Just in time for the warm weather of 2004, First Run Features has compiled some of its best-loved gay and lesbian film titles on two separate box set releases that fall in line with the sexual preference in question. “The Best of Gay Britain” contains “Boyfriends,” “Like It Is,” and “Wolves of Kromer,” while “The Lesbian Romance Collection features none other than Lucy Lawless in “Peach,” along with “Butterfly Kiss” and “The Watermelon Woman.” Select films from the sets are reviewed below, and safe to say, if you enjoy the sound of the following, you will find much to enjoy in the other titles in the new box sets from First Run Features.

The Watermelon Woman

Opening to a certain amount of critical acclaim in early 1997, "The Watermelon Woman" was a groundbreaking film in its depiction of modern-day North American lesbianism. Indeed, it was the film's novel approach that created significant buzz both inside and outside the depths of the closet - and as a result, we can assume that it went far in enlightening the populace of what may be considered the typical concerns of lesbians in New York or Philadelphia (where the film is set).

One has to hand it to Director Cheryl Dunye (who also plays "Cheryl" in the film - a burgeoning film-maker and video-store employee) for taking a light-hearted approach in depicting big-city dykes and the convoluted relationships that they pursue. As in all well written gay cinema, the relationships of the women on-screen are really not so different from any heterosexual relationship anywhere in the world, with the same vices of jealousy, guilt, and petty squabbles running rampant throughout the women’s interactions. At the risk of making an overtly sexist statement, the relational angst of lesbians must necessarily be exaggerated two-fold with the inevitable extra baggage of two women on either side of the equation.

Dunye also throws the race card into the “Watermelon” mix by making her on-screen love interest a progressive-thinking white woman who clearly favors African-American women for her choice of lovers. Upon meeting Cheryl (she is African-American) at the video store, a whirlwind inter-racial romance almost immediately commences. But there is jealousy to be found close to the hearth, exhibited by Cheryl's best friend, Tamara (Valerie Walker), who is never quite comfortable with Cheryl's pursuit of her mixed race love affair. As if same sex, inter-racial love is not enough of a problem, the presence of a jealous girlfriend adds an extra degree of complexity to the story.

I find it surprising, however, that previous reviews of “The Watermelon Woman” have focused less on the multi-faceted relationship topics and more on the film's more obvious subject matter, the source of the film’s title. “The Watermelon Woman” is also a faux-documentary focusing on the mysterious Watermelon Woman, a Black film actress from the 1930's named Fae Richards. Dunye created her fictional documentary subject as a lesbian in love with a white woman (sound familiar?), a relationship clearly unfathomable in the '30's, and even untenable in the eyes of the late White lover's sister in the present age.

While Dunye obviously hints at the necessary changing of social taboos resulting in the increased acceptance of such relationships, her light story-telling technique plays a more comedic note than it dwells on issues of the highest social seriousness. Dunye’s choice of tone is a wise one - there are several scenes in “The Watermelon Woman" that are utterly hilarious, simultaneously endearing us to the characters, and making viewers realize that even ground-breaking same-sex, inter-racial relationships are inherently as ridiculous as any relationship throughout the history of man- (or woman-) kind.

One of the funniest scene in the film, however, is a typical dyke take-off, in the form of a black lesbian (considered by Tamara to be the ideal pairing for Cheryl) at a karaoke bar, rendering a riotous musical performance to the guffaws of Cheryl (and of the audience off-screen). Okay, so Dunye delves into cheap laughs for her desired comedic effect, but the scene is sufficiently over-the-top that she manages to pull it off.

"The Watermelon Woman" is an enjoyable and accessible 90-minute romp through gender norms and modern relationships that never fails to entertain. With such an auspicious start to her filmmaking career, I am rather surprised that Dunye has only managed to make one additional film since her 1997 premiere. Yet I can't help but thinking that with the critical success of “The Watermelon Woman” five or six years ago, the public will soon call Dunye into action once again for another round of her appropriately modern sense of humor.