Ok, people, QFest is upon us and with a vengeance.

While I have been deemed the lesbian reviewer of our fabulous duo of myself and Alejandro Morales, I was chosen to review “Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same”, and even though I am more of a gay man/drag queen trapped in the body of a lesbian, I am giving it a go!

When I saw the opening night submission, I believe that my reaction was,”Ugh, really?  Lesbian aliens?”  This might have been true for others, as the theater was not as full as I would have hoped it would be for opening night, but I want to change that for their second screening being held on Monday, July 11th.

While on the surface, Madeleine Olnek’s “Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same”, is a black and white kitchsy alien movie, it is so much more than that.  Olnek combined her thoughts about searching for the right person and feeling like you are never going to find them, along with the “big feelings” that we have all experienced when we meet someone new that we are dating.  Instead of those two concepts being turned into the “usual” lesbian movie, she used her great imagination to translate that into a funny, original movie about aliens coming to earth.

The aliens’ planet, Zots, is in fear of being destroyed by the disintegration of the ozone layer due to certain aliens having “big feelings”.  The three lesbian aliens, Zylar (my personal fave who is a lesbian “player”), played by Jackie Monahan, Zoinx (the codepenent alien), played by Susan Ziegler, and Barr (who falls in love with Zilar over cheesecake–what girl hasn’t experienced this?), played by Cynthia Kaplan are sent to earth to get their hearts broken and return safely back to their planet happily “numb and apathetic”, so that they no longer contribute to the depletion of the ozone.

In the mix is the human, Jane (played by Lisa Haas), who, as most lesbians are or should be, is in therapy trying to figure out how to have real connections with ladies.  There are some funny scenes between her and her therapist, who you have a feeling is considering a hospitalization for Jane, who insists that she is being contacted by aliens.

The story revolves around the courtship and eventual falling in love between Jane and Zoinx.  One of the funniest lines of the movie comes from Jane after she finds out that Zoinx is an alien and has to return to her planet and says, “No one has ever returned my feelings before.  I should have known you were from outer space”.  This is only one example of the hilarious and quick witted dialogue that Olnek peppers the entire movie with.  If you enjoy sarcasm, clever dialogue, left of center humor, then this is definitely the flick for you.  Their love story wraps up hilariously but I don’t want to give that away either, you have to go see for yourself.

Surrounding the main story line, are some of the funniest scenes with Zylar, who is “that lesbian”, with a girl for every night, breaking hearts all over the city.  Also, there is a “Men in Black” component with two agents from “The Agency” tracking the movements of the aliens.  There is a fun twist with that that I don’t want to give away as you will be seeing the movie on Monday.

On paper, this might not be a movie that I personally would normally pick to see but I am glad that I did.  When I was talking to producer, Laura Terruso, last night, we agreed that gay, more specifically lesbian, movies don’t always have to be so serious with big messages.  I believe that she said, “Straight people get to have fun with their movies, why can’t we?”  Olnek’s exploration of “big feelings” and finding “the one” through aliens come to earth was so original and awesomely written.  The filming in black and white on a shoestring budget in the streets and haunts of New York City was perfect and there wasn’t an in actor in the bunch that left you anything but impressed.

The film is being shown again at 5pm on Monday, July11th at The Bourse and I hope you take the time to check it out.  You can also visit them at www.codependentlesbianspacealienseekssame.com.