jesse (Cruz); and even Vincent Pastore, “Big Pussy” from The Sopranos (although it would be fun to draw conclusions between “Big Pussy” and “LYKEable Celluloid,” this film was released years before the HBO series).

Sylvia and Alex Sichel (Sylvia writing and Alex directing) began All Over Me after receiving a grant to make a film about riot grrrl (oddly enough, during the scene’s media blackout).  While the film never directly mentions the movement, its soundtrack does include classics by Babes in Toyland and Tuscadero and music remains the most important aspect of the movie.  After all, the world of music has always been more accepting of outsiders, such as the Rainbow Brite-esuqe Lucy and the highly effeminate Luke (Briggs), which is what makes it so appealing for Claude: it may be her only path of survival.  She proves to be right and in the end it’s Lucy, the riffing riot grrrl, who saves her – which is why this film should have been called I Wanna Be Your Corin Tucker. (Izzy Cihak)

Question to Reader:

If it you had the choice, who would be your Corin Tucker: Tara Subkoff, downtown’s princess of high fashion or Leisha Hailey, recently voted sexiest female on “The AfterEllen.com Hot 100 List?”  For me, this question is far too difficult to answer.  I’ve spent a week mulling over this and I can’t decide whether hanging in NYC’s uber hip art scene with Tara or shaking my ass at punk clubs to Leisha’s beats is more appealing, so you tell me.

photo by Dackel Photography. DackelPhotography.com
As far back as 1965, LYKEable vixens could be found onscreen as homicidal go-go dancers kicking ass in the desert. A little more than a decade later a mega-fan of the aforementioned film created a mocking homage to lesbianism through an X-rated take on a Disney fairy tale that includes drowning via dog food, a primitive sex change, and ass-induced suffocation. The 90s seemed to provide the most takes on the subject. The black and white, quintessential lesbian film of all-time, explores the issues of a lack of lesbians sited in history, why it is unacceptable to dress like a hippie, and what is the best term for vagina. A modern adaptation of a Joyce Carol Oates novel finds a group of sexually-confused girls tormenting football players, driving around town singing L7 songs, and giving each other makeshift tattoos; oh yeah, and there’s lots of topless shots of Angelina… pre boobs, that is. A seemingly classic noir that looks more like a hetero-male fantasy has two sexy convicts leaving men behind and making their own decadent fun. Riot grrrl helps a girl to come of age and find love with a real-life star of Lilith Fair. The least functional member ofThe Breakfast Club delves into the world of photography, same-sex promiscuity, and enough smack to finally knock off Keith Richards. A sleepaway camp plays host to a 5-step program to rid campers of their homosexuality in one of the most celebrated gay films of the past ten years. Even the cinematic lord of the hobbits explored the topic through a story revolving around Mario Lanza, clay figurines, and one very special brick.

Since the 90’s mainstream cinema has experienced an onslaught of films focused on lesbianism. There was Kevin Smith’s shockingly realistic Chasing Amy, and then that one where you see Ellen’s boobs, and even the one where Charlize Theron hooks up with the chubby girl from The Addams Family. Okay, so maybe mainstream cinema hasn’t exactly embraced lesbians up to this point, but the history of the medium does prove to have a handful of truly great and LYKEable films about the topic. And no, I’m not referring to those which Cinemax begins airing every night around 2 a.m. about all-girl nudist camping trips. Each of the films featured in “LYKEable Celluloid” looks at lesbianism in a different light, whether it is meant to empower the community, make a teenager feel more comfortable in their own skin, break down cultural norms, or simply to promote humorous self-deprecation. Some of these will leave you in joyous tears and some in hysterical laughter, but they are all undeniably great films that take the time explore a subject that, even in 2008’s painfully politically correct and supposedly tolerant society, it can be difficult for the average LYKEable person to come about.

Some of the films featured in “LYKEable Celluloid” will be pretty obvious and guessable, but hopefully some will be new to you. I can guarantee that a few of these come from very unexpected places. As this is a topic that is mostly ignored in film and it is already hard enough to find good examples (because I can assure you I have little to no interest in the kind of movies regularly shown on Logo and neither should you), I am more than willing to look at reader requests. With any luck we will be able to build a comprehensive library of LYKEable films because no one should ever have to watch Fried Green Tomatoes. -Izzy Cihak

Question to Reader: Do you consider yourself a LYKEminded film buff? Well, if you can be the first person to name all 9 of the films alluded to in this article, LYKE has a special prize for you.

Hint: Don’t think Google or the “Gay & Lesbian” section at the TLA will be any help to you.