Julie
Johnson (2001)
Courtney Love and Lili Taylor as lovers; You bet I'm
in. Not that I get off on hot lesbian sex like straight
guys. But to see Love and Lili together, that's one
movie I want to see. Sadly, "Julie Johnson" is barely
that movie.
The film starts with the girls married to jerks. Living
in Jersey, their husbands are misogynist cops. Oh, luckily
they aren't complete assholes. They're just realistic
assholes. When Taylor's titular "Julie" throws her husband
out, Love leaves hers and the two women movie in together
with Julie's kids.
Julie wants to go back to college. Lately she's been
getting into science, reading magazines and watching
science shows on TV and it has captivated her. I don't
mean she's interested in it. She gets obsessive. She
goes to college, where professor Spalding Grey is fascinated
by her intuitive skills, and begins to take on a hefty
course load.
Back at home, she falls in love with Love and struggles
with her children, who have plenty of issues dealing
with Julie's new lifestyle. She tries to hide her newfound
sexuality from her children but rumors persist in the
neighborhood. One bad thing about this film is that
it paints suburban New Jerseyites as being more homophobic
than a redneck Southern Good-Ole-Boy. It doesn't ring
true that they wouldn't have at least one friend who
is accepting. Anyway, through it all, Julie remains
strong, courageous and human. Her love scenes with Love
are sweet and tender but ultimately disappointing for
some viewers as they do not delve deeply enough into
their sexual relationship. Mostly here it is kissing
and talking, hmmm...
"Julie Johnson" is a difficult movie for some because
it doesn't end with a nice, neat little bow on top.
This movie, while technically adept, has a sort of chilling
coldness to it, like science itself sometimes has. It
tries to be real and human and important and this often
translates into disappointing and confused and self-conscious.
Note:
Directed by Bob Gosse. Co-written by Grosse and Wendy
Hammond. Based on Hammond's play.
Several "female" singers appear on the soundtrack.
Several Liz Phair songs are used.
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Report
Card
Script:
B+
Acting:
A+
Cinematography\Lighting: A
Special Effects\Make Up: A-
Music: A
Final
Grade: B+
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