Better Than Chocolate

Better Than Chocolate (1999) is a Canadian romantic comedy you can watch online on iFILM. Maggie has dropped out of law school, works at a queer bookshop in Vancouver and has just moved into her first apartment — right before street artist Kim falls head over heels for her.

The romance is barely a day old when Maggie's newly divorced mother Lila and her kid brother show up with nowhere else to stay. Suddenly she's hiding both her girlfriend and herself, because her family has no idea she's a lesbian. Meanwhile Lila strikes up a friendship with Judy, a transgender singer in the girls' circle, and starts rediscovering her own desire. Karyn Dwyer and Christina Cox play the couple, with Wendy Crewson as the mother who stopped believing in happiness after her marriage fell apart.

Director Anne Wheeler delivers a warm, frank-for-its-time coming-out story with no melodrama and no lectures. It's light, a little naive, but honest about how hard it can be to be yourself around the people closest to you. A treat for fans of 1990s queer cinema and gentle romance. Stream Better Than Chocolate (1999) online on iFILM.