The Good Kisser- Analysis

Kate Milne 21059012

The Good Kisser is a fictional film written and directed by Wendy Jo Carlton that follows a story of two women in a relationship that decided as a couple to spend an intimate weekend with another woman. The couple, namely Jenna and Kate travel to Mia’s house to spend the weekend there for a change of speed in their relationship. After analyzing the full film, I came to the conclusion that while “The Good Kisser” tells a humorous story, it simultaneously advances lesbian stereotypes and poor relationship examples for the audience.

Before analyzing the messages embedded within the film, it is critical to discuss the general content presented. As mentioned previously, Jenna and Kate are a monogamous lesbian couple who made a decision together to try having a threesome with another woman named Mia. Mia, a single woman and a friend of Kate’s, is presented as mysterious, enticing, and secretive about her life as well as being incredibly seductive with both Jenna and Kate. Kate is presented as more of a tomboy while Jenna is shown as girly and peppy. At first, Jenna is very timid about the entire interaction and feels it may not be the best idea for her to be participating, but Kate is able to calm her down. Slowly, Kate and Mia convince Jenna to get drunk to calm everyone down as they all appear nervous. The women start to become intimate and the cracks begin to show. At this point, it becomes obvious that Kate and Mia are very comfortable with each other while Jenna is more hesitant to engage.

As Jenna continues to be coerced into participating, it begins to become apparent that Jenna is participating in order to avoid disappointing Kate and not for her own pleasure. Slowly, Jenna recognizes of the closeness of Kate and Mia and suspicion rises. Eventually, Jenna gets frustrated and leaves the situation. Kate does not leave to check on Jenna which only escalates the situation further, leading to Jenna’s realization that Mia and Kate are much more than friends. When Jenna confronts Kate, she decides to do it in a passive aggressive way in which she gets intimate with Mia next to Kate without interacting with Kate directly. Kate understands the message and realizes Jenna has figured out what she has been hiding.

Though the story itself is full of twists, after a full analysis for underlying messages it is clear the film represents much more than a queer comedy. Beginning with the characters themselves, Carlton creates personalities that follow direct stereotypes of lesbian women. Jenna is seen as a typical excitable woman while Kate is shown as a butch woman which creates the typical “man and woman” interaction between two women in a lesbian relationship. Furthermore, Mia is represented as a mysterious and enticing woman which furthers the stereotype that lesbians are exotic. Though these can simply be the personalities that fit the story, it certainly raises questions about why the author had decided to make this film in the first place. As an audience member, I felt that the inclusion of these stereotypes was a poor representation of the lesbian/queer community as it strengthens the conventional image of lesbians that the LGBTQ+ community has been trying to break down for decades. As stated by Sara Ahmed in her article Being In Question, “Norms may not only have a way of disappearing from view, but can also be that which we do not consciously feel.” This quote shows the importance of analyzing all stereotypes that may be present in films to ensure we are properly representing the LGBTQ+ community.

In addition to the character stereotypes, there are certainly some clichés included in the storyline. For instance, the representation of the intimacy between the three women was very kinky and erotic. This depiction of the women appears to further common ideas about lesbian relationships that they are not normal romantic relationships, but rather they are sexy interactions that are to be enjoyed by others. It appears as if Carlton used this tactic in “The Good Kisser” to entice the audience members. These apparent motives not only delegitimize the representativeness of the queer film but also further the widely held idea that lesbian relationships are erotic and for the viewing pleasure of other people. Though speaking on misrepresentation of disabilities in television, Alison Harnett presents the same idea in which writers make it appear as if its “crucial that a disabled person learn to accept their disability, rather than constantly struggling to rise ‘above’ it to ‘normality’.” This quote captures the idea that disabled people, much like people of the LGBTQ+ community are not often represented as normal people, but rather their minority or differences defines them and their character in the film.

In a more general view of the film, the audience can clearly see some poor representations of romantic relationships throughout the plot. This begins with Kate’s persistent pressure to have Jenna engage in the threesome with a new woman. This is not a representation of a good relationship, as Kate should be understanding and gentle with Jenna. This poor representation tied to the lesbian relationships can certainly create a poor image for the LGBTQ+ community as it places a bad name on lesbian love. There is also certainly a poor image depicted in which Jenna feels overcome with a need to not disappoint her partner, and with this comes her participation in activities she does not feel completely comfortable doing. Finally, there is a strange dynamic in which Jenna is originally uncomfortable and insecure with the situation, but after finding the problems in her relationship, she is suddenly driven to participate in the sexual acts with Mia. This sudden change in intentions made for a poor dynamic in the film. While it is certainly Jenna’s right to make her own decisions, the audience could have easily understood this as a lack in willpower or a poor representation of lesbian sexual desire in relationships.

While my analysis was certainly critical of the film, I still found the plot to be entertaining and humorous. The film itself was very well made, including proper lighting and film techniques, but I found it hard to ignore the underlying messages of stereotyping and negative representations of the LGBTQ+ community, especially as this film was shown at a queer film festival known for its strong positive representations of the queer community.

Citations:

Harnett, Alison. “Escaping the ‘evil avenger’ and the’ supercrip’: Images of disability in popular television.” Irish Communications Review, vol. 8, 2000, pp. 21-29.

Ahmed, Sara. “Being in Question” in Living a Feminist Life. Durham: Duke University Press, 2017. 11-134.

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