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CULTURE -
Film
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Written by Leiana Naholowaa
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 Mariel Hemingway makes a lesbian comeback in the film In Her Line of Fire, a here! networks made-for-TV movie that saw limited release on the big screen and is now available on DVD. Hemingway plays Secret Service agent Sergeant Major Lynn Delaney, consumed with protecting the U.S. Vice President (David Keith) and survivors of an Air Force Two plane crash near a Pacific Island with rebel insurgents. Out lesbian Jill Bennett (in clothing conveniently tattered to reveal her tattoos) co-stars as Sharon Serrano, a feisty reporter and Delaney’s love interest.
Filmed in New Zealand and Vancouver, In Her Line of Fire has the look and feel of Xena: Warrior Princess, complete with over-the-top stunt fights and punching sound effects. Pacific Islander faces fill the screen once again; only this time the audience can hear them speak native language. In order to stand up to their dictator government, the islanders have hired mercenary soldiers to learn combat skills until their evil teacher antagonist Armstrong (David Millbern) realizes there are other ways of making money than training soldiers—like holding the VP for ransom.  Written by Paula Goldberg and Anna Lorenzon and produced and directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith, the film is a curious mix of lesbian politicizing with every line and beefcake testosterone execution with every clip. Gunfire, grenades and jungle chase scenes lend themselves to a fairly tame R-rated experience and serve as far-fetched but fun plot devices to move the story forward.
 The movie is campy in many ways, but a good kind of camp—the laugh-out-loud, no-that-just-didn’t-happen kind of camp. Its endearing sense of earnestness will be appreciated by fans of Xena and Hercules, and like Xena, the film is a mythical adventure with a legitimate lesbian modern superhero in an alternate universe of merged liberal and conservative ideologies.
In Her Line of Fire available on DVD from wolfevideo.com .  Until next time!
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CULTURE 
