“Below Her Mouth” is trash and here’s why

Arts

Apr 6

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When Tumblr’s favorite new lesbian movie passes the Bechdel test, but the only place to watch it is on Pornhub, we’ve got a problem. The Below Her Mouth trailer sets itself as a steamy romance between two women – one a fashion-magazine editor and the other a roofer. Can you guess which one wears the strap on?

For an indie film shot, directed, and written by women, Below Her Mouth falls into the tropes of tired lesbian and queer-female plotlines. Dallas (Erika Linder) is a rough and tough lesbian who suddenly and unapologetically breaks up with her girlfriend within the first moments after the opening sex scene. Jasmine (Natalie Krill) is a successful fashion-editor living with her fiancé Rile (Sebastian Pigott) and keeps herself busy with wedding planning. One morning, Jasmine looks out of her window to see slender, yet brawny Dallas hammering on a roof. (Yes, hammering and not using a nail gun like a real lesbo roofer would *eye roll*). They exchange a look from afar, signaling the viewer to buckle the fuck up for some heteronormative bullshit!

While Rile is out of town on a business trip, Jasmine decides to go out with her bff to let loose. Little does Jasmine know her friend likes the V, or at least enjoys partying with queer gals, and bumps into Dallas at the bar. That’s when our little baby butch grins and says, “You come to girl parties often?” Jasmine replies, “I don’t come at all.” Predicting the next line, I’m already Jim from The Office looking into the camera at this point but then… Dallas says, “Can I change that for you?”

Should I even keep going? I think you can tell where this “love” story is heading and I’m not going to spoil the ending for you, but here’s what to expect: lots of sex and many variations of wlw sex at that. Did I mention the strap on? Similar to Blue is The Warmest Colour, this movie is borderline erotica. Dissimilar however is that the sex between these two white, skinny ladies in Below Her Mouth is a little more believable.

I will say Dallas’ role is predatory and downright creepy. Her “female gaze” is just as disgusting and objectifying as the male version. Her character further injects the idea that masculine women have to be cut from the same cloth: they lack emotional intelligence and want nothing but sex, cigarettes, and alcohol.

Jasmine’s character is equally as flat, but the film does give some backstory to her first kiss with a high school friend. Her mom walked in on them and banned the two from ever seeing one another. Again, hella trope-fest, but it is interesting to see that she wasn’t cheating on her fiancé just for a good night of cunnilingus.

Director April Mullen’s Below Her Mouth will be released on April 28th by Gunpowder and Sky Distribution. You can watch the full movie on Pornhub.

Chelsea Hoag is one of the founding members of Rotten Peaches, a solid space for queer women in Atlanta to dance, party, network, and be themselves.

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