Ellen fears being alone, and she is also caught in a downward spiral of alcohol and cocaine abuse, which Claude finds difficult to counter. Hope arrives in the form of Lucy (Leisha Hailey), a cute young pink-haired lesbian who likes what she sees in Claude.
How others will see it. All Over Me basically came and went in 1997. It has taken ten years for the film to receive 1,000 user votes at imdb.com, fewer than the typical major release gets by the end of its opening weekend. All Over Me has two audience groups that partly overlap, the gay/lesbian and the indie art house crowds. The latter market is potentially huge (look how well Amelie did stateswide), but they prefer upbeat films with conventional themes. Lesbian love triangles and murders of heroic gays by jerk homophobes do not qualify.
Nonetheless, many who see this film will be affected by it. And, admittedly, some will be aroused by it. There's no sex here, but there's plenty of lesbian eroticism. If that's what turns you on, at least you'll get to see a good movie, as well.
How I felt about it. Most of the characters are
straightforward. Claude loves Ellen, Lucy likes Claude, Luke and Jesse
are cool, Mark is a jerk. Apart from any sexual attraction that
viewers might feel for Claude or Lucy, the most interesting character
is Ellen. Ellen isn't sure what she wants, but what she does is get
wasted to the verge of unconsciousness while in the company of someone
she expects to rescue her. Thus, Claude makes her upchuck when she has
had too many beers, and Mark cuts her off when she's snorting up all
the coke in sight. This behavior falls into the "cry for help"
category.
As far as her sexual preference goes, she likes to alternate
between intimacy with Mark and Claude. She realizes Claude is
attracted to her, but she assumes Claude is a switch hitter like her, since
she expects Claude to accompany her when she is with Mark and his male
friends. Claude and Ellen aren't a good couple, but then, no one is a
good couple with Ellen, since she is selfish and unreliable.
All Over Me is presented from a homosexual perspective. The cops think Luke did something to deserve what he got. Jesse is afraid the same could happen to him. Claude is reluctant to kiss Lucy in public, and Claude's mother doesn't realize her daughter is a lesbian. Secrecy and paranoia are the characteristics of the (oppressed?) minority.