Many lesbian movies are long on charm and short on production values; Better Than Chocolate has a solid dose of both and steamy sex scenes to boot. Our heroine Maggie (Karyn Dwyer), a clerk at a lesbian bookshop, meets footloose butch Kim (Christina Cox) and, after Kim's van is towed away, they move in together. Unfortunately for their romantic bliss, Maggie's mother, Lila (Wendy Crewson), and teenage brother move in that very evening thanks to Lila's impending divorce. But what really complicates matters is that Maggie can't bring herself to come out to her mother. Even when she tries, Lila steamrollers through the conversation, as if she knows what's coming and doesn't want to hear it. Interwoven with this is the struggle of Judy (Peter Outerbridge), a male-to-female transsexual who's in love with the bookshop's owner, Frances (Ann-Marie MacDonald), who's freaking out because customs officers are holding a list of books at the border that they claim are obscene. The overlapping plots are deftly juggled, the personal and political are compellingly interwoven, and, most satisfying of all, the characters have problems that aren't going to be easily resolved. A handful of candy-coloured lip-synching musical numbers give the movie some flash and the sex scenes give it some heat, but it's the elements of sorrow and ambiguity that really make the joy in Better Than Chocolate something to savour. -Bret Fetzer, Amazon. com.

Coming-of-age themes are an obvious choice for movie-makers but All Over Me is far from being run of the mill. It follows the friendship and codependence of two 15-year-old New York girls, one (Claude) gradually coming to terms with the fact that she's gay, the other (Ellen), getting sucked into a world of boys, violence and drugs. It brilliantly and sympathetically realised by film-maker sisters Alex and Sylvia Sichel, with superb performances by the two leads, Alison Folland and Tara Subkoff. When the violent, homophobic murder of the girls' new-found friend, Jesse (Wilson Cruz) threatens to rip them apart, Ellen embarks on a trail of self-destruction while Claude finally seems able to come to terms with her own destiny, ultimately getting together with the pretty, magenta-haired punk musician, Lucy (a superbly empathetic performance from Leisha Hailey). It's a film that's saved from introspective self-indulgence by the brutal interruption of the outside world, and it's not just a thought-provoking hour-and-a-half, it's a compelling narrative experience. The only weakness is the two-dimensional characterization of Ellen's psychotic boyfriend, well enough played by Cole Hauser, but intrinsically limited in scope. Ann Dowd is superb as Claude's man-chasing mother and the film is topped off by a funky soundtrack. On the DVD: All over Me doesn't just offer the "usual theatrical trailer" for the film in question but instead offers trailers for two related films, Better than Chocolate and Trick, both of which deal truthfully with gay issues offering a light and often humorous touch. However, that's it as far as additional goodies are concerned, which is a shame, but the vibrant soundtrack is presented in a great Dolby Digital sound. -Harriet Smith.

We're not talking about monsters of the deep here. It's In the Water is set in the imaginary town of Azalea Springs, Texas, where the community is blighted by wealth and smugness and where the greatest crime is not to fit in-and that includes being gay. When the outrageous and fearless Spencer (John Hallum, camping it up) playfully lets on that there's something in the water supply that encourages homosexuality, the temperature of local gossip rises as fast as the sales of bottled water. Kelli Herd, in her directorial debut, aims to cast scorn on such phobic behaviour by sending up the straight guys and idealising the gays. Thus we have our central character, Alex (Keri Jo Chapman), whose life consists of lunches and charitable works, and who is married to Robert, a cold Action Man lookalike (and about as plastic in his acting skills). It's enough of a scandal when she gets enthusiastic about working in the local AIDS hospice, but when she has a lesbian fling with an old school friend, Grace (Teresa Garrett), who has returned to town, freshly divorced after discovering her true leanings, then even Alex's own mother-a complete nightmare of a woman-turns against her. The movie does have occasional witticisms, but it's too cliché-ridden and too sanitised (dying of AIDS was never this pretty) to do more than raise an occasional grim smile. Yes, there's a serious message underlying the film, but it would have needed more plot, stronger dialogue and less histrionic play-acting to give it true power. On the DVD: It's In the Water has only the most basic additional features: two trailers for similarly themed movies, but no subtitles or additional languages. The picture quality is bright and sharp, sparing us no detail in the Versace-inspired interiors and relentlessly garish mode of dress favoured by Azalea Springs inmates. [+]