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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Outstanding in every way, July 10, 2000
"If These Walls Could Talk 2" is one of the best, if not the best, film that touched on so many important issues that effect the every day lives of lesbians each and every day. Each episode was so well written, cast, acted and directed that I never tire of watching the film again and again. The first episode with Vanessa Redgrave was so heartwrenching to those of us in the gay community who know how few rights we have under the laws that are inherent to the heterosexual community. Yet by the same token it sent such an important message to the heterosexual community of the basic human and legal rights that gays are denied by not being allowed to marry. Not having grown up in the 60's, the second episode was eye opening to me from a generational standpoint, yet no matter what the era, the message about stereotyping and exclusion was provocative and it was a reminder to us to be accepting, rather than exclusionary, even within our own gay community. The third episode with Ellen DeGeneres and Sharon Stone was outstanding. The dialog was funny and poignant, the acting was superb, the directing was well done and the message came through loud and clear. Love and families know no boundaries of race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, generation, etc. As long as people love and care for each other as human beings, eventually the ugliness, hatred, bias, bigotry and discrimination don't matter quite so much. They can all be overcome and we all have the capacity for acceptance and change. It just doesn't get any better than that. And while many of our goals are a long way off and we have many battles to fight, films like "If These Walls Could Talk 2" and the courageous people who make and broadcast them help to bridge that chasm of misunderstanding and bring us all a little closer together as a society.
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33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Incerdibly Touching, March 14, 2003
I thought "If These Walls Could Talk 2" was great, with the great performances. Thank god for HBO, I've seen it many times on it, and it's sort of a guilty pleasure. I can't help but watch it everytime it comes on. I thought every story was very moving, with the perfect cast to pull it all off. I thought the first segment was very touching, but I couldn't really relate to it, so it was hard to really get into it. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the second and third segments. The second segment with Michelle Williams, Nia Long, and Chloe Sevigny were fantastic. It struck a chord in me, I realized how biased the world can be towards one another. I liked the irony of one lesbian being incredibly ignorant to another, because they weren't "lesbian" enough. It revealed to me how cynical we all can be. I disagree with a lot of the reviews about the third segment, I thought it was great! It was humorous and heart-felt. It is by far, Ellen DeGeneres's best performance. Sharon Stone was so comical, which the enitre movie needed. Ellen and Sharon had great chemistry, in my opinion. The seemed very believable, from the passion towards one-another, to the commitment of trying to conceive. They were a truly loving and commited couple, which I respected very much. I recommend this movie to anyone, lesbian, gay, bi, or straight, it's a terrific movie.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must film for your lesbian collection, February 26, 2002
This HBO movie should have been a theatrical release. There would have been nothing better than to see these characters on the big screen. All the other reviews give you a synopsis of the plot, so I'll talk about what made this film so great. Each segment had a thoughtful and detailed script, superbly executed by the actors and the directors. Vanessa Redgrave has never been better, as a woman who loses her life partner. But it's the little historical details that caught my attention. Like Vanessa and her partner waklking home from the movies with 3 feet between them, least anyone suspect they are anything more than friends. And before the newphew and family come to the the house she rearranges the bedroom to make it appear like they are nothing more than roomates. The second segement, with Chloe Sevigny and Michelle Williams seems to be alot of peoples's favorite, and for good reason. These two have remarkable on screen chemistry together. So much of the sexual tension was delivered though looks. When they looked at each other (and they did it quite often) it spoke volumns. The love making scene is so intimate and real there's no response but silence. Again there are couple of little details here which make me like the film even more. When Sevigny's butch character takes off her shirt her breasts are tightly wrapped, a common thing to do in the historical butch community. Also, when William's character tries to undress Sevigny, she gently but firmly takes Williams hands away from her belt twice, and tells Williams to "just relax" letting the audience know that she will be the assertive partner here. That is yet another subtle detail in the sexual history of the butch/fem culture. And before I move on from this segment I have to comment about how striking Sevigny is as this young butch. I was quite taken by her, and not just by how adorable she looked with her motorcycle jacket and tee-shirts and puppydog blue eyes, although that was definitely a highlight to this film. But after seeing her play sort of a fem opposite Hillay Swank in Boy's Don't Cry, I was impressed by her ability to play the flip side of the coin, with some real sensitivity. She did not take this character over the top, but rather gave us an insightful portrayal of a masculine young woman living on the edge of her own community. My question is, how in the world could she makeout with both Hillary Swank and Michelle Williams, and still not be batting for the other team? Ah well. As for the last segment, with Ellen Degeneres and Sharon Stone, a lesbian couple trying to have a baby, all I have to say is that I just enjoyed watching this. Some people complain that Ellen was just her character from her former sit-com put in a new situation. My response to that is, so what. That's exactly what makes her so funny. And what a great lesbian fantasy, to have Sharon Stone for your girlfriend, it doesn't get any better that. With so much going for it, this film will definitley become one of the classics for our culture. I just hope I don't spend too much money wearing out copy after copy after copy.
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