Better Than Chocolate

Scott Hardie: “It sucked.”

They're so vexing, Matt Preston invented a term for them: "Fred Flintstone moments," those times when everything would be fine if one character would let the other get a word in edgewise, instead of repeatedly interrupting their explanation and then storming out / hanging up before they can finish. There are seven such moments in "Better Than Chocolate," a movie that would be a lot better if its characters stopped behaving like clueless sitcom cartoons and simply listened to each other for a minute. The film is a frustrating conglomeration of lesbian issues, after the filmmakers polled Canadian lesbians as to what they'd most like to see in a film about themselves: Just as it finally settles into romance, it takes an awkward veer into politics, and vice versa. Finally it culminates in the kind of ridiculous ending where supporting characters rush onto the scene one-by-one just in time to resolve each of the dangling loose ends. I give it credit for being a highly enjoyable film; I had a grin on my face the whole time. But it's still lousy, and a clear demonstration of why the plots of films should not be determined by poll results.

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