Cloudburst (2011)

Outburst with expletives, bottoms and balls (literally, a blind lady has her head jammed between a naked man's thighs), Thom Fitzgerald's CLOUDBURST is not for the prude, adapted from his own awards-winning eponymous play, it is an atypical queer film illustrating a life-affirming story about an elderly lesbian couple, Stella and Dotty, played respectively by two Oscar winning actress Dukakis (MOONSTRUCK, 1987) and Fricker (MY LEFT FOOT, 1989).Stella and Dotty have been living together for 31 years, during which period Dotty has become blind. When Dotty's self-seeking granddaughter Molly (Booth) puts her in a nursing home, so as to secure the proprietorship of their property, a feisty Stella spirits Dotty away, they embark a road trip from Maine to Nova Scotia to get married. En route they pick up a young hitchhiker Prentice (Doucette), a guileless dancer-cum-stripper, who is on his way to visit his dying mother Cat (O'Brien), eventually, he becomes their best man and officiate their matrimony.From MOONSTRUCK to CLOUDBURST, hats off to Ms. Dukakis, edging 80-years-old during the filming, she takes up the gauntlet to play the larger-than-life butch dyke stereotype. Stella takes no prisoners in safeguarding her beloved Dotty, she is outspoken, indomitable and uncompromising, with a mouth can put even the most coarse sailor in the shade. She can also be mischievous and tender-heart-ed, the moments when she and Dotty share their rapport and emancipate their affections can be effectively and concurrently heart-warming and tear-jerking.Ms. Fricker, hides her Irish accent and counterbalances Stella's panache with her more inwardly- radiated warmness, the blind is often the wiser, but she is not a clichéd femme either, when it comes to the crunch, even Stella balks at their future, she remains firm and we realize who is the real decision-maker. Mr. Doucette, reprises his role in the play, is sidelined mostly as a comic relief in spite of his own misery and an eye-candy to offset the senescence-skewing melancholy which has been loomed around since the very onset.Mr. Fitzgerald doesn't try to sugarcoat a feel-good ending, since certain things cannot be sidestepped at that stage of life (as the title implies), instead, he chooses to instill laughter and hope in those darkest hours, to celebrate their fulfilled love, something only those lucky ones can have. Varnished with the golden-filtered palette and the awe-inspiring vista along their journey, no wonder CLOUDBURST is a massive crowd-pleaser in terms of its boutique license.

The irrepressible Olympia Dukakis has really broken ground in her relatively short time as an Oscar winning celebrity. Playing a transsexual apartment owner who left new tenants home made joints, the mother of a transsexual lesbian and the seller of tickets at the "Let's take a wack at Ouiser" booth was already a respected stage actress when she struck gold as Cher's mother. Now, she's Stella, a no-nonsense self confessed dyke who is determined to hold onto the love of her life, and she will do all she can to marry her.A tickling game results in her lover Brenda Fricker being sent to a convalescent home. Practically beating up Fricker's uptight granddaughter and the local sheriff, Dukakis sneaks Fricker out and heads up to Canada, and like Thelma and Louise, they pick up a hunky hitchhiker, but there's no hanky or panky going on. "You're barking up the wrong fire hydrant", Dukakis tells him as he shows off his goods."If that skirt was any shorter, you'd need another hairnet" is perhaps the mildest comment Dukakis says, shocking a very Christian Canadian who picks her up hitchhiking. Certainly, some people will take offense to what she says, but Dukakis refuses to betray who this broad is. Fricker is the more gentle of the two, but equally tough underneath her grandmotherly demeanor. Underneath her masculine exterior, Stella actually beats a heart of gold even though she can be at times very brusk.Delightfully non-politically correct, it is also extremely romantic in the sense of what Dukakis strives to achieve. Call this a gay "On Golden Pond" as seen through the eyes of Miss Apley, the old lesbian next door to Ethel and Norman Thayer. It is a triumph of determination that gets these two women through their ordeal, with Ryan Doucette in fine support as the surrogate son they find along the way. He's on his way home to see Hus dying mother and seems to be carrying his own secrets. Together, these three opposites share some dynamic adventures, and it ultimately is both bittersweet and funny, but never short of being amusingly human.

I decided to watch Cloudburst the other night. I loved this movie, it was at times a laugh out loud, and other times a tear jerker. The performances by all the cast was phenomenal. If you are looking for a movie that will capture your heart, this is it.This is more than just a love story. It tells the story of two women who have shared many years of their lives. Who in the face of illness face the real possibility of being separated. There's many couples who face this everyday. Hits on some serious topics, yet the dialogue is some times light. Great.Its on netflix. If you have a chance check it out. It is winner of 13 awards. And rightfully so.

I just watched this movie and really liked it. Cloudburst is the story of two lesbians who have been together for 31 years. After Dotty falls out of bed when her partner teases her with a vibrator, her granddaughter decides that she needs to be placed in a nursing home. Stella refuses to allow her to do this so Molly, the granddaughter, tricks Dotty into signing over power of attorney to her and then places her in the home.Stella busts her out and the two flee to Canada in order to get married, along the way picking up Pretince, a young dancer from New York who is traveling to see his sick mother. The movie is often touching, and the best scenes were generally the parts where Dotty and Stella were just being a typical old couple, either bickering or showing charming displays of affection (often both at the same time). The humorous scenes often feel unnecessary and occasionally bring the movie down from it's full potential. With that said I did laugh at many of them, especially a hilarious scene where Stella and Pretince cross the Canadian border and are stopped by security. Others weren't as good, for example a scene where Dotty accidentally gets in bed with a naked guy.All in all it is a great movie and addresses the lives of lesbian seniors who are often ignored by the generally youth-centered LGBT entertainment industry.