The Watermelon Woman (1996)

Director:

Cheryl Dunye

Writer:

Cheryl Dunye (writer)

Release Date:

5 March 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Cheryl is young, Black, and lesbian, working in Philadelphia with her best friend Tamara and consumed...

Plot Keywords:

Lesbian | Video Store | Interracial | Nudity | Film Making

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Cheryl Dunye	...	Cheryl
Guinevere Turner	...	Diana
Valarie Walker	...	Tamara
Lisa Marie Bronson	...	Fae 'The Watermelon Woman' Richards
Cheryl Clarke	...	June Walker
Irene Dunye	...	Herself
Brian Freeman	...	Lee Edwards
Camille Paglia	...	Herself
Sarah Schulman	...	CLIT Archivist
V.S. Brodie	...	Karaoke Singer
Shelley Olivier	...	Annie Heath
Toshi Reagon	...	Street Magician
Emmy Collins	...	Video Browser
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Mickey Goldhaber	...	Featured
K. Brent Hill	...	J.J. Liberty
Gail Lloyd	...	Diana's Black Date
Kat Robertson	...	Yvette

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Dancing Girl

Trivia:

The scene from the faux-archival 1930s film, "Plantation Memories", was directed by Douglas McKeown and co-written by McKeown and Cheryl Dunye

Quotes:

Cheryl: Hey! Hey, you're Martin Pumphrey!
Street Magician: No ma'am, I'm a magician.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema (2006)

Time does fly, and people do change.

This is a very lighthearted film about a black video store clerk (Cheryl Dunye) who wants to make a documentary about an early black actress, known only as The Watermelon Woman." The fact that both Cheryl (Dunye) and the actress are lesbians keeps her going. In fact, in life imitating art, Cheryl finds that The Watermelon Woman was having a lesbian relationship with a white director, and then, she begins a relationship with a white video store customer (Guinevere Turner - American Psycho, Itty Bitty Titty Committee).

The film explored black language, early black actresses, black lesbians, mammies, and watermelon. It even featured an interview with Camille Paglia discussing mammies and watermelon in the context of blacks and Italians, It's nice to see Italians spoken of in something other than the Mob.

Her BFF Tamera (Valarie Walker) is a party girl, but she draws the line at interracial relationships, and that causes a problem for Cheryl.

There are a lot of good scenes throughout the movie, and it made it worthwhile even if the acting wasn't particularly good.

The end credits will surprise you.