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By Hook Or By Crook (2001)
Released By: Wolfe Video   Rating: Not Rated   In Theaters: N/A
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Studio: Wolfe Video
Genre: Health/ Workout
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Director: Harriet Dodge
Language: English
Official Website: N/A
Theatrical Release: N/A
Home Video Release: N/A
Cast: Joan Jett, Silas Howard, Harry Dodge, Carina Gia
Published ID: 475949
UPC: 754703762030,
Plot: Two women find love while trying to learn the fine art of bank robbery in this independent comedy-drama. Shy (Silas Howard) is a young butch lesbian from a small town in Kansas who has never figured out what she wants to do with her life. After the death of her father, Shy decides it's time she did something with herself; unable to think of a better career option than becoming a bank robber, she decides to hit the road for California, where the banks have more money than those at home. Along the way, Shy meets drag king Valentine (Harry Dodge) while rescuing her from a beating by a pack of rednecks, and for Shy and Valentine it's love at first sight. Shy and Valentine decide to join forces and head West like a same-sex Bonnie and Clyde, while Valentine also hopes to track down her birth mother along the way. But if Shy and Valentine are to become career criminals, it would be helpful if they had guns or knew anything about bank robbery, and the voyage teaches them a few practical lessons about living on the wrong side of the law. By Hook or by Crook was written and directed by its leading actresses, Silas Howard and Harry Dodge. Howard is best known as a member of the radical feminist punk band Tribe 8, while Dodge is a performance artist who appeared as one of the Sprocket Holes in John Waters' Cecil B. Demented. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
IDDateTimeTitleReviewHelpfulVotesTotalVotes
A Movie for the Septic Tank
Added 8/8/2006

I bought this DVD because the back makes it sound like it is about two troubled kids who join together to find one's birth mother and along the way discover a higher understanding of themselves. When I finished watching it, I felt as if I'd fallen into my neighbor's septic tank. In short, the description of the movie is as much a lie as the characters themselves. Indeed, my wife thought they must have men playing women and women playing men. Whatever they were, this is one movie to add to the septic tank. The only reason I gave it an 'F+' is that it shows how seemy and degraded this side of life is and, hopefully, can be used as a bad example for traditonal values families to discuss.

Do we need legislation for a "Truth in DVD Descriptions" Act?

1 out of 19 people found this helpful.
Great
Added 7/16/2006

A classic of lesbian / butch / FTM film.
Harry Dodge shines as Val, and Stanya Kahn, Dodge's real-life partner, shines as Billie, Val's partner in the movie.
Silas Howard (previously of the band Tribe 8) plays Shy, who travels from her hometown to San Francisco looking for something. She and Val become friends. The movie touches on their pasts, who they love, friendship, having nothing, having everything because you have someone, mental health issues, relationships / loyalty / love.
Kudos to the filmmakers for overcoming obstacles and making a work of art that represents those who are historically not represented. For those interested, filmmaker Silas Howard is currently working on a film, "Exactly Like You", about musician Billy Tipton, who lived his life as a man though born a woman.

6 out of 7 people found this helpful.
One of the Best
Added 9/28/2005

I think that if you come to the film looking for long red fingernails and hetero versions of lesbian relationships (and lots of lesbian sex) that you're coming to the movie for the wrong reasons.

This film is a break-out work; the characters are complex, and their relationship is one that I can certainly relate to. The idea of a buddy-flick with two butch women as the main characters that shadows the stories found in Midnight Cowboy and the Wizard of Oz is quite an accomplishment.

What you can expect from the film--witty dialogue, some incredible allusions to literature, film, and pop-culture. In addition, you'll find a film that doesn't fall into the trap of butch-femme in the traditional sense. The film shows that there are shades of gray in the lesbian landscape, and it also demonstrates that two lesbian women can be friends without falling in bed with each other. Few movies focus on friendships between lesbian characters, but this one does so artfully.

If you are looking for a film that has two women who discover they have the hots for each other and fall in love against the odds, this is not the film for you. If you are looking for the kinds of lesbian love scenes in the L-Word, this is not the film for you.

If you are looking for a slice of life of two characters who happen to be butch and are complex with a soundtrack that I truly wish had been released as a CD, this may be the movie for you.

10 out of 13 people found this helpful.
What a waste
Added 9/27/2005

This is the biggest waste of time and money not only mine, but that used to make it. I would say it was a waste of talent, but apparently none was used in the making of this piece of garbage (and thats being kind) this story is weak and incomplete the acting worse then second rate. If I was suppose to care for these characters I never did 20 min. in I wished they'ld jump off a cliff and end the agony (mine) and it never got any better. To erase this movie from exsistance would only improve the world of queer cinema. Don't fall for the hype.
3 out of 17 people found this helpful.
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
Added 7/21/2005

This film reinvents queer cinema. It depicts life never before seen on the screen, deals with people and events previously shied away from. It is the film for gender-variant people, for queers living in the shadows of even queer culture, just
trying to get by.

Confronted by homophobia, transphobia, violence, homelessness, being broke, the desire to live on the edge, and only the comaraderie of each other, three friends team up to forge a place for themselves in San Francisco. With few options and a
slew of barriers, Shy, Valentine, and Billie show us what life is like for the outsiders, the queer outsiders.

A revolutionary and oh-so-important tale for today's queers. If you haven't seen it, you must. It's that simple.

8 out of 10 people found this helpful.
A Movie for the Septic Tank
Added 8/8/2006

I bought this DVD because the back makes it sound like it is about two troubled kids who join together to find one's birth mother and along the way discover a higher understanding of themselves. When I finished watching it, I felt as if I'd fallen into my neighbor's septic tank. In short, the description of the movie is as much a lie as the characters themselves. Indeed, my wife thought they must have men playing women and women playing men. Whatever they were, this is one movie to add to the septic tank. The only reason I gave it an 'F+' is that it shows how seemy and degraded this side of life is and, hopefully, can be used as a bad example for traditonal values families to discuss.

Do we need legislation for a "Truth in DVD Descriptions" Act?

1 out of 19 people found this helpful.
Great
Added 7/16/2006

A classic of lesbian / butch / FTM film.
Harry Dodge shines as Val, and Stanya Kahn, Dodge's real-life partner, shines as Billie, Val's partner in the movie.
Silas Howard (previously of the band Tribe 8) plays Shy, who travels from her hometown to San Francisco looking for something. She and Val become friends. The movie touches on their pasts, who they love, friendship, having nothing, having everything because you have someone, mental health issues, relationships / loyalty / love.
Kudos to the filmmakers for overcoming obstacles and making a work of art that represents those who are historically not represented. For those interested, filmmaker Silas Howard is currently working on a film, "Exactly Like You", about musician Billy Tipton, who lived his life as a man though born a woman.

6 out of 7 people found this helpful.
One of the Best
Added 9/28/2005

I think that if you come to the film looking for long red fingernails and hetero versions of lesbian relationships (and lots of lesbian sex) that you're coming to the movie for the wrong reasons.

This film is a break-out work; the characters are complex, and their relationship is one that I can certainly relate to. The idea of a buddy-flick with two butch women as the main characters that shadows the stories found in Midnight Cowboy and the Wizard of Oz is quite an accomplishment.

What you can expect from the film--witty dialogue, some incredible allusions to literature, film, and pop-culture. In addition, you'll find a film that doesn't fall into the trap of butch-femme in the traditional sense. The film shows that there are shades of gray in the lesbian landscape, and it also demonstrates that two lesbian women can be friends without falling in bed with each other. Few movies focus on friendships between lesbian characters, but this one does so artfully.

If you are looking for a film that has two women who discover they have the hots for each other and fall in love against the odds, this is not the film for you. If you are looking for the kinds of lesbian love scenes in the L-Word, this is not the film for you.

If you are looking for a slice of life of two characters who happen to be butch and are complex with a soundtrack that I truly wish had been released as a CD, this may be the movie for you.

10 out of 13 people found this helpful.
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