It's all in the acting

wondernat

Piper Perabo is absolutely moving in this film, which centers around Paulie (Perabo) and Tori's brief love tale, as told through the eyes of Mouse (Mischa Barton), a neglected young lady who is placed in boarding school by her father at the suggestion of her step mother. However, like many lesbian movies made before the Dykefication of (mainly Californian) American society, this is one that has no happy ending, despite the mainly Canadian cast.

Mouse obviously feels estranged from her family since the passing of her mother, and finds quick acceptance and camaraderie in her roommates, Paulie and Torie. Paulie is adopted and feels like she has no real family and is obviously devoid of any spiritual connections with many people in her life, save for Tori. Tori, on the other hand, is very sheltered by her conservative parents, but like Paulie, she also feels like her family isn't entirely who she is.

We then discover that Paulie and Tori are lovers and often make love while Mouse is (supposedly) asleep, thereby lacking the decency to slip a Nyquil into Mouse's bedtime milk so she can peacefully sleep through it all. However, one morning Paulie forgets to crawl back to her bed (!!!) and the pair are caught by Tori's little sister and her posse.

Tori, thinking of how her parents and family might abandon and disown her, is quick to denounce what her sister saw and chalks it all up to Paulie's emotional imbalance. This has got to be the most infuriating and gut-wrenching scene of the movie when the perpetually closeted girl seals herself into her gilded wardrobe with a perky and half-convincing "I'm boy crazy!" This drove me insane because it almost seemed as though lil sis was about to say, "If you are, I'll eventually think about starting on re-accepting you as my family out of love." Meanwhile, her (bratty) little sister not only spreads the rumor around the school that Paulie is lesbian, but that she is after her very straight sister. Tori even begins a relationship with a boy from a nearby boarding school to assert her heterosexuality. This is because we all know the sure cure for homosexuality is a big obnoxious frat boy penis.

Mouse watches all this and remains friends with Paulie, despite the rumors people are spreading. Although she tries to help her friend, even Mouse can't stop Paulie's near psychotic downward spiral into torturous emotional HELL. My heart just went out to Perabo's acting as I had to endure ever more unbearable uncomfortable scenes of Paulie absolutely losing it in class, at the dining commons, at the father-daughter dance, and right before the climax. Going back to the obnoxious frat boy stereotype, I was kind of disappointed that Paulie didn't clock the moron's chin after he proclaims that he played Laertes in Hamlet. His face was so schmuck-y I really wished Paulie would hit him in principle.

Anywho, the ending is for your viewing pleasure/disgust. There are also some juxtapositions with the hawk and Paulie but quite honestly, that parallel was lost on me... I was "Lost" for the most part because I couldn't understand why Paulie, someone who held herself together despite her fragility, would completely lose it for a closeted girl... and "Delirious" because despite the former statement, Perabo really did do a good job with the insane material she was given.

However, this is why I couldn't give the movie a better grade... it made me too uncomfortable. I felt absolutely embarrassed for Paulie and just hoped HOPED she could just get over herself and Tori. So many scenes are just downright uncomfortable to watch, and I really believe that it's because Perabo got the pain of Paulie down perfectly. While I don't want to dismiss this movie because of the "lesbian movie tragedy" stereotype, I wanted to put it out there in case you're expecting a heart-warming "Saving Face"-ish love comedy.

score 6/10

wondernat 21 May 2008

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1877588/