Better Than Chocolate

Better Than Chocolate
Better Than Chocolate
Directed by	Anne Wheeler
Written by	Peggy Thompson
Produced by	Sharon McGowan; Peggy Thompson
Starring	Wendy Crewson; Karyn Dwyer; Christina Cox; Ann-Marie MacDonald; Marya Delver; Kevin Mundy; Peter Outerbridge;
Cinematography	Gregory Middleton
Edited by	Alison Grace
Music by	Graeme Coleman
Distributed by	Motion International; Trimark Pictures
Release date	February 14, 1999;
Running time	102 mins
Country	Canada
Language	English
Budget	$1.6 million.

Better Than Chocolate is a 1999 Canadian romantic comedy film shot in Vancouver and directed by Anne Wheeler.^[2]^[1]

Plot

Maggie (Karyn Dwyer) has moved out on her own and has started a relationship with Kim (Christina Cox). Maggie's mother Lila (Wendy Crewson) and brother are forced to move into her loft sublet with her, but unaware that she is a lesbian. Maggie's freedom is compromised, and she believes she must keep her blossoming affair a secret. The clandestine romance introduces Maggie's family to a host of new experiences, many of which are "better than chocolate".^[3] The story features Judy, a friend of Maggie's who is a transgender woman. Judy develops a friendship with Maggie's Mom and helps her to repair her relationship with her daughter. Judy's love interest is Frances, owner of the book shop in which Maggie works and purveyor of LGBT literature.

Cast

Karyn Dwyer as Maggie
Christina Cox as Kim
Peter Outerbridge as Judy
Ann-Marie MacDonald as Frances
Wendy Crewson as Lila, Maggie's Mom
Kevin Mundy as Paul, Maggie's Brother
Marya Delver as Carla
Tony Nappo as Tony
Jay Brazeau as Mr. Marcus
Beatrice Zeilinger as Bernice
Veena Sood as Religious Zealot

Background

The film was created with a budget of $1.6 million.^[1] It was co-produced by Peggy Thompson and Sharon McGowan.^[4]

The film takes its name from a lyric in Sarah McLachlan's song "Ice Cream", "Your love is better than chocolate". Veena Sood, the sister of McLachlan's then-husband Ashwin Sood, has a small role in the film as a religious protester.

The plot line about the bookstore is a fairly direct reference to Vancouver's Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium and its travails with Canada Customs. The bookstore is thanked in the credits. Ann-Marie MacDonald, who plays the bookstore's owner, is a well-known Canadian author.

The movie poster, which shows two women embracing and one woman's naked back, was banned by the Hong Kong Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority as it was deemed "offensive to public morality, decency and ordinary good taste."^[5] An advertisement in the San Diego Union-Tribune was also removed, due to the word "lesbian" being present on the movie poster.^[6]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film was released as a CD in 1999 on Lakeshore Records.^[7]

Track listing

Sexy - West End Girls
When I Think Of You - Melanie Dekker
32 Flavors - Ani DiFranco
Julie Christie - Lorraine Bowen
Perfect Fingers - Tami Greer
Let's Have Sex - Studio Kings 2.0/Trippy
In My Mind - Trippy
My Place - Edgar
I'm Not A Fucking Drag Queen - Peter Outerbridge
Stand Up - Ferron
Night - Feisty
Long Gone - Kelly Brock
Pure (You're Touching Me) - West End Girls

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 46% of 26 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's consensus reads: "Some things are Better Than Chocolate, while some are far worse – and this would-be romance fails to deliver a filling morsel."^[8] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 59 out of 100, based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.^[9]

Stephen Holden of the New York Times gave the film a positive review and wrote: "the movie gushes with so much romantic optimism and good humor that it has the effervescence of an engaging musical comedy".^[3]