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Product Description
Cheryl Dunye's debut feature is as controversial as it is sexy and funny. Cheryl is a twenty-something black lesbian working as a clerk in a video store while struggling to make a documentary about Fae Richards, an obscure black actress from the 1930's. Cheryl is surprised to discover that Richards (known populary as "the Watermelon Woman") had a white lesbian lover. At the same time, Cheryl falls in love with a very cute white customer at the video store (Guinevere Turner from Go Fish).
Such are the complexities of race and sex in this startlingly fresh debut, which has been attacked by conservative Congressmen for having been funded by the NEA and lavishingly praised in the editorial pages for being charming and courageous.
Amazon.com
Cheryl Dunye has transcended the usual pitfalls that pockmark most lesbian-themed movies: specifically, the usual angst and suffering that occur when the gay gal falls for a heterosexual friend. The Watermelon Woman is more a cultural document, addressing speculative sociological gay history themes with an interesting and engaging cover story about a video store clerk named Cheryl (played by Dunye) who, in her research for a movie, comes across an old-time black actress simply called "the watermelon woman" and becomes obsessed with her persona. In the process, Cheryl finds herself embroiled in a relationship that parallels that of her icon.
What makes The Watermelon Woman special is its layered story line and its willingness to present its characters as comically flawed. Dunye also creates an aura of mystique around the enigmatic watermelon woman, and her life and tribulations become fascinating to the viewer. Even Camille Paglia shows up to make commentary about the "actress," and while the story-within-a-story concept is tricky, the power and purpose of the movie emerges, and the character becomes as fascinating as if she were flesh and blood. --Paula Nechak
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