Better Than Chocolate

Plot

Maggie (Karyn Dwyer) has recently moved out on her own and has started a relationship with 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 LGBT bookstore where Maggie works, and Peter Outerbridge as Judy, a trans woman with a crush on Frances.

Cast

Awards

The film screened at film festivals around the world and was ranked 31st on The Hollywood Reporter's Top 200 independent films list of 1999.

Background

The film was created with a budget of $1.6 million. It was co-produced by Peggy Thompson and Sharon McGowan.

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.

The movie poster, which shows two women embracing and one woman's naked back, was banned by the Hong Kong Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority as it was deemed "offensive to public morality, decency and ordinary good taste." An advertisement in the San Diego Union-Tribune was also removed, due to the word "lesbian" being present on the movie poster.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the film was released as a CD in 1999 on Lakeshore Records.