Better Than Chocolate

Infobox Film
name = Better Than Chocolate


caption = Movie poster
director = Anne Wheeler
producer = Sharon McGowan
Peggy Thompson
writer = Peggy Thompson
narrator =
starring = Wendy Crewson
Karyn Dwyer
Christina Cox
music = Graeme Coleman
cinematography = Gregory Middleton
editing = Alison Grace
distributor = Motion International
Trimark Pictures
released = February 14 1999
runtime = 102 mins
country = flagicon|Canada Canada
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0168987

"Better Than Chocolate" is a 1999 Canadian romantic comedy movie shot in Vancouver directed by Anne Wheeler.

Plot

Maggie (Karyn Dwyer) has recently moved out on her own, and has started a relationship with another woman, Kim (Christina Cox). However, Maggie's mother Lila (Wendy Crewson) and brother are forced to move into her tiny loft sublet with her. Maggie's freedom is compromised, and she believes she must keep her blossoming affair a secret. However, the clandestine romance introduces Maggie's family to a host of new experiences, many of which are "better than chocolate."

Other cast and subplots

The cast also includes Ann-Marie MacDonald as Frances, the owner of a lesbian bookstore where Maggie works, and Peter Outerbridge as Judy, a male to female transsexual with an unrequited crush on Frances.

Awards

The film won numerous awards at film festivals around the world and was ranked 31st on the "Hollywood Reporter"'s Top 200 independent films list of 1999. It is one of Canada's highest grossing films of all time according to the Cannes Film Festival Website.

Background

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 husband Ashwin Sood, has a small role in the film as a religious protestor.

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. Ann-Marie MacDonald, who plays the bookstore's owner, is a well-known Canadian author.

References

External links

* [http://www.filmreferencelibrary.ca/index.asp?layid=44&csid1=357&navid=87&fid3=555&offset= Better Than Chocolate] at the [http://www.filmreferencelibrary.ca/index.asp Canadian Film Reference Library]