The Watermelon Woman

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100%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 17

54%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 877
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The Watermelon Woman Photos

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Movie Info

An aspiring black lesbian filmmaker (Cheryl Dunye) researches an obscure 1940s black actress billed as the Watermelon Woman.
  • Genre:
    comedy
  • Original Language:
    English
  • Director:
    Cheryl Dunye
  • Producer:
    Barry Swimar
  • Release Date (Streaming):
  • Box Office (Gross USA):
    $1.5K
  • Runtime:

Cast & Crew

Cheryl Dunye
Cheryl
Guinevere Turner
Diana
Valarie Walker
Tamara
Lisa Marie Bronson
Fae "The Watermelon Woman" Richards
Toshi Reagon
Street Magician
Camille Paglia
Herself
Cheryl Dunye
Director
Cheryl Dunye
Writer
Barry Swimar
Producer
Michelle Crenshaw
Cinematographer
Cheryl Dunye
Film Editor
Mike Lemon
Casting
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Critic Reviews for The Watermelon Woman

All Critics (17) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (17)

View All Critic Reviews (17)

Audience Reviews for The Watermelon Woman

  • Sep 02, 2009
    Even though "The Watermelon Woman" is quite unpolished, writer-director Cheryl Dunye still manages to create a realistic fictional history in it to explore themes of race and sexuality while paralleling that with a fictional present where she plays Cheryl who works at a video store with her pal Tamara(Valarie Walker) and as videographers. Tamara tries to set her up on a blind date at a karaoke bar but it goes disastrously wrong.(Surprisingly, even worse than the usual karaoke nightmare.) Unexpectedly, Cheryl finds herself attracted to Diana(Guinevere Turner) who is new to Philadelphia. Cheryl also has dreams of becoming a filmmaker and has decided to focus on The Watermelon Woman(Lisa Marie Bronson), nee Fae Richards, who was featured in Hollywood films as a stereotypical black maid and more three dimensional roles in race films. What Dunye does well is give a tantalizing glimpse at a lost world while debating whether or not actors like Fae were positive or negative role models. Adding versimilitude to the proceedings are interviews with Dunye's mother and Camille Paglia, about whom the reality of is debatable. For example, what does a watermelon having the same colors as the Italian flag have to do with anything?
    Walter M Super Reviewer
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The Watermelon Woman Quotes

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