Itty Bitty Titty Committee

By Loraine Ho

Every lesbian in Honolulu may be in this audience, joked a speaker at the Itty Bitty Titty Committee screening. The film premiered in Hawaii last week Saturday at the Doris Duke Theatre, near the closing of the Girl Fest 2007 festivities.

Many recognize director Jaime Babbit from her 1999 claim-to-fame, But I’m a Cheerleader, which follows teenage misadventures in an ex-gay training camp. Babbit retires the coming-out theme with her newest film, Itty Bitty Titty Committee, which centers on an extreme feminist organization and the struggle to incite political change.

The openly gay Anna, played by Melonie Diaz, works as a receptionist at a breast-enhancement clinic. She’s going through some rough shit – she didn’t get into college, her girlfriend broke up with her, and her quiet personality invites people to step all over her.

This all changes when she falls for Sadie (Nicole Vicius), who vandalizes the window of Anna’s office. Sadie is a member of a radical feminist group, the Clits in Action, or C(i)A. Next thing we know, Anna is defacing the walls of her room and spouting off axioms like, “I no longer feel the need to surround myself with symbols of the misogynist tyranny.” She also participates in cheesy moments, when characters stare at each other and silently wish for those on-screen kisses to just happen.

Carly Pope radiates ferocious energy with her character, Shuli, the leader of the C(i)A. Shulamith Firestone, author of The Dialectic of Sex: A Case for Feminist Revolution, inspires her name. At first, Shuli seems to be the only character with any blatant political agenda – the remaining C(i)A members are plagued by a bad case of dyke drama. Empowered by spirited vitriol and bitterly chain-smoking her way through most of the film, Shuli reminds us that the 19th Amendment was just ratified in Mississippi in 1984, ensuring women’s rights to vote.

While IBTC presents itself as an intensely political film, the cast and crew are careful not to step on any toes. Daniela Sea of The L Word makes an appearance as Calvin, a thrill junkie who served in Iraq. When asked her opinion on the conflict, Calvin shrugs and explains that she likes to blow things up. Oddly enough, a sex scene ensues from there. If you’re searching for intense commentary, this isn’t the film for you.

Rather than forcing any ideological stances, IBTC provides blueprints on how to take action. The C(i)A offers refreshing feminist motivation for the digital age. Their online ‘zine is updated with their filmed exploits, and they head over to Sacramento for gay marriage demonstrations.

Their extreme methods contrast with the legit, academic approach upheld by Sadie’s girlfriend, Courtney (Melanie Mayron), who runs a progress group called Women for Change. IBTC questions whether social progress is too slow in safe legal channels, and if extremism is really necessary to make an impact.

“The film is very much inspired by the riot girl music of the early ‘90s,” explains producer Andrea Sperling. Bikini Kill, Heavens to Betsy, and Le Tigre provide an appropriate soundscape, lending megaphone-filtered yells, distorted guitars, and rapid drumming to the C(i)A missions.

Overall, IBTC pleases with its chaotic romps between sheets and picket lines. It’s also reassuring to see a feel-good movie that doesn’t resort to clichéd depictions of lesbians as evil, dead, or insane. (See list here.)

The movie is now being circulated through film festivals internationally. Take a look at www.power-up.net/nowplaying.php for the upcoming destinations.

Online voyeurs beware: Many of the film’s intro scenes are reproduced in the online theatrical trailer. So unless you want to experience an uncomfortable sense of déjà vu during a screening, stay away from those pesky You Tube sneak peeks.

All images © www.imdb.com