BY STEVE WARREN
Kate Clinton was one of the first women to prove some lesbians have a sense of humor, and after a quarter century in the business she's still funny—but she's not exactly edgy. Even when she's spouting topical political humor, she's more like your lesbian aunt cracking you up at the dinner table than a celebrity comic swinging from the hip.
There's a big audience for that level of 'comfort humor,' so I'm not putting it down; I'm only saying a little goes a long way with me. Hey, I still laugh at straight comics' jokes about airplane food.
For me, Here! Comedy Presents Kate Clinton is too much, too late. The 75-minute concert was recorded about a year ago and broadcast on here! during 2006. Because so much of it is based on what was timely—looking back on the 2004 election and even season three of The L Word—it sounds really old on DVD. Gay marriage, Mary Cheney—nothing is different but everything's changed.
A few lines have a longer shelf life than others: 'Absentee ballots are now treated much the same as letters to Santa' and 'Cialis came out at the same time the Gap people reintroduced flat-front chinos' are just a couple. Also, Clinton's analysis of the Democrats' loss in '04 is still sadly valid, notwithstanding their gains in '05: 'The Democrats don't know how to take their own side in a fight....If they had a photo of Bush drunk, naked and going down on Dick Cheney in the Lincoln Bedroom, they wouldn't know what to do with it.'
The whole set may one day make wonderful nostalgia, but for now it's just so last year. ( I do love the top Clinton's wearing, and since that's probably out of style by now, too, I can probably get a deal on it somewhere. )
A user comment on IMDb.com indicated the lesbian content had been cut from the Australian DVD version of In Her Line of Fire, a movie that had its American premiere on here! last April and is now available intact on DVD in the U.S. If here! were to do any cutting, they'd remove non-lesbian material, but most of the content that's not specifically lesbian involves Mariel Hemingway looking butch and beautiful as Lynn Delaney, a Secret Service agent whose 'secret' is pretty obvious.
From the first scene, Delaney spars with reporter Sharon Serrano ( Jill Bennett ) in the way lovers-to-be always do in movies. Delaney is guarding Vice President Walker ( David Keith ) on a tour of six Pacific countries, but their plane goes down in the ocean before the first stop. The survivors make it to an island off the hostile nation of San Piedro, where mercenaries led by American vet Armstrong ( David Millbern ) are training rebels.
Two things happen at the midpoint of the movie. The rebels capture Walker, with Armstrong planning to sell him to the highest bidder; and Delaney kisses Serrano, so they can focus their sexual energy for the moment on rescuing the VP. From then on, it's one skirmish after another, with mucho macho/macha talk between scenes of macho/macha action.
The movie's cheesy elements, including the vice president traveling with such a small contingent ( a few others are killed early on ) on a major mission, are too numerous to describe, but it's worth special mention that while the rest of the VP's party acquires camouflage gear, Serrano is left wearing a red top that's visible from space.
Hemingway is halfway convincing striking her 'Ramba' poses, which makes her about twice as convincing as anyone else in the cast. In Her Line of Fire is strictly for people who want to hoot at a bad movie with a couple of girl-girl kisses: it's not for those seeking hot action ( of any kind ) , originality, credibility or any other indicator of worth. Approached with those expectations, it's a lot more fun than much of Hollywood's A-list mediocrity out there.
