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''Go Fish'' is a 1994 American
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...
written by
Guinevere Turner Guinevere Jane Turner is an American actress, screenwriter, and film director. She has written such films as ''American Psycho'' and '' The Notorious Bettie Page'' and played the lead role of the dominatrix Tanya Cheex in '' Preaching to the Per ...
and
Rose Troche Rose Troche (born 1964) is an American film and television director, television producer, and screenwriter. Early life and education Troche was born to Puerto Rican parents and grew up on the north side of Chicago. In an interview she stated, " ...
and directed by Rose Troche. The film was a groundbreaking, hip, low-budget comedy that celebrated lesbian culture on all levels, and launched the career of director Troche and Turner. It premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...
in 1994, and was the first film to be sold to a distributor, Samuel Goldwyn, during that event for $450,000. The film was released during gay pride month in June 1994 and eventually grossed $2.4 million. ''Go Fish'' proved the marketability of lesbian issues for the film industry.


Plot

Max is a young lesbian college student in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
who has gone ten months without having sex. She and her roommate and college professor Kia are in a coffee shop when they run into Ely, a
hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...
ish woman with long braided hair, whom Max initially dismisses. Max and Ely do end up going to a film together. After the film they return to Ely's place and, after some flirtatious conversation, they kiss. Suddenly a call comes in from Ely's (unseen on-screen) partner Kate, with whom Ely has been in a long-distance relationship for more than two years, which puts a bit of a damper on things. Ely decides to cut off all her hair, ending up with a very short butch style. She runs into Max in a bookstore and Max almost does not recognize her. Kia's girlfriend Evy returns home. Her ex-boyfriend Junior is there. Evy's mother confronts her, saying that Junior told her that he had spotted Evy at a gay bar. Evy's mother kicks her out and Evy flees to Kia's place and Max invites her to live with them. Ely and her roommate Daria throw a dinner party and, after a spirited game of I Never, Max and Ely reconnect. They make plans to go out again and then begin kissing. They have several phone conversations, in the course of which Ely reveals that she's "sort of broken up" with Kate. They get together for a second date but they never make it out of the apartment. Max ends up trimming Ely's fingernails. This turns into
foreplay Foreplay is a set of emotionally and physically intimate acts between one or more people meant to create sexual arousal and desire for sexual activity. Although foreplay is typically understood as physical sexual activity, nonphysical activiti ...
and they have sex. Intercut with the closing credits are shots and short scenes of Max and Ely's burgeoning relationship.


Cast

*
Guinevere Turner Guinevere Jane Turner is an American actress, screenwriter, and film director. She has written such films as ''American Psycho'' and '' The Notorious Bettie Page'' and played the lead role of the dominatrix Tanya Cheex in '' Preaching to the Per ...
as Camille 'Max' West * V.S. Brodie as Ely * T. Wendy McMillan as Kia * Anastasia Sharp as Daria * Migdalia Melendez as Evy * Scout as Hairdresser * Dave Troche as Junior


Production

Rose Troche Rose Troche (born 1964) is an American film and television director, television producer, and screenwriter. Early life and education Troche was born to Puerto Rican parents and grew up on the north side of Chicago. In an interview she stated, " ...
and
Guinevere Turner Guinevere Jane Turner is an American actress, screenwriter, and film director. She has written such films as ''American Psycho'' and '' The Notorious Bettie Page'' and played the lead role of the dominatrix Tanya Cheex in '' Preaching to the Per ...
read
B. Ruby Rich B. Ruby Rich is an American scholar; critic of independent, Latin American, documentary, feminist, and queer films; and a professor emerita of Film & Digital Media and Social Documentation at UC Santa Cruz. Among her many contributions, she is ...
's article "New Queer Cinema" in
Sight and Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...
and were inspired to contact Christine Vachon for production support. The script was written collaboratively between Troche and Turner and the film took about three years to finish. Prior to writing the film, the pair had worked on projects for
ACT UP AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy ...
Chicago. Actors for the film were friends, people spotted around town, or volunteers pulled from open casting calls.


Reception

''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' summarized it as "a fresh, hip comedy about contemporary lifestyles within the lesbian community. Theatrical prospects are excellent for an all-female picture that is sharply observed, visually audacious and full of surprising charms". The ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' commented that "Troche brings an engagingly light touch to material that ranges from negotiating girl bars to maintaining friendships". ''
IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...
'' ranked it in 5th place on its list of the 15 Greatest Lesbian Movies of All Time. Rita Kempley of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...
'' wrote "''Go Fish'' hasn't got an agenda unless it's that girls just gotta have fun". Melissa Pierson of ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...
'' gave the film a "B+", explaining her reasoning by writing that "In matters of both sex and artistic license, this is a rental to make you say, "Vive la difference"".


Awards and nominations

*
Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...
Teddy Award The Teddy Award is an international film award for films with LGBT topics, presented by an independent jury as an official award of the Berlin International Film Festival (the Berlinale). In the most part, the jury consists of organisers of gay ...
winner for Best Feature Film (1994) *
Deauville Film Festival The Deauville American Film Festival (french: Festival du cinéma américain de Deauville, link=no) is a yearly film festival devoted to American cinema, which has taken place since 1975 in Deauville, France. It was established by Lionel Ch ...
Audience Award winner and Critics Award nomination for Rose Troche (1994) *
GLAAD Media Awards The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by GLAAD to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affe ...
winner for Best Feature (1994) * Gotham Awards Open Palm Award for Rose Troche (1994) *
Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic gla ...
nomination for Best Supporting Female for V. S. Brodie (1995) * Political Film Society Award for Human Rights nomination (1995) *
Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...
Grand Jury Prize nomination (1994)


See also

*
List of LGBT-related films directed by women This is a list of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender-related films that were directed by women. LGBT-themed films directed by women – especially, but not exclusively, lesbian-themed movies – are an important and distinct subset of the gen ...
*
List of lesbian filmmakers This is a list of lesbian filmmakers. The names listed include directors, producers, and screenwriters of feature films, television movies, documentaries and short films; and have received coverage or been recognized in reliable, authoritative ...


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Go Fish (Film) 1994 independent films 1994 LGBT-related films 1990s romantic comedy-drama films 1990s feminist films American black-and-white films American independent films American romantic comedy-drama films 1990s English-language films American LGBT-related films Lesbian-related films Killer Films films The Samuel Goldwyn Company films Films set in Chicago LGBT-related romantic comedy-drama films 1994 directorial debut films 1994 comedy films 1994 drama films 1990s American films