Main Cast: Vanessa Redgrave, Marian Seldes, Paul Giamatti, Elizabeth Perkins, Michelle Williams, Natasha Lyonne, Sharon Stone, Ellen DeGeneres
Release Year: 2000
Country: US
Run Time: 105 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
This three-part drama, produced for HBO, examines the changing tides of the lives of lesbians in America, both politically and personally, as we eavesdrop on three stories taking place in the same house over a span of five decades. In 1961, the house is home to Edith (Vanessa Redgrave) and Abby (Marian Seldes), an elderly lesbian couple whose lifestyle is not accepted or acknowledged by their families. When Abby suffers a serious stroke and is on the verge of death, her family rallies to her side, but not understanding the nature of her relationship with Edith, she is not included as her loved ones say their final good-byes. After Abby's death, her nephew (Paul Giamatti) and his wife (Elizabeth Perkins) arrive from out of state with plans to sell the house, without consulting Edith. In 1972, the house is now home to four college students, Michelle (Amy Carlson), Linda (Michelle Williams), Karen (Nia Long), and Jeanne (Natasha Lyonne), all of whom are actively involved in the women's movement and also happen to be lesbians. The four find themselves at odds with the campus women's group when they try to promote an all-women's dance, while the other members of the group feel that feminism, not lesbianism, should be the focus of the group. Similarly, Linda faces hostility from her friends when she becomes involved with Amy (Chloe Sevigny), a very butch townie; Linda's friends see Amy's masculine attire and attitude as a form of self-loathing against being a woman, and while Linda cares deeply for Amy, she's not always comfortable with her and isn't sure that she wants to be public with their relationship. In 2000, Fran (Sharon Stone) and Kal (Ellen DeGeneres), a happy and firmly committed couple, are sharing the house, and after much discussion, they decide that they want to take their relationship to the next level and have a baby. However, deciding that they want a child and dealing with the practicalities of getting pregnant are two different things; Fran and Kal first debate about going to a sperm bank as opposed to asking one of their male friends to help out, and later, either going to a doctor to perform the procedure or trying it at home. DeGeneres' significant other, Anne Heche, wrote and directed the final segment; the 1972 story was directed by Martha Coolidge, and the 1961 episode was directed by Jane Anderson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
HBO's popular franchise of woman-centric omnibus melodramas continues with this second installment, which boasts a gaggle of big-name talent and an similarly outsized earnestness that ultimately sinks the entire project. Audiences are best-advised to leave If These Walls Could Talk 2 after its first segment, writer-director Jane Anderson's touching "1961," since nothing that follows approaches the depth of feeling or complexity of character put forth by Anderson and lead Vanessa Redgrave. Though Redgrave's Edith has a limited amount of screentime opposite her longtime companion Abby (Marian Seldes), the actress manages to convey a profound sense of grief at her lover's loss, one that gives way to an even more heartbreaking and understated resignation. As Abby's family intervenes in dividing up her estate, Redgrave and Anderson handle what could have been clichéd, routine scenes of discrimination with delicacy and realism. The same can't be said of Martha Coolidge's hackneyed lesbian after-school special, "1972," which boasts haltingly awful, topic-sentence dialogue that isn't excused by the fact that the characters speaking it are part of a militant campus women's-lib group. The film culminates with a regrettable they're-having-a-baby vanity project directed by Anne Heche and starring her then-girlfriend Ellen DeGeneres; their ostensible stab at domestic comedy only underlines how low the film has stooped from its opening salvo. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
The soundtrack to HBO's original movie If These Walls Could Talk 2 features soulful and spirited tracks like Melissa Etheridge's "Mama I'm Strange," Natalie Cole's "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)," the Eurhythmics' "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves," and the Indigo Girls' "Closer to Fine." Selections like Doris Day's "Que Sera, Sera," Glen Campbell's "It's Only Make Believe," and Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air" reflect the film's stories of lesbians living in the '50s, '70s, and '90s, and tracks from Johnny Legend, Lobo, Eddie Palmieri, and Dido round out this diverse, entertaining collection of film music. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
Glen Campbell (Performer), Club Nouveau (Performer), Melissa Etheridge (Producer), Eurythmics (Performer), Indigo Girls (Performer), Jellybean (Producer), Cyndi Lauper (Producer), Thunderclap Newman (Performer), Three Dog Night (Performer), Pete Townshend (Producer), Moby (Performer), Scott Litt (Producer), Thomas McElroy (Producer), Gabriel Mekler (Producer), Antoinette Roberson (Performer), Dave Stewart (Producer), Jeffrey C.J. Vanston (Producer), Soul Solution (Producer), Greg Vaughn (Mastering), Paul Scott (Arranger), Paul Scott (Producer), Paul Scott (Mixing), Johnny Legend & the Skullcaps (Performer), Shank Thompson (Arranger), Shank Thompson (Producer), Shank Thompson (Mixing), John Shanks (Producer), Sandy B (Performer), Ronny Weiser (Producer), Karmadelic (Performer), Jamaal Pascall (Art Direction), Anton Bass (Producer), PJ Bloom (Music Coordinator)
The first segment is set in 1961, and stars Vanessa Redgrave as Edith Tree. It concerns the death of Tree's lover and soulmate, Abby Hedley, played by Marian Seldes, and Tree's exclusion from subsequent "family" matters.
The second segment, featuring Chloë Sevigny and Michelle Williams is set in 1972, and involves bitter divisions in the feminist movement at the time.
The third segment is set in the "present-day", is more light-hearted, and features Sharon Stone and Ellen DeGeneres as a lesbian couple trying for a baby.
An elderly couple, Edith (Vanessa Redgrave) and Abby (Marian Seldes) sit in a cinema watching lesbian-themed film The Children's Hour. A couple walks out of the theater in disgust at the film, and a group of kids laugh when they see Edith and Abby holding hands. Later at the home they have shared for 30 years, Abby falls from a ladder. At the hospital, doctors tell Edith that Abby may have suffered a stroke. Edith spends the night in the waiting room and in the morning she learns that Abby died during the night.
Edith telephones Abby's nephew, Ted (Paul Giamatti), to tell him the news. Before Ted and his family come for the funeral, Edith removes all traces that they were a couple. She makes it look like they had separate bedrooms and removes photographs of the two of them together. At the house afterwards, Ted and Edith talk about the fact that the house was in Abby's name. Although Edith contributed equally to the mortgage, she legally owns no part of it. As Alice packs up Abby's belongings, Ted tells Edith that he would consider letting Edith staying in the house and paying him rent. Edith tells him that Abby would have wanted her to stay in the house, as that was what they always talked about. Ted eventually tells her that it would be better if he sells the house and she finds a place of her own. The family leaves, with Ted telling Edith that he will be in touch in a couple of weeks to discuss what she is going to do.
1972
Linda (Michelle Williams), a young student, now shares the house with three friends, all lesbians. They face conflict with the feminist group they are part of when the other women do not want to include lesbian issues despite the fact that Linda and her friends helped to found the group and fought for free contraception on campus with their straight friends.
At a lesbian bar they have not been to before, they are surprised and disappointed to see women apparently fulfilling traditional butch and femme roles. They laugh at Amy (Chloë Sevigny), a young butch woman who is wearing a tie. Amy asks Linda to dance but she refuses while her friends are still there. The others soon leave and Linda stays behind and dances with Amy. Later, Amy gives Linda a ride home on her motorcycle and they kiss. Linda invites Amy to return the next day.
The next day Linda and the others are arguing with a woman from the feminist group when Amy arrives. Linda is embarrassed and is short with Amy who quickly leaves. Linda's friends tease her about Amy and question how they can be taken seriously as feminists if they associate with people like Amy. They cannot understand why a woman would dress like a man when they have fought so hard to escape such rules.
Linda goes to Amy's house and apologizes. They sleep together. The next morning Linda sees a picture of Amy as a child, dressed like a boy. She asks Amy if Amy is supposed to be the man and Linda the woman. Amy says no and accuses Linda of being afraid that people will know what she is if she is seen with Amy.
Amy goes to Linda's house for dinner. Linda urges her friends to give Amy a chance but an awkward evening deteriorates when Linda's friends laugh at Amy and try to make her change her clothes. Amy leaves, upset. Linda follows her home and tells her that she was never ashamed of Amy, but only of herself. They reconcile.
2000
The house is now inhabited by Fran (Sharon Stone) and Kal (Ellen DeGeneres), a couple hoping to have a baby together. They hope to get a sperm donation from Tom (George Newbern) and Arnold (Mitchell Anderson), a gay couple, but when the women are reluctant to have the men agree to stay out of the baby's life, the men decide not to go ahead. Later, Kal tells Fran that she does not want to know the father of the baby and they agree to use an anonymous donor. They look for donors on the internet and find a company to use. Going through endless profiles of potential donors, Kal gets upset that she herself cannot get Fran pregnant.
When they discover that Fran is ovulating, Kal hurries to the donor company to get the sperm. She inseminates Fran, but with no success. They share their worries for their child. They know that their baby will face discrimination but hope that their love for each other and their child will be enough. After three attempts to get pregnant, they go to a doctor to help them conceive. Shortly afterwards they discover that Fran is pregnant.
