NOW ON VOD! Never let Hollywood make a lesbian comedy. Leave it to the experts…the indie filmmakers…and actual lesbians. Meg Poveromo’s The Box Trap is the perfect example of why indie filmmakers will always win over the Studios (though not at the box office).
Jess (Meg Poveromo) is a bartender at The Box Trap, a lesbian dive bar that runs on cheap drinks and a lot of loud regulars and is just happy to exist. Jess has plenty of problems herself. She just missed her sister’s baby shower because she “missed” several freeway off-ramps while heading in the wrong direction. She kicked out her roommate/girlfriend when she caught her with a dude and found out she’d turned straight.
One disappointment after another, Jess just can’t catch a break. But at least there’s The Box Trap and her friends to support her, including baby gay Stella (Julie Kashmanian), Jane-of-all-trades Laura (Ruth Zapico), butch lesbian Cass (Rachael Hein), and ally Maryam (Catalina Marie Paradiso).
The Box Trap is also in trouble. The C**k Catcher, the gay club on the other side of the road run by Stanley (Lamar Alonzo Hardy), has been feuding with The Box Trap for ages, and the rivalry has hit its peak because the club caters to both gay and bi clientele. As a result, The Box Trap is bleeding money, and its owner Dev (Kimberly Cain) says the bar is in real danger of closing for good.
“Jess is a bartender at The Box Trap, a lesbian dive bar that runs on cheap drinks and a lot of loud regulars and is just happy to exist.”
Light-hearted fun is how I’d describe The Box Trap. It features one comedic scene after another as all of our cast attempts to better themselves and find love in this spot that is essentially Cheers, but for lesbians. The laughs are good, sometimes cheesy, and full of inside jokes that went right over this straight male’s head. Fun is the key term here. Clearly the cast and crew had fun on set, and that fun translates to the screen.
As someone who loves comedies, I appreciate that The Box Trap doesn’t lock itself into the hard-and-fast rules of how to portray the LGBTQIA+ community. To writer/director/star Meg Poveromo’s credit, she simply creates a cast of crazy characters along the L-spectrum and gives us a wide variety of personalities and experiences. Ultimately, Poveromo refuses to play it safe and goes full throttle to tell a joke. The best moment is when Jess takes her nerdy, straight co-workers out to The C**k Catcher for a fun evening, and mayhem ensues.
I like my humor silly, and silly is on tap at The Box Trap. Its low-budget production values remind me of Troma movies, and its humor reminds me of Full Moon features. Best of all, everything that the character Jess puts herself through is something that we all go through—just with a lesbian overlay.
Meg Poveromo’s The Box Trap is a comedy that would rather be funny than safe. Take my advice: grab a cheap drink, pull up a stool, and let this silly, scrappy comedy remind you why indie filmmakers will always have more fun than the Studios.
For screening information, visit the Box Trap official website.
"…this spot that is essentially Cheers, but for lesbians."
