All Over Me. - movie reviews

"I could never hate you. I'm your dog." Only a best friend could say this after you've thrown up on her floor in a drunken stupor. Which is exactly how Claude (To Die For's Alison Folland) responds when Ellen (Tara Subkoff) tosses her cookies in All Over Me, Alex Sichel's sexy debut film about two 15-year-old gal pals. Claude and Ellen grew up together, go to the same school, speak a language entirely their own, and spend much of their free time together. The problem is, one of them is in love. As hormones creep over their adolescent horizon, their once-shared private world begins to divide.

As queer tradition often dictates, Claude has fallen for her best friend. But Ellen is fawning over Mark (Cole Hauser), a bullying, homophobic street tough. Among Mark's targets of hate are Luke (Pat Briggs of the band Psychotica), a flippantly self-assured gay punk, and Jesse (Wilson Cruz), a gay teen who, like Claude, doesn't have things figured out yet. All this tension makes for serious trouble in the neighborhood.

In the film's most compelling story line, trouble of the romantic kind arrives in the person of Lucy (Leisha Hailey), an effervescent openly lesbian rocker whom Claude meets in a club. Perfectly comfortable in ways that Claude is not, Lucy shows her that, well, girls need to be girls.

Labeled a coming-of-age tale, All Over Me is more a story about how the differences between seemingly similar people force difficult choices. Ellen and Claude are bound together as friends but separated by Claude's budding lesbian sexuality. Claude and Jesse share teenage tribulations but aren't able to help each other with their strange new feelings. And there's no love lost between Luke and Mark. When a murder jolts the neighborhood, the confusion only multiplies.

Despite some pacing problems, Sichel draws first-rate performances from her cast. Credit must also go to screenwriter Sylvia Sichel, Alex's sister, for creating such interesting characters. Hauser is frighteningly powerful as Mark, the kind of rarely portrayed indignant white male who defies stereotype. Claude is a muddle of confusion and hope; Folland gives her a nuanced wholeness not usually seen in this kind of character. And Hailey nails her role with just the right mix of gentle patience and devilish sexiness.

Despite the many lesbian themes found in All Over Me, one of the most memorable scenes focuses on the two gay male characters. With a great deal of pathos--and humor--Luke assures the sexually confused Jesse that everything will turn out fine for him. This is funny, wistful, and immensely satisfying cinema. And although Luke's advice might sound overly simplistic, it's the kind of moment--and movie--for which we all at one time wished.

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Leisha Hailey

"If I had seen a movie like this when I was a teenager, I would have felt a lot better about myself. says actor, singer, and k.d. lang's main squeeze Leisha Hailey. She's talking about her debut role in Alex Sichel's lesbian-themed film All Over Me, which opens April 28 in New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco [see review on page 63]. Hailey plays Lucy, a rollicking, self-assured dyke rocker who vies for the affections of the shy, sexually uncertain Claude (Alison Folland).

A musician by trade--she's one half of the duo the Murmurs--Hailey, 24, briefly studied acting after moving from Omaha to New York at the age of 17. Although Hailey would like to do more screen work, she's already gearing up for the Murmurs' next album, slated for a June release and tentatively titled The Ballad of Pristine Smut. "We're now a four-piece all-girl band," she says, beaming. "Two electric guitars, bass, and drums. Our music has really changed.

But don't expect her other half to join the group. "k.d. has her thing, and I have mine," Hailey says, laughing at the suggestion that the two might compete as recording artists. "Both of us being singers doesn't get in the way of our relationship. It inspires us."

What does get in the way are the paparazzi who track the couple's comings and goings. "It's sort of expected," Hailey says. "We don't get trailed by photographers unless we're doing something in the public eye." As to whether all this public ogling has affected their private moments, Hailey adds simply, "I'll just say we're really, really happy."

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