Film

Grapefruit

1988 · 40m · Drama · History · Music

With an all-female cast, featuring Suzie Bright as John Lennon, Cecilia Dougherty's Grapefruit plays with the romanticized history of the iconic Fab Four, gently mocking John and Yoko’s banal squabbles and obsessive rituals of self-display. Based obliquely on Yoko Ono’s book, the piece works on many levels to reposition this mythic tale of the Beatles by casting '80s women in mod drag—effectively mapping the lesbian sub-culture onto heterosexual mass culture. Discounting the importance of reproducing facts and historical accuracy, Dougherty gives an incisive reading of the creation of pop culture icons: it doesn’t matter who plays John Lennon because ultimately John Lennon is not a person anymore. As a star, he is a projection of our society’s collective needs and desires.

Jill Garellick

Paul McCartney

Azian Nurudin

George Harrison

Shelley Cook

Yoko Ono

Susie Bright

John Lennon

Kate Aragon

Ringo Star

Didi Dunphy

go-go dancer

Rick Groel

go-go dancer

• Cecilia DoughertyDirector

Release date

February 1, 1988

Status

Released

Original language

English

Runtime

40m

Genres

Drama, History, Music