Julie Johnson

Wow - what an excellent film! Great acting, directing and story. Sort of "Rainman meets Hoboken housewife meets lesbian love affair". I must admit, I was very leery of watching this, fearing it was going to be a Lesbian Love Story. I must admit, I am not a fan of the L-Word, bit I loved Queer As Folk.

I watched this because I had a copy of the movie, having done a DVD Release Party at the club I work at. Otherwise, it would have been very unlikely that I would have ever watched it. That said, I am very glad I did.

The 90 minute film packs a lot of punch, and the first 30 minutes zoom by, setting the storyline for the rest of the film, so watch carefully. Lili Taylor and Courtney Love, the leading ladies are both excellent in their roles as relatively unhappy Hoboken NJ housewives. Julie (played by Taylor) embarks on a mission to get her GED, against her husbands wishes. She eventually kicks him out.

Claire (played by Love), her best friend from High School, leaves her husband. With no place to go, Claire moves in with Julie and her 2 children. In the meantime, Julie begins her quest for knowledge, passing her GED and eventually turning her goals towards a college degree.

Notice, we still don't have much of a love story, do we? Midway through the film, that all changes - in a compassionate, yet confusing manner. Without giving away the entire story line (which includes a few very funny scenes amongst most of the drama), two women must come to terms with their feelings, for each other, and for themselves.

This is really a gem of a film, and (as I have said before), it is a shame this will not be seen by many --- some whom desperately need to see a story like this. If Brokeback Mountain and Transamerica can make the big screen, well then so should Julie Johnson. This is not a lesbian love story, this IS a story about relationships, and the journey most of us take to achieve happiness and love in our own lives.

Buy, rent or see Julie Johnson.

JULIE JOHNSON is a quiet little film that deals with the frustrations facing a New Jersey housewife and mother who married and birthed before she graduated high school and finds herself in a rigid relationship, longing for knowledge to change things. She considers herself stupid, sneaks Science magazines to read when her overbearing husband isn't around, and finally gathers the courage (while staring at the stars one night) to change her plight. She takes a computer course, passes her GED and with the constant support of her dearest girlfriend gathers the courage to get out of the stifling marriage with her husband and study to improve her lot in life. Along the way she discovers other secrets about herself, buried in the facade of a life she has led. She changes, relates to the world in a different way, and refuses to settle for returning to 'the old life' when her husband returns promising her change. Her relationship with her girlfriend proceeds to intimate levels, but in the end this friendship cannot last, as her girlfriend doesn't have the same goals.

The story is simple, but in the hands of the writers Wendy Hammond and Bob Gosse and with Gosse's fine direction, the entire cast gives us an ensemble of disparate characters in whom we can all believe. Lili Taylor plays the lead with extraordinary skill and as her girlfriend Courtney Love gives a bravura performance. The remainder of the cast (Spalding Gray, Noah Emmerich, Gideon Jacobs, Mischa Barton, et al) is likewise strong. But it is Taylor's film and she offers one of her most poignant performances of her career. A thoughtful, sensitive, engrossing film.

I loved this movie! I have to admit, I have been in love with Lilli Taylor since "Household Saints". I love all the movies I have seen her in. But this one really was awesome! I am a big fan of Spalding Gray's work also and miss him being here with us. Seeing him on film brought back all the old feelings of awe I have always felt listening to him. The picture of Courtney Love and Lilli Taylor on the cover is what caught my attention and I have to say, they did wonderfully together in this movie. People seem to either love or hate Courtney but when it comes to her movie roles, I find it hard to point out a bad one. People who are fans of these wonderful Actors will love this movie, promise!

Let's get the important stuff out of the way first: there are no scenes of Courtney and Lili gobbling each other up. Yeah, that's a disappointment, but so it goes.

The performances were excellent, and somewhat believable, except for the sudden emergence of an older, uneducated suburban housewife as a scientific prodigy. Yeah, that happens all the time. That was the only plot device that didn't fly, but it really ruins the rest of the movie. You just can't see this woman suddenly discovering she is a genius, a lesbian, and her independence all at the same time.

She suddenly discovers she's a lesbian? Sure, why not. That one works. But why does it have to involve her tossing her husband out on the street? How is it his fault? Lesbians don't have any feelings for people who have supported and loved them? She suddenly discovers she's in love with her best friend. Yeah, that one works, too. It throws an interesting twist into the film and Courtney Love delivers one of her better performances here.

She suddenly discovers she's a genius? This is where it breaks down. She never showed the slightest sign of intelligence before, but now she's a prodigy. Unfortunately for her husband, she's not smart enough to treat him with any dignity or respect, but she's smart enough to write cryptographic algorithms even though she never graduated high school. If it wasn't for this lame, unnecessary and ignorant part of the movie, I'd say it was a great independent and lesbian film.

Julie Johnson could have been the average housewife who discovers she's a lesbian and is in love with her best friend. That would have made a good film. But she's suddenly a spiteful genius, and that doesn't make a good film. Too bad.