ABSTRACT
The plush screening room at the Gulf and Western Building was filled with tan lesbians in designer clothes talking about the Bahamas while reclining in leather armchairs. After reading Jane Rule's Desert of the Heart and obtaining the rights, she spent nearly seven years raising funds from coast to coast. Women like Lily Tomlin, Stockard Channing, and Gloria Steinem lent their names to fundraising efforts. Patricia Charbonneau is physically perfect as the lesbian romantic lead. She has all those qualities that girls like. She's pretty, tomboyish, rugged, has a nice body and deep eyes. Deitch has chosen to avoid the fast-paced, breakneck editing of most Hollywood films. That gives the characters time to get to know each other and for scenes to develop. But there is a lot of dead space and too much emoting going on. This initially vulnerable touch becomes dreary as the film progresses.
