Women are also behind the camera for And Then Came Lola. The film opens promisingly, with a pair of gorgeous young dykes making out in a stairwell, and it just gets better from there. Directed by Ellen Seidler and Megan Siler, this 70-minute feature transforms cult fave Run, Lola, Runinto a lesbian romp through San Francisco. Who doesn’t love the idea of a story having three different endings from which to choose? That’s the premise of the film, with photographer Lola in a desperate race across town to deliver a critical set of photographs to her designer girlfriend, Casey.
Each of the three scenarios has its own set of vignettes with characters like a butch meter maid, who appears by turns cruel, simpatico, and turned-on by Lola. Interspersed throughout are witty cartoon segments a la Run, Lola, Run, comical postcard images of the characters, and psychiatric sessions in which the girls and their friends and lovers act up and rage on.
The dialogue from these sophisticated women crackles, as when Lola’s ex laments their lousy sex life: “When we met, she said she was immune to lesbian bed death.” And Then Came Lola has something so many gay indies lack—skillful acting. Underneath the clever comedy is a sexy, affecting romance that deserves play outside the gay festival circuit.