Mary Jane's Not a Virgin Anymore

Mary Jane's Not a Virgin Anymore
Mary Jane's Not a Virgin Anymore
	Film poster
Directed by	Sarah Jacobson
Written by	Sarah Jacobson
Produced by	Sarah Jacobson
Starring	Lisa Gerstein; Beth Ramona Allen;
Cinematography	Adam Dodds
Edited by	Sarah Jacobson
Music by	The Loudmouths ; Babes in Toyland ; Mudhoney ; Red Aunts ; AFI ; The Cosmic Psychos
Distributed by	Station Wagon Productions
Release date	August 14, 1996; (Chicago Underground Film Festival)
Running time	95 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$50,000 (estimated)

Mary Jane's Not a Virgin Anymore is an independent film written, directed, and produced by the self-anointed "Queen of Underground Film",^[1] Sarah Jacobson. It's a film about a teenage girl in the Twin Cities Area named Mary Jane who is curious about sex. It focuses on the female perspective of sex. In the film, musicians Jello Biafra and Davey Havok appear in cameo roles. Tamra Davis helped finance the film.^[2] It was shown at a sold-out screening at the Sundance Film Festival in 1997.^[2]

Plot

The film starts with a recreation of an overly glamorized 'Hollywood' vision of a girl losing her virginity. This is juxtaposed with high schooler Mary Jane (Lisa Gerstein) losing her virginity to Steve (Shane Kramer) which is shown to be uncomfortable and not at all glamorous. Mid-coitus, Jane requests that Steve stop, and she leaves to attend a party at the local cinema at which she works. She discusses her failed date with her fellow employees, bisexual punk musician Ericka (Beth Allen), alcoholic Matt (Andrew DeAngelo), Ryan (Bwana Spoons), who collects smiley-face memorabilia, and her understanding gay boss Dave (Greg Cruikshank). It's revealed that the employees have a habit of secretly placing bets on the outcomes of people's relationships and sexual activity. At the end of the night, Jane swears off both relationships and sex.

The next day, Jane is put in charge of training new employee Tom (Chris Enright). Steve shows up to ask Jane out again, though she promptly rejects him. In the midst of work, Jane is making a video project where she interviews her friends about being residents of the fictitious country of Zamboni, where women have equal rights to men. Presenting the unedited project to her class, she's met with disapproval from her straitlaced classmates.

Jane's friends begin to open up to her about their often embarrassing first times. Her friend Grace (Marny Snyder Spoons) relates that she was raped when she was 15, and consensually lost her virginity with a friend a month later. Ericka recalls having sex in a basement, with her partner whispering 'olive juice' post-coitus. Ericka suggests that Jane try masturbating to discover what she likes. Tom invites Jane to a party, after which she masturbates for the first time. Discussing it with Ericka the next day, it is revealed that Matt was Ericka's first lover.

Grace tells Jane and Ericka that she is five months pregnant, although it is soon revealed that Dave had already correctly guessed she was pregnant and placed a bet on it. That night, Tom and Jane have sex, which proves to be much more enjoyable than Jane's first time. The next morning, Jane is told that Matt has been fired for stealing from work, and that Dave will soon be leaving his job to renovate and run another theater. Matt decides to move to Alabama where he apparently has a girlfriend who can get him a job. Tom and Matt decide to go out for one final night of drinking together. The next day, Jane is told that Tom is in hospital after getting drunk and driving the wrong way down a one-way street; he soon dies of his injuries.

After Tom's funeral, Dave leaves the theater and is replaced by an abrasive and disorganized manager. Before long, both Ryan and Jane decide to quit. After spending a day together, Jane confesses that she has romantic feelings for Ryan, who tells her that, while flattered, he does not feel the same way, and wishes to remain friends.

The next year, having graduated high school, Jane moves to Boston and is a contributor to her friend's zine Olive Juice. Grace reveals that a blood test showed Tom to be the biological father of her child, which she has decided to keep. Dave is running a new theater with his lover, Kurt (Miles Long). While meeting with Ryan at a restaurant, Jane runs into Steve, who doesn't recognize her. Jane sees that Steve is meeting with her friend Allison (Alicia Rose), who reveals that she reads Olive Juice. Jane tells her that her first time with Steve was the basis for an article in the zine about an "awful thing that happened in the cemetery". After blowing off Steve, Allison is invited to come bowling with Jane and Ryan.

Cast

Lisa Gerstein as Mary Jane
Chris Enright as Tom
Greg Cruikshank as Dave
Beth "Ramona" Allen as Ericka
Marny Snyder Spoons as Grace
Bwana Spoons as Ryan
Andrew DeAngelo as Matt
Shane Kramer as Steve
Alicia J. Rose as Allison
Davey Havok as George
Miles Long as Kurt
Siira Rieschl as Danny

Release

The film had its premier at the Chicago Underground Film Festival on August 14, 1996.^[3] It was shown at a sold-out screenings at the Sundance Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival and South by Southwest in 1997.^[2] A Blu-ray and DVD compilation featuring Jacobson's 1993 film I Was a Teenage Serial Killer and several of her short films and music videos was released by the American Genre Film Archive on September 17, 2019.^[4]

Reception

The film has received mainly positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 75% based on 8 reviews, with an average rating of 4.9/10. Kristin Tillotson called it "a raucous and real effort".^[5] Marjorie Baumgarten praised the script and performances while criticizing that "the film is rather short on plot and what there is, is awfully contrived".^[6] Film Threat reacted negatively to the film, calling it "an overly long, exceedingly talky, preachy film, something between a bad after-school special and a feminist version of Clerks".^[7]

References

^ Flesh, Henry (2004). "Sarah Jacobson's final work". New York Press. Archived from the original on 2008-04-06. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
^ ^a ^b ^c Savlov, Marc (March 20, 1998). "Girls, Sex, and Movies". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
^ Wilmington, Michael (1996-02-11). "Accused and interrogator are "Caught in the Act"". Chicago Tribune. p. E2.
^ The Films of Sarah Jacobson Blu-ray, archived from the original on 2021-04-16, retrieved 2021-04-04
^ Tillotson, Kristin (February 11, 1997). "'Mary Jane' a raucous and real effort". Star Tribune. p. E2.
^ Baumgarten, Marjorie (March 20, 1998). "Movie Review: Mary Jane's Not a Virgin Anymore". The Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
^ "MARY JANE'S NOT A VIRGIN ANYMORE". Film Threat. October 25, 2000. Archived from the original on June 21, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.