Lesbian Hooker Flick 'The Foxy Merkins' Opens in New York

From Madeleine Olnek and the crew who brought you "Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same" comes the new lesbian comedy, "The Foxy Merkins." In this homage to iconic male hustler films, two lesbian hookers deal with their feelings for each other while they find their way through a world of bargain-hunting housewives and double-dealing conservative women.

Lisa Hass in absolutely winning as Margaret, a down-on-her-luck hooker in training. When she meets self-assured grifter Jo (Jackie Monahan) -- a woman from a wealthy family who is an expert on picking up women even as she considers herself a card-carrying hetero -- the two hit the streets as a team. In hilarious pickups outside of Talbots, they trick with kinky conservative customers from the suburbs.

Among their clients are a kinky Republican (Susan Ziegler), a shopaholic swinger (Sally Sockwell), an MFA Drama student (Deb Margolin) and a nutty pair of accounting convention attendees (Babs Davy and Betsy Farrell).

As the two get closer, Jo shows what a wishy-washy friend she is. In a touching moment, she helps Margaret search for her mother in a cemetery, and instead, runs into a shady merkin salesman. (Oh, by the way, a merkin is a toupee for your vadge.) Later, she tries to sell a sex tape of Margaret and a conservative Republican legislator to that same merkin salesman, who deadpans, "I work for CNN now."

The film makes great use of New York City locations, including Port Authority, the Lower East Side, Coney Island, the Staten Island Ferry and Little Italy. The two women enjoy their time off together, as Jo notes, "It's the luxury of our job. We can do it anywhere."

In the end, Jo proves just too self-involved to be a true friend to Margaret. When her mother (Diane Cielsa) gives her the ultimatum that her sleeping in the Port Authority bathroom will come with "financial consequences," Jo quickly finds a man to marry and heads off to the suburb to become one of those ladies who lunch.

Loveable loser Margaret kicks around sad and solo for a while, but soon runs into a former almost-client (Jennifer Prediger), and finds a genuine romantic connection. Imagine that; a lesbian movie with a happy ending. We could get used to this... Thanks, "The Foxy Merkins"!

"The Foxy Merkins" opens on Friday, Dec. 5 at Made in New York Media Center at IFP, 30 John Street in DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY 11201. For information or tickets, call 718-729-6677 or visit nymediacenter.com