CherryPop

S1 E3: Queer Women are the OGs of the Intimate Sex Scene, with Quinn Shephard

This week, we talk through some of Beandrea’s favorite queer films from the last 20 years and give a shout-out the filmmakers behind them. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: queer women have been leading the charge when it comes to nuanced depictions of female pleasure on screen for a long time. And they’ve been doing it on a budget! We look back at some early lesbian movies that take on coming out and look at more recent depictions that focus on teens who know who they are and accept themselves from page one.

The Movies:

But I’m a Cheerleader (2000)

We start our queer cinema journey with longtime episodic director Jamie Babbitt’s satirical teen sex comedy, But I’m a Cheerleader, about a gay conversion therapy camp called “True Directions.” It is a bonafide cult classic. A young Natasha Lyonne plays Megan, an enthusiastic cheerleader who is forced to reconcile with the fact that she’s a lesbian as she falls in love with Graham (Clea Duvall) under the scrutiny of a harsh headmaster (Cathy Moriarty) and “ex-gay” Mike (RuPaul Charles). We dig into the humor, the MPAA rating bias, the failure of white men to get the movie, and celebrate how well the groundbreaking indie holds up in the light of 2020.

The Twentieth Anniversary Director’s Cut re-release comes out on December 8, 2020.

The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love (1995, 2005)

Next up is a micro-budget Sundance indie from writer-director Maria Maggenti. Despite their completely different backgrounds, Randy (Laurel Holloman aka Tina from the original L-Word) and straight girl Evie (Nicole Arie Parker) fall in love. We discuss how Maggenti expertly navigated onscreen intimacy in an era when queerness wasn’t yet mainstream. The film was re-released in 2005 on its 10-year anniversary.

Pariah (2011)

Then we take a closer look at the Sundance debut of Pariah from writer-director Dee Rees (Mudbound, Bessie, The Last Thing He Wanted). Sadly, it’s still one of only a handful of movies with a Black queer woman at the center, but thankfully it’s become a recent classic in queer storytelling. Our mama bear energy comes out in full force to protect the film’s heroine Alike (Adepero Oduye) when her sensitive poet soul is threatened by a would-be high school romance. We also love Alike’s best friendship with Laura (Pernell Walker) and celebrate platonic intimacy between queer women.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018)

Nearly twenty years after But I’m a Cheerleader, director and co-writer Desiree Akhavan also takes on teen gay conversion therapy. But this time it’s a poignant drama that forces us to confront a hard truth: more than half of states in this country still allow this damaging practice. We discuss the trance-like sex scene between Cameron (Chloë Grace Moretz) and Coley (Quinn Shephard, also this week’s interview!) and how f-ckin sexy it is for a woman to say what she wants and get it.

Booksmart (2019)

This high school comedy starring Beanie Feldstein (Molly) and Kaitlyn Dever (Amy) is one of the funniest teen comedies we’ve ever seen. Directed by Olivia Wilde, we geek out over its stellar pro-masturbation stance and the ways it celebrates queer teens without making too big a deal out of it. Make sure you watch the movie so you can howl at how worn out that panda looks!

The Half of It (2020)

Alice Wu has made two fantastic features, Saving Face (2004) and The Half of It (2020), and we have decided that we want many more movies from her. In her latest, we follow Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) as her poetic writing skills get her caught between her would-be friend Paul and the girl they both have a crush on: Aster. We agree 100% about the necessity of taking a dip in hot springs and how sometimes sexual tension is just as impactful as a steamy bedroom scene.

Also check out:

The 200 Best Lesbian Queer and Bisexual Movies of All Time (Autostraddle.com June 2020)

The Watermelon Woman (Cheryl Dunye)

Saving Face (Alice Wu)

Rafiki (Wanuri Kahiu)

Kajillionaire (Miranda July)

The Interview

We are obsessed with actress, writer, and director Quinn Shephard! In our l...

CherryPop is back! CherryPop's Season 2 premiere episode is presented by Baby Phat Beauty and features special guest, actor and activist, Amandla Stenberg ("The Hate U Give"). Together Meg and Amandla reflect on the importance of language when navigating and exploring sexuality, unlearning toxic patriarchal programming, and putting an end to female and non-binary pleasure censorship. In addition, Amandla shares her positive experience filming a sex scene for the YA drama,"Everything, Everything" with director Stella Meghie, and her hope to play more queer characters on screen.

CherryPicks is the best place to see what women think about movies, tv, and more. CherryPicks highlights reviews and original stories exclusively from female and non-binary writers. www.TheCherryPicks.com

Follow CherryPicks on Instagram and Twitter. @thecherrypicks

Follow your host Meg McCarthy on Instagram @megjomccarthy

Music composed by Honor Nezzo.

CherryPop is executive produced by Miranda Bailey and Rebecca Odes, produced and hosted by Meg McCarthy, and edited by In Haus Media

CherryPicks loves Baby Phat Beauty! Baby Phat Beauty provides accessible and efficacious formulas in glamorous components. GLOW UP. SHOW OUT and make your way to BabyPhatBeauty.com.

This episode of CherryPop is presented by season 3 of the Starz original series, "The Girlfriend Experience." Season 3 focuses on Iris, a neuroscience major in London. As she begins to explore the world of transactional relationships, Iris quickly learns that her client sessions provide her with a compelling edge in the tech world...and vice versa.

On this week of CherryPop, Meg is joined by Season 3 creator/writer/director Anja Marquardt (She’s Lost Control), and star, Julia Goldani Telles (The Affair).

First up, Meg and Anja dive deep into the genesis of desire, and question whether technology has the power to control and create desire. Anja shares her lens as a filmmaker and how she artistically approached the franchise.

Julia Goldani Telles joins the conversation and shares the collaborative and comfortable space that was created on set to safely explore Iris’ goals. Telles explores the problematic nature of the male gaze, and the refreshing and educational experience she had filming intimate scenes through Anja’s lens.

Catch up on "The Girlfriend Experience" - available now on STARZ and the STARZ app

CherryPicks is the best place to see what women think about movies, tv, and more. CherryPicks highlights reviews and original stories exclusively from female and non-binary writers. www.TheCherryPicks.com

Follow CherryPicks on Instagram and Twitter. @thecherrypicks

Follow your host Meg McCarthy on Instagram @megjomccarthy

Music composed by Honor Nezzo.

CherryPop is executive produced by Miranda Bailey and Rebecca Odes, produced and hosted by Meg McCarthy, and edited by In Haus Media

First up, Meg welcomes, country music singer/songwriter Cam on this week's episode of CherryPop! Cam discusses why she stopped being afraid of being sexualized by the country music industry, her experience filming the music video for her hit song "Till There's Nothing Left" (while eight months pregnant!), and why it’s important to dismantle and unlearn patriarchal structures. Cam also bestows some very sage sex advice given to her by her grandmother that you won’t want to miss! Later on, actress and musician Herizen Guardiola joins Meg and Cam to candidly chat about the importance of lifting up and celebrating each other as women. She opens up about her admirable refusal to use her sexuality and body for professional gains and explores the different forms of expression within the music industry versus the entertainment industry. Additionally, Herizen gracefully describes the privilege of portraying the goddess Oshun in the last season of American Gods (Starz) and encourages us to love and appreciate our inner goddesses.

CherryPicks is the best place to see what women think about movies, tv, and more. CherryPicks highlights reviews and original stories exclusively from female and non-binary writers. www.TheCherryPicks.com

Follow CherryPicks on Instagram and Twitter. @thecherrypicks

Follow your host Meg McCarthy on Instagram @megjomccarthy

Music composed by Honor Nezzo.

CherryPop is executive produced by Miranda Bailey and Rebecca Odes, produced and hosted by Meg McCarthy, and edited by In Haus Media

Crowning the Queen of the Intimate Sex Scene: Gina Prince-Bythewood featuring Sasheer Zamata

Show notes - https://bit.ly/2FIgSdC

This week, Meg guides us through some of her favorite sex scenes from the last 20 years and shouts-out the filmmakers behind them. Even though the characters and stories are diverse in these flicks, we end up realizing they have much more in common than we initially noticed. The common denominator among the filmmakers: taking the time to research and rewrite when putting together a movie that features real intimacy and onscreen character development.

The Movies

Love and Basketball (2000)

At the top of the list is writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood, whom we crown “Queen of the Intimate Sex Scene.” We dig into the groundbreaking, boundary-pushing bedroom scenes in her films Love and Basketball and Beyond the Lights. Love and Basketball follows Monica (Sanaa Lathan) and Quincy (Omar Epps), childhood besties whose undying love for basketball causes their own love to bloom.

Beyond the Lights (2014)

In Beyond the Lights, Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays Noni, a Rihanna-adjacent pop star who is saved by Kaz (pre-#MeToo Nate Parker), an earnest cop who couldn’t be farther from her world and, of course, they fall in love.

If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)

Then Meg and Beandrea take a closer look at the sex scenes in If Beale Street Could Talk from Academy Award-winner Barry Jenkins, who directed and wrote the pic. Here’s another set of childhood friends whose love matures as they get older. Fonny (Stephan James) and Tish (Kiki Layne) are goals!

Lingua Franca (2020)

Then we take up the auteur film Lingua Franca from indie writer-director-star Isabel Sandoval. Sandoval plays an undocumented trans woman who works as a live-in caretaker for an elderly woman (Lynn Cohen - RIP legend!) and gets involved with her grandson. We love that this movie is about a character who is a trans woman (and is played by a trans woman who also made the movie) and, most importantly, that the story isn’t about gender transition. Trans folks contain multitudes, people!

Atonement (2008)

And last, but definitely not least: the BAFTA and Golden Globe-winning film Atonement, directed by Joe Wright with a screenplay from Christopher Hampton. Meg swoons over the subtleties of the acting performances, the direction, and of course, that stunning green gown. (Also: Beandrea realizes that Saoirse Ronan has been acting since she was a wee little one. Check out CherryPicks’ tribute to Saoirse here!)

The Interview

Sasheer Zamata in WOKE. Courtesy of Hulu.

For our interview this week, we chat with the delightful Sasheer Zamata who appears in the Hulu series Woke. We dig into what it was like playing a leading lady for the first time in the Stella Meghie indie film The Weekend (2018), what it was like doing bedroom scenes, and just how amazing “WAP” (and Cardi B’s insta) are. She also reminds us that the 1995 film Waiting To Exhale is one to keep coming back to again and again.

Credits

CherryPop is presented by CherryPicks.

Our hosts are Beandrea July (Twitter @beandreadotcom) and Meg McCarthy (IG megjomccarthy).

The show is recorded, produced and mixed by Beandrea July.

Our executive producers are Miranda Bailey and Rebecca Odes.

Our music is by Jordan Balagot. (Soundcloud jordanbla)

Special thanks to the whole team at CherryPicks.

Show notes

https://bit.ly/2FIgSdC

CherryPicks presents CherryPop: a podcast about women and sex onscreen. Tune in each week for our deep dives into some of the most compelling portrayals of female pleasure in film and television. Hosts Beandrea July and Meg McCarthy take listeners on a journey to celebrate feminine pleasure across a diverse and wide-ranging collection of films. Together we’ll look at how a great sex scene can not only create intimacy and reveal a character to us in a whole new way, but it can also help us make deeper connections in our own lives.

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!