Better Than Chocolate | |
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Directed by | Anne Wheeler |
Produced by | Sharon McGowan Peggy Thompson |
Written by | Peggy Thompson |
Starring |
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Music by | Graeme Coleman |
Cinematography | Gregory Middleton |
Edited by | Alison Grace |
Distributed by | Motion International Trimark Pictures |
Release date
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February 14, 1999 |
Running time
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102 mins |
Country | Canada |
Language | English |
Better Than Chocolate is a 1999 Canadian romantic comedy movie shot in Vancouver directed by Anne Wheeler.
Maggie (Karyn Dwyer) has recently moved out on her own, and has started a relationship with another woman, Kim (Christina Cox). However, Maggie's mother Lila (Wendy Crewson) and brother, who are forced to move into her loft sublet with her, are unaware that she is a lesbian. Maggie's freedom is compromised, and she believes she must keep her blossoming affair a secret. However, the clandestine romance introduces Maggie's family to a host of new experiences, many of which are "better than chocolate".
The cast also includes Ann-Marie MacDonald as Frances, the owner of a lesbian bookstore where Maggie works, and Peter Outerbridge as Judy, a trans woman with a crush on Frances.
The film won numerous awards at film festivals around the world and was ranked 31st on The Hollywood Reporter's Top 200 independent films list of 1999. It is one of Canada's highest-grossing films of all time according to the Cannes Film Festival Website.
The film takes its name from a lyric in Sarah McLachlan's song "Ice Cream", "Your love is better than chocolate". Veena Sood, the sister of McLachlan's then-husband Ashwin Sood, has a small role in the film as a religious protestor.
The plot line about the bookstore is a fairly direct reference to Vancouver's Little Sister's Book and Art Emporium and its travails with Canada Customs. The bookstore is thanked in the credits. Ann-Marie MacDonald, who plays the bookstore's owner, is a well-known Canadian author.