Friday Femme Flick – The Aggressives

I can’t remember how I came across this movie, but it was a few months ago that I saw this and if anything, I now know what “voguing” is because of this movie. LOL.  The Aggressives is a documentary set in NYC that shows 6 “aggressive” women, their lives and loves.  The most noteable is Kisha Baptista bike messenger/model who allegedley hooked up with Kimora Simmons. 

It really is one of the few movies about black aggressive lesbians.  And if you haven’t seen it, I suggest checking it out in your spare time.  I don’t urge you to run out and get it, but it is very interesting and eye opening.

While I don’t own this movie, I was able to watch it on Amazon’s video on demand for 4 bucks.  Will I purchase this?  Probably not.  Even though my gf mentioned buying it…and while it’s not a bad movie, just not something I can watch over and over again.  This isn’t something that I am crazy to add to my movie collection.

The ending kinda left you hanging, as it would be interesting to know more about what happened to them.  One of the girls who joined the Army could not be found at the end of the movie.   She got deployed to a war zone and apparently wasn’t that aggressive because she fled in order to avoid her tour of duty.   The movie held my interest, and if there was a part 2, I would be most interested in seeing it.

Here’s a the movie overview from Amazon:

In the poor sections of New York City, there is a group of lesbians that is a unique, secret and separate subculture of the lesbian community. They are the aggressives and the subject of this fascinating documentary by Daniel Peddle. Six women of color, twenty-something in age, identify themselves as members of this group. Throughout the film they try to identify who they are but we quickly see, as is usually the case in some subcultures, they have quite a hard time reaching a comprehensive definition. We all realize that no such definition is necessary bur the stories they tell are what that matters.
This is an honest film as it strips these women down to their stories and we, in turn, learn about who they are and if they are members of a certain gender community. Their stories are fascinating and each woman has a unique personality. We learn a great deal about them as they speak.
We follow the lives of Kisha, Marquise, Flo, Tiffany, RJ and Octavia around their neighborhoods and into their bedrooms. We meet their lovers and we go to their clubs and even go to prison with them. They all love the masculine lifestyle and they live by their own rules with no apologies. They proudly bend gender with great strength. The message we get is that they are who they are–they are women who look like men but they maintain that they are, above all, women.
They show us how not to let labels run our lives and that is important for one to be who he/she is and to be comfortable with that. Because the aggressives live outside of the norms of society, they are often misunderstood. This is not a film about women who want to be men–rather it is a film about people who want to be people. It seems to me that all of us compete with each other to a degree and, in affect, this is how we survive.
We see a world we are not familiar with from within and we see the world as a stage upon which we all play a part.

Check out my otherFriday Femme Flicks recommendations here and here.

Friday Femme Flick: If These Walls Could Talk 2

I’m back at it again, with the Friday Femme Flick. This week I watched “If These Walls Could Talk 2″. Is this the first time I’ve seen this movie? No. But it’s the first time I sat and watched entirely. This was a HBO film, so you may be able to catch it on HBO from time to time, but I just bit the bullet and paid a mere $6 from Amazon to own it forever.

I really liked this movie!

It features 3 stories of women from 3 timespans. 1961, 1972 and 2000. The first story was with a lesbian couple who had been together for 50 years and then suddenly an unexpected death of one of the ladies. This movie tugged at my heart so much. It was sad seeing how the surviving partner was treated because she wasn’t “family”. How when her deceased partners’ family came to visit, she took down all of the pictures they had up of them together and moved her stuff out of there room because she didn’t want to be found out. You really just have to watch it to understand, the actresses played the part very well.

The second segment was set in 1972 and told the story of a young feminist who falls head over heels for a boyish girl. Her lesbian friends talked about her and tried make her feel inadequate for feeling the way she felt. Somehow, boyish girls were a slap in the face of the feminist movement. I guess they couldn’t understand why any woman would embrace anything to do with masculinity. Nia Long made an appearance in this movie and she did a pretty good job. It was very interesting to witness discrimination within the lesbian community. You would think that lesbians of all people would understand what it means to just be who you are and that clothes or appearances or who you sleep with does not define your character. This segment really made me think about the facade we all put on in order to “fit in”.

The final segment was very light-hearted and featued Ellen (no last name needed!) and Sharon Stone. They were a lesbian couple determined to have a baby and it showed the typical stuff such as going to a sperm bank, selecting a donor, failed attempts at insemination until finally one of the women gets pregnant. Ellen was funny, as usual. This was a good ending to a movie that had many ups and downs.

Here is the Amazon review:

HBO caused a stir when it aired If These Walls Could Talk, a portrait of three women from three generations (all who occupied the same house at various times) who had unwanted pregnancies. HBO utilizes the same gimmick in the sequel, this time telling the story of women who love women.

The three stories of If These Walls Could Talk 2 are uneven. Far and away the most powerful and moving story is the first, taking place in 1961, starring Vanessa Redgrave as a woman “widowed” when her partner of 50 years suddenly dies. Redgrave is phenomenal, and her piece alone makes this sequel worth watching. The 1972 portion stars Michelle Williams, who finds dealing with the sexual politics of the gay community increasingly more complex when she falls in love with a boyish woman (played by Chloë Sevigny). The most modern piece, taking place in 2000, portrays a contemporary lesbian couple (Sharon Stone and Ellen DeGeneres) determined to have a baby. The light nature of the story detracts from the more serious issues of the earlier segments. Despite the mixed fare, HBO once again proves itself on the cutting edge of moviemaking, with this rather daring film that will both provoke and entertain. –Jenny Brown

To learn more or to purchase, visit my store by clicking here. This movie is just $5.99. It was worth my six bucks.

Friday Femme Flick: Saving Face

With the L-word leaving us forever in just under a month, there is a need not only to replace the L-word (whatever will I do on Sunday’s at 9??) but to seek out more diversity in lesbian films.  So,  each Friday I will post a movie/series/documentary/whatever I find thats good as the “Friday Femme Flick” (I like the use of the triple F. lol). 

I know, I’ve blogged about this movie before, but I really love it and I don’t think it got the respect and recognition it deserves, so once again, I highly recommend Saving Face.  This is a movie about a Chinese-American doctor who lives with her mom.  She comes out to her mom around the same time as her 40+ mom finds herself as a single mother (again).    This is a funny movie, but it made me realize a lot about how we can sometimes judge people too harshly just for being human.  It also is a story about the courage to love despite what people might think or say.

Anywho, please check this film out if you haven’t seen it.  It is REALLY very very good.  Everytime it comes on LOGO, I watch it like I’ve never seen it before!  It also takes place in Flushing, NY (I lived there for about a year), but spent most my life in Hollis. QUEENS, STAND UP!! LOL

Here’s the movie summary:
When 48-year-old widow Hwei-Lan Gao (Joan Chen) informs her less-than understanding father she’s pregnant, he banishes her from Flushing until she remarries or proves Immaculate Conception. With nowhere else to go, Hwei-Lan moves in with her grown daughter, Wil (Michelle Krusiec), a Manhattan doctor who doesn’t want a roommate, especially since she’s met Viv (Lynn Chen), her sexy young lover. So Wil does what any dutiful child with an expectant, unmarried mother on her hands would do: she proceeds to set Hwei-Lan up with every eligible bachelor in town.

To learn more or to purchase click here to check out my store.

Happy Friday

The L Word Latest Episode Review

Well, it’s about damn time!   The L word came correct this week and this show was off the hook!

Gosh, usually write a review when the show is fresh on my mind, and it being a few days out…I am not recalling everything despite the fact that, it was hot like fire!

I have to say, I am kind of relating to Helena.  You know still being in love with the person who burned you.  That’s a torn feeling.  I love that little game they played with trying to see where Dylan’s motives really are by having whats her face oh, Nicki come on to Dylan.  That was fun.

I could kill Jenny!  She is such a sick, twisted little biatch.  She stole Alice’s idea and wants to act like it’s nothing. What the hell is her problem?  I could have just slapped her.  Jenny always wants to act innocent like she is always the victim and everyone does wrong to her and she is such a complete bullshitter.

Can you believe that saved by the bell chick?  She had the nerve to ask Tina if she minded that she flirst shamelessly with Bette. WTF?  That old rag!  Tina should have told her where to go, politely of course.  She is bad news, very bad news.  I am also glad Tina told those people off, her bosses or whatever…I couldn’t stand their snivelling asses.

What happened to Max this episode?

Alice Tasha and Jamie…what in the heck is up with that?

I guess Kit is just along for the ride this season, nothing seems to be going on with her…

But this was a really good espisode…I can’t wait until next week!