ITTY BITTY TITTY COMMITTEE

Revolution... Girl Style Now!

No matter how many times I say it or read or or hear it, I still hate the title Itty Bitty Titty Committee. A LOT. Ugh. And you know what? Ironically, there is barely a mention of that very phrase in the movie (which I will now refer to as IBTC), so in effect the title is for shock and discomfort value alone, as it really has nothing to do with the story. But I guess it was either that, or call the film Clits In Action (more on that later). Tough choice I suppose, when it comes to being able to, you know, market your film.

Anyway, the film is about meek young Anna (Melonie Diaz, from Raising Victor Vargas—aka the best film that no on saw but me). After her shift as a receptionist at a breast augmentation clinic, Anna crosses paths with sexy Sadie (Nicole Vicius), who is spray-painting the windows of Anna's workplace. It's revolution, girl style now! And a bit of flirting later, Anna has joined Sadie's radical feminist tribe C(I)A (Clits In Action). Made up of artists, rejects, and outspoken feminists, this group of women (well, one is a "guy" named Aggie who "was born with a clit"), go around vandalizing stores and such in the name of women's rights—fight the man, and all that. These angry young women meet in a funky apartment, make elaborate plans for screw-the-patriarchy public statements, and don't seem to worry much about paying the rent. Peripheral characters are played by a who's-who of lesbian scenesters like Daniela Sea (proving again that as hot as she is, she still can't act), Jenny Shimizu (ditto), and Guinevere Turner (again).

Often—very often actually—IBTC plays like a music video... in fact, much of the movie IS a music video, set to the tune of a riot grrrl-ific soundtrack (Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney, Le Tigre, heck, even Heavens to Betsy!), whilst the characters run amok in grainy video montages, giggling, spray painting, vandalizing, and such. I had to blink my eyes and wonder if this was 1992, or 1995... or even as late as 1997. But no, the radical chicks in the film are definitely using the internets. Curious that they are causing mayhem to a soundtrack from a different era... or, dare I say, a different generation? (Yes, that would be, um, my generation).

Despite the iffy thespian skills of many of the supporting cast (hey! you're a lesbian and/or my pal! be in my movie!), luckily the leads of Diaz and Vicius can act, and they carry the film nicely. Anna's good-girl-to-angry-girl transformation is a bit eyeball-rolling, but haven't we all been there? One of the side characters is even criticized as being a "nine-to-fiver," and not only that, but she's, you know, OLD (over 30). (I guess someone has to pay for the loft, video cameras, and high-speed internet connection! May as well be the sugar mama....). I have to admit that even though this film seems very after-the-fact to me—not only in its message, but in its music—it's a message that every young girl will (or should) eat up, so IBTC will probably still find an enthusiastic audience (despite cranky old wenches like myself).