A 1995 indie film directed by Maria Maggenti and released by Fineline Features (New Line Cinema's former specialty films division) about two girls who (you guessed it) fall in love.
Randy Dean (Laurel Holloman), a 17-year-old lesbian, is in her final year of high school and is getting failing grades. One day, Evie Roy (Nicole Ari Parker), a girl from Randy's school, stops by the gas station Randy works at, wondering if her tire needs more air. This is the moment that Randy and Evie talk for the first time, and from then on they start hanging out with each other and eventually fall in love.
It provides examples of:
- Age-Gap Romance: Before she hooks up with Evie, Randy is having an affair with an older married woman named Wendy, much to the irritation of the latter's husband Ali. She's ten years Randy's senior (who's seventeen).
- Alpha Bitch: Two out of three of Evie's friends in high school are gorgeous, fashionable, and prone to bullying Randy for her lesbianism. They more or less cut ties with Evie once she comes out of the closet to them. Averted for the third friend, who's generally nicer and more supportive of Evie, but too meek to properly stand up to the others.
- Based on a Great Big Lie: Despite the film having "incredibly true" in its title, it is not based on a true story. The "incredibly true" part probably comes from a play that is mentioned a few times in the film, which, according to what people say about it, is a play about lesbian romance that is based on a true story.
- Blonde, Brunette, Redhead:
- Vicky (blonde), Rebecca (brunette) and Lena (redhead).
- Evie's the brunette to Randy's redhead and Wendy's blonde.
- Evie's former friends.
- Bolivian Army Ending: The film ends with a shot of Randy and Evie hugging and kissing each other in front of all of the arguing people outside, which all started with the two running away from Evie's mom after they ruined the house by making a huge dinner the preceding night. What happens to the two is not shown.
- Butch Lesbian: Randy is a tomboy who has boyish short hair, wearing flannel shirts and shorts most of the time. She dates two women during the film. Her aunt Rebecca is also one.
- Camp Gay: Frank, Randy's best friend, is very obviously gay.
- Closet Gay: Randy's initial girlfriend Wendy is married to a man, keeping her relationship with Randy a secret (though because of the infidelity equally to it being same-sex).
- Closet Key: Evie was never previously attracted to women before meeting Randy, and initially she's confused because of it. She quickly accepts her attraction though and starts dating her.
- Coming-Out Story: In a subplot, Evie tells her friends about her being with Randy. Two don't take this well and reject her, while the third is accepting though too meek to stand up for her.
- Did Not Think This Through: Randy and Evie really should have thought better than to cook such a large and extravagant dinner for themselves that was too big for just the two of them and that made such a huge mess in the house. Or that they would, on that same night, have sex in the bed of the latter's mother.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Subverted with the title. It is indeed about two girls who fall in love, but it's not based on a true story.
- The Fantastic Trope of Wonderous Titles
- Fiery Redhead: Randy is quick to anger after getting disappointed in school.
- Granola Girl: Lena, Rebecca's ex-girlfriend, who reads aloud the nutritional information on food and makes organic pasta.
- Hereditary Homosexuality: Randy, plus her aunt whom she lives with, are both lesbians.
- Heteronormative Crusader: A lot of people are homophobes in the town where Evie and Randy live. Randy is angrily called an anti-lesbian slur early on while standing with her girlfriend Wendy. Evie's friends are mostly hostile to her coming out as well. They reject her even though they've been friends from childhood. Evie's mother also suggests that Evie just needs "Therapy" to deal with her attraction to Randy.
- Homophobic Hate Crime: Discussed. Evie expresses her fear about being beaten up assuming she was open regarding her relationship with Randy. Later in the film, Randy does get attacked by Wendy's husband at her workplace, though it's as much for Wendy cheating with her as them being a same-sex couple.
- Improbably Female Cast: Even for a film about lesbians, there seems to be a ludicrous amount of female characters, with only around two or three male characters appearing in the whole film.
- Lesbian Romance: It's a film about Exactly What It Says on the Tin (minus the "incredibly true" part). In this film, a Butch Lesbian falls in love with another girl after she visits the gas station the former works at.
- Lipstick Lesbian: Wendy and Evie are both conventionally feminine. Both have long hair and wear blouses or skirts sometimes. In both cases they may be bisexual though, since they have relationships with men too.
- Masculine–Feminine Gay Couple: Butch Lesbian Randy and feminine girl Evie get into a relationship.
- Modesty Bedsheet: Evie and Randy hastily cover themselves using the bedsheet after being caught in bed by Evie's mother.
- No Antagonist: Just two girls in love and the rippling effects it has on their lives.
- No Bisexuals: One of Evie's friends accusingly asks if she's a lesbian once she tells them about dating Randy. She denies it. Neither mentions bisexuality, though before this Evie had been with a guy.
- Parental Abandonment: Randy's mother left her to join an anti-abortion activist group. Her father left before she was even born. Thankfully though she's got two loving lesbian aunts who raise her which Randy's happy with.
- Parents Walk In at the Worst Time: A variant. Evie's mother walks in on her daughter having a good night's sleep with Randy after their sex session from the preceding night, and gets quite pissed at her daughter upon discovering this.
- Running Gag: Everyone quips "Nice car" whenever they see the impressive set of wheels that Evie drives. Even Ali, who initially thought she was another young girl his wife was having an affair with.
- Their First Time: Evie and Randy have sex toward the end of the film. It's both their first times, which is a surprise for Evie since she'd thought Randy already slept with women before.
- Tomboyish Name: Randy, which is only fitting, for she is a very tomboyish girl.
- You Are Grounded!: Near the end of the film, one of the things Evie's mom says as she is mad at Randy and Evie is that the latter is grounded forever.
