Cheryl Dunye has transcended the usual pitfalls that pockmark most lesbian-themed movies: specifically, the usual angst and suffering that occur when the gay gal falls for a heterosexual friend. The Watermelon Woman is more a cultural document, addressing speculative sociological gay history themes with an interesting and engaging cover story about a video store clerk named Cheryl (played by Dunye) who, in her research for a movie, comes across an old-time black actress simply called "the watermelon woman" and becomes obsessed with her persona. In the process, Cheryl finds herself embroiled in a relationship that parallels that of her icon.
What makes The Watermelon Woman special is its layered story line and its willingness to present its characters as comically flawed. Dunye also creates an aura of mystique around the enigmatic watermelon woman, and her life and tribulations become fascinating to the viewer. Even Camille Paglia shows up to make commentary about the "actress," and while the story-within-a-story concept is tricky, the power and purpose of the movie emerges, and the character becomes as fascinating as if she were flesh and blood. --Paula Nechak
(10 votes)
2.
A black independent filmmaker and video store clerk is enthralled by the evocative image of a "mammy" in a woman-directed plantation movie from the early days of cinema--and by rumors that the actress and the director were lovers. Intent on discovering a little lesbian-filmmaker history, she begins a personal quest to uncover the mammy's identity, much to the confusion of her white, middle-class girlfriend. Features a guest bit by Paglia as herself, pontificating on the rich symbolism of mammies and watermelons.
(10 votes)
3.
"Funny, adventurous wonderful!" -New York Times
Cheryl, a young black woman working in a video store, is making a documentary about an obscure black actress from the 1930's. When she discovers that the actress (known as "the Watermelon Woman") had a white lesbian lover, Cheryl just happens to fall in love with a very cute white woman herself!
Attacked by conservative Congressmen, winner of multiple audience awards in major film festivals, and lavishly praised by audiences for being charming and courageous, this startlingly fresh debut is "a wonderfully inventive journey though the annals of film history, African American culture, dyke attitudes, race relations, and the mysteries of lesbian attraction. Did I mention this is a comedy, too?" -B. Ruby Rich, San Francisco Bay Guardian
(10 votes)
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