Themes: Matchmakers, Looking For Love, Opposites Attract
Main Cast: Migdalia Melendez, Guinevere Turner
Release Year: 1994
Country: US
Run Time: 85 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
This hit arthouse ensemble piece traces the romantic and political ups and downs of a group of multicultural Chicago lesbians. The central story involves an unlikely romance between Max (Guinevere Turner), a hip young babe, and Ely (V.S. Brodie), a slightly older woman involved in a long-term, long-distance relationship that's basically a smokescreen for her fear of romantic risk. When the pair are introduced by Max's roommate, teacher/activist Kia (T. Wendy McMillan), Max isn't interested in Ely, whose long hair, hippie accoutrements, and fondness for decaffeinated herbal tea don't impress the younger, more fashion-conscious woman. Soon, though, fate, friends, and Ely's butch new hairstyle conspire to push the women closer together. As this new romance inches along, the pair's friends have problems of their own: Kia must help her closeted girlfriend, Evy (Migdalia Melendez), come to grips with the disapproval of her conservative Latina mother, while their pal Daria (Anastasia Sharp) incurs the disapproval of the lesbian community for her decision to sleep with a man. Filmed in black and white on-location in Chicago, Go Fish features a number of non-standard narrative devices, most notably the Greek chorus, or "jury," of lesbians who comment on not only the plot, but also the political and social ramifications thereof. Shown in competition at Sundance in 1994, Go Fish went on to earn critical and commercial success and establish the careers of director Rose Troche and actress Turner, who together co-wrote and co-produced the picture. Turner would appear in several additional indies and co-write the script for American Psycho, while Troche would go on to helm 1998's Bedrooms & Hallways. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Review
One of the seminal queer movies of the '90s, and an important indie successs story, the debut film from director Rose Troche and actress Guinevere Turner, who co-wrote and co-produced the picture, is simultaneously a romantic comedy, a political debate, and a stylish piece of experimental filmmaking. The movie's commercial success probably stems from its well-written, well-acted central romantic plot, but its critical significance owes much to the other elements. From a mock Greek chorus staged as a lesbian slumber party to a wide array of interesting shot selections and inventive fantasy sequences, Go Fish challenges the notion that a film has to go for the lowest common denominator if it wants to tell a story that's sexy and sweet. Executive-produced by Christine Vachon and Tom Kalin, whose earlier projects emphasized artfulness over accessibility, Go Fish cross-pollinates New Queer Cinema with feel-good filmmaking and feminist activism. As the politically correct early '90s recede from memory, some of the weightier debates may seem a bit heavy-handed -- especially for those outside the film's gay and lesbian core audience. Yet these elements are central to the film's overall portrait of a group of Midwestern feminist lesbians. "The personal is political" is sort of a Women's Studies 101 truism, but Troche and Turner put it into action, locating all sorts of good-natured sexual and romantic fun within the context of their larger community. From the opening sequence of a history class reclaiming lost lesbian icons to the closing-credits montage of various stereotype-free sexual tableaux, Go Fish is a film by and for real lesbians rather than the soft-focus, male-identified creatures that inhabit so many other movies. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Go Fish is a 1994lesbian-themed independentdrama film. Directed and co-written (with her then-girlfriend Guinevere Turner) by Rose Troche, the film tells the story of the interrelationships of a small group of lesbian friends in Chicago. The narrative is broken up by a number of discussions on lesbian issues, dream sequences, commentary that breaks the fourth wall and moments of free verse poetry. Go Fish was part of a wave of LGBT-themed films that appeared in the mid-1990s.
Max (Turner) is a young lesbian student in Chicago who's gone ten months without having sex. She and her roommate Kia (McMillan) are in a coffee shop when they run into Ely (Brodie), a hippieish woman with long braided hair, whom Max initially dismisses. Max and Ely do end up going to a movie together. After the movie 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 doesn't recognize her.
Kia's girlfriend Evy (Melendez) 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 (Sharp) 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 making out. 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 and they have sex. Intercut with the closing credits are shots and short scenes of Max and Ely's burgeoning relationship.
Kia teaches a Women's studies class and has her students list off lesbians from history. Mixed in with the serious answers (e.g. Sappho) are humorous examples like Marilyn Quayle, Peppermint Patty and "the entire cast of Roseanne." When a student asks why they're even making the list, Kia replies that throughout lesbian history there's been a lack of evidence about what women's lives were about, and that lesbian lives and relationships barely exist on paper at all. It's by keeping that in mind and understanding the power of history that "we" (presumably meaning lesbians) will want to start to change history.
Following a movie, Max and Ely (played by the film's co-writer and associate producer) have something of a meta-conversation about the responsibility of queer filmmakers to represent the community.
Max and Ely talk about the butch/femme dichotomy and gender roles and expectations.
Daria has sex with a man and on her way home is challenged by a "jury," who question whether a woman who has sex with a man can call herself a lesbian. She contrasts how a gay man who has sex with a woman is characterized as being "bored, drunk [or] lonely" but if a lesbian has sex with a man "her whole life choice becomes suspect."
On a lighter note, several of the characters debate their favorite term for vagina. Suggestions include "honeypot," "love mound," "girlpatch," "cunt" and "bearded clam."
Go Fish took three years to complete because of financial difficulties.
Rose Troche's telephone was disconnected twice for non-payment during filming.
Cast and crew shot 18 hours per day on weekends.
According to the Internet Movie Database, most of the lead actors in this film boast no other credits on their CV, the exception being Guinevere Turner.
