Bar Girls (1994)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Marita Giovanni

Writers:

Lauran Hoffman (play)
Lauran Hoffman (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 April 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Finally... a romantic comedy without men.

Plot:

The life and loves of gay women hanging out at a local tavern are examined in this slice of life film. |

Plot Keywords:

Lesbian Cop | Nudity | Writing | Lesbian | Bar

Cast

Nancy Allison Wolfe	...	Loretta
Liza D'Agostino	...	Rachel
Camila Griggs	...	J.R.
Michael Harris	...	Noah
Justine Slater	...	Veronica
Lisa Parker	...	Annie
Pam Raines	...	Celia
Paula Sorge	...	Tracy
CeCe Tsou	...	Sandy (as Cece Tsou)
Caitlin Stansbury	...	Kimba
Patti Sheehan	...	Destiny
Lee Everett	...	Lee
Betsy Burke	...	Cafe waitress
Laurie Jones	...	Laurie
Chastity Bono	...	Scorp'

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality and language.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | UK:18

Company:

Lavender Circle Mob / Lauran Hoffman

Movie Connections:

Referenced in It's in the Water (1997)

Soundtrack:

Everybody's F*ckin' My Baby

lesbian play

Director Marita Giovanni's film is based on a play by Lauran Hoffman. Hoffman's material may get tied up in psychobabble but she has an ear for entertaining dialogue and mercilessly avoids the archness usually associated with lesbian drama. Set around an LA Girl bar it focuses on Loretta (Nancy Allison Wolfe), a beautiful red-haired cartoonist, and her romance with actress Rachel (Liza D'Agostino).

Wolfe's performance is droll and moving, and she manages to throw off the bad ideas Giovanni and Hoffman aim at her. She also deliberately approximates the glamour of Rita Hayworth from Gilda. Her apartment features the famous poster of Hayworth smoking, as well as a huge closeup of Lotte Lenya's eyes. The character of Rachel is less interesting though D'Agostino holds her own with Wolfe in their fight scenes. I also like Loretta's ditzy friend Veronica (Justine Slater), a straight woman `enchanted' by the idea of a lesbian affair. Those wanting to see a graphic sex scene will not be disappointed but it felt to me Giovanni cut away at a climactic (no pun intended) moment.

The awful soundtrack suggests the film's low budget, as does the underpopulated bar, though this underpopulation serves Hoffman's incestuous roundelay theme. Note a cameo by Chastity Bono at Scorpio night.