Chutney Popcorn

Starring:Cara Buono, Nick Chinlund, Saylor Creswell, Eliza Foss, Jill Hennessy, Madhur Jaffrey, Sakina Jaffrey, Priscilla Lopez, Alisa Mast, Sunita Mukhi, Ajay Naidu, Daniella Rich, Amy Veltman
Studio: Wolfe Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Chutney Popcorn takes up where quirky lesbian-themed comedy Go Fish left off. The twist? Reena (director Nisha Ganatra) is of Indian descent, but her girlfriend, Lisa (Law & Order's Jill Hennessy), is not. This isn't a problem in and of itself. Reena's mother, however, views her daughter's sexual orientation as a "disability" and describes Lisa as Reena's "college roommate." Then there's Reena's uptight sister, Sarita, who discovers she can't conceive and draws even further away from her sibling. When Reena offers to be a surrogate, things just get worse. Lisa flees for fear that a baby will ruin her relationship with Reena, while Sarita changes her mind--but it's too late: Reena is pregnant (via artificial insemination). There's a happy ending, of course, but fortunately it isn't too happy--you get the sense that Sarita still has a way to go before she can accept herself as fully as her unconventional, artistic sister. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Customer Reviews:

I LOVE the Mother she is the funniest of all!.......2006-06-19

This movie is so funny that i believe it is enjoyable to both gay and straight audiences. I'm in the catagory of the straight audience and i loved it! The thing about this film that i like the most is how they show the lesbians lives and loves not being outrageous as they are shown in other films. It's more of a realistic view of any average couple out there today. I also like how the main focus is moved over to the baby issue. The funniest parts are when the indian traditions go amuck(especially the umbrella scene) This movie is sugar and spice, and everything nice, a little drama, comedy and lots of fun, Highly recomended!!!!

Funny, beautiful, MUST-SEE........2005-11-18

There is a reason this film has won so many film festival awards. It's
really good. Really, really good.

"Chutney Popcorn" intertwines a beautiful, cute, and funny story with the
important issues of family homophobia, immigrant parents with Americanized
children, interracial, interfaith queer relationships, and surrogate
parenting, all while brilliantly portraying a dyke community of the
late-1990s. Really, it's an amazing story.

Reena (Nisha Ganatra, also director) is a young Indian dyke in love with
the charming and gorgeous Lisa (Jill Hennessy). Riding around on their
motorcycle and living and socializing with a fun group of dykes, Lisa and
Reena have a pretty fabulous relationship, aside from a few issues.
Reena's mother refuses to come to terms with her daughter's queer identity
(handled with some priceless humor) or her Americanization; Lisa's mother,
on the other hand, is an over-the-top-dyke-loving mother. Then, to make
matters a bit more confusing, and the film all-the-better, Reena begins
thinking about being a surrogate mother for her newly-wed sister. Not only
does Reena's mother hate the idea, but her girlfriend, Lisa, has trouble
figuring out why exactly she doesn't support the idea either.

Brilliantly taking on a story of clashing cultures (queer/straight,
Indian/American, young/old, various family members and ideals), "Chutney
Popcorn" is a funny, beautiful must-see. The acting is great, the
production superb, the issues immaculately poignant. Seriously, well-done.
Five stars.

Corn with very little pop.......2005-04-24

This slow, cliche-ridden, hard to hear, badly acted and produced film wore me down pretty quickly, and I turned it off after about 45 minutes. The premise is that the girlfriend of a lesbian whose sister is infertile volunteers to be a surrogate mother. But after 45 minutes we still hadn't gotten to the premise. Instead, we had barely audible scenes of the lesbian couple and their friends gossiping about irrelevancies, the lesbian star being oppressed by her traditional East Indian family for being a lesbian, and the sister pining and whining over not being able to make babies.

I'm a lesbian myself and always looking for realistic depictions of lesbian life in film, so I was interested in seeing this movie. I was also happy to see that it was made by and starred an Indian woman. So I was prepared to like "Chutney Popcorn" and was more than a little disappointed at its amateurish production values, bad writing and bad acting. The best I can say is that it is well-intentioned and addresses issues of concern to lesbians and women in general, although so poorly that it's just painful to watch.

Hilarious!.......2005-03-17

What an amazing love to have a baby for your sister. This film is so funny, sad, sexy, and romantic. I made my mother watch it with me! The music is amazing, it really fits the mood. Henna tattoos really are amazing too. Go figure.

ok.......2004-01-01

This is one of the better lesbian films. I must admit I have yet to see anything like it and I liked the fact that it dealt with other races and pregnancy options for lesbians.

Average customer rating:

I LOVE the Mother she is the funniest of all!
Funny, beautiful, MUST-SEE.
Corn with very little pop
Hilarious!
ok

Chutney Popcorn [Region 2]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00006SKU2

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

I LOVE the Mother she is the funniest of all!.......2006-06-19

Funny, beautiful, MUST-SEE........2005-11-18

Corn with very little pop.......2005-04-24

Hilarious!.......2005-03-17

ok.......2004-01-01

This is one of the better lesbian films. I must admit I have yet to see anything like it and I liked the fact that it dealt with other races and pregnancy options for lesbians.

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