Fishnet Movie Review

『Love Strengthened in Crisis — A Camp Comedy About Lesbian Burlesque and Liberation』

🎥 Movie Overview

🎬 Title: Fishnet (2010)
🌍 Country: 🇺🇸 USA
🎞️ Genre: Comedy / Romance / Camp
🗓️ Production & Release: Independent Production, Released in 2010
⏳ Runtime: Approx. 88 min
📢 Director: Brian Pelletier
🖋️ Screenplay: Brian Pelletier
📺 Platform: DVD and limited online streaming

👩‍💼 Cast: Rebekah Kochan – Trixie
Jillian Easton – Sulie

🧩 Story Deep Dive (Spoilers)

💥 Shared Passion and Contrasting Personalities

Trixie and Sulie are a burlesque dancer couple successfully performing in Los Angeles.

• Shared Identity: Their relationship is rooted in their shared identity as burlesque artists. This shared passion drives them to keep performing even when faced with danger, leading them to put on a show in a conservative small town. For them, art is an inseparable link that represents love, livelihood, and self-liberation.
• Contrast in Personality: The two characters’ contrasting personalities add dynamic tension to their relationship. Trixie is outgoing and impulsive, unwilling to hide her identity even in new environments. Sulie, on the other hand, is more sensitive to her conservative upbringing and often takes on the role of calming Trixie and protecting their relationship. This contrast becomes most apparent when they are forced to pretend to be mere “roommates” in the small town.

🛌 The “Roommate” Narrative and Concealed Identity

The most intriguing layer of their story is the element of forced disguise. While hiding from the mafia in a small Texas town, they must downplay their intimate romantic bond as a platonic “roommate” relationship in front of Sulie’s conservative parents.

• Comedy of Queer Experience: The “roommate” trope humorously reflects the pain of hidden identity that many LGBTQ+ individuals experience when they must conceal who they are from family or colleagues. The tension of self-censorship — even in the intimacy of one’s home — deepens Sulie’s inner conflict and becomes a central emotional thread of the film.
• Trixie’s Defiance: Trixie refuses to tolerate the disguise, repeatedly testing the parents’ boundaries or rallying the townspeople to start a burlesque show — an act of bold self-assertion. Through her defiance, the film symbolizes the courage of marginalized people who refuse to conform to oppressive norms.

💓 Love as the Spark of Revolution

The relationship between Trixie and Sulie carries strong symbolic meaning within the film’s narrative structure.

• Anchor for the Community: Their love becomes a catalyst for empowerment among the local women. Rather than focusing on their romantic bond itself, the women are inspired by the couple’s confidence and unapologetic charisma expressed through performance.
• Liberation of Women’s Community: Their influence transforms the women of the town, conveying messages of body positivity and emotional liberation from social repression. The burlesque show becomes not just entertainment, but a healing space where women rediscover their own power and beauty.

💡 Critical Evaluation and Limitations

While Trixie and Sulie’s relationship received largely positive attention, the film’s overall execution reveals some limitations.

• Strong Chemistry: Critics noted the excellent on-screen chemistry between the two leads, describing it as the emotional core that allows viewers to stay invested in an otherwise predictable comedy plot.
• Narrative Shallowing: However, the romance sometimes functions more as a device for other characters’ liberation than a fully realized relationship. Personal issues such as Sulie’s eating disorder, which could have deepened their dynamic, remain only superficially explored. As a result, their love fails to transcend the level of “campy fun” into a space of genuine emotional depth.

Trixie and Sulie’s bond gives Fishnet its heart and soul. Their love symbolizes the fearless artistic spirit and serves as a voice for all oppressed identities, making it a key reason the film gained its cult following.

🎯 Personal Rating (Based on Preference)

💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥♥
⭐ Rating: ★★★☆