London Film Festival: “Dear Lemon Lima” is darling

Mark Farnsworth is currently reviewing selected films from the London Film Festival.

Early on in “Dear Lemon Lima,” dreamy Vanessa is told by her specky git of a boyfriend, Philip, “You need to learn the difference between fantasy and reality.” Soon after, he dumps her, theatrically casting aside a yellow slurpee as he goes. Left alone between the day-glo paint of her snack shop, “The Sweetest Bean,” and the T.V. static sky, Vanessa’s journey begins.

Vanessa is half Yup’ik (Western Eskimo) and as such is the beneficiary of a scholarship to the prestigious Nichols Academy in Fairbanks, Alaska. The ultra PC regime has a catalogue of patronising but well-meaning events aimed at celebrating the indigenous culture. These include World Appreciation Week, Native Appreciation Class and the jewel in the crown, The Snowstorm Survivor Competition, which is all far less impressive than it sounds.

“I’m more white than Eskimo” she protests, but no one’s listening, especially not the wonderfully exuberant principal Applebomb. The athletically challenged Vanessa decides to enter a team to impress Philip, who has reinvented himself as an all-conquering babe magnet. Vanessa’s sub-standard performances in training get her relegated to the weight room, home of the geeks – labelled as the Fubars (just watch “Tango And Cash” or “Saving Private Ryan” for the meaning, if you don’t get it already).

Whereas Philip tries too hard in his metamorphosis, Vanessa’s gradual road to individualism rubs off on her fellow Fubar members and the rest of the school. Her quirky manner –  trying to grow love hearts and and making pastel doodles – slowly gives way to genuine compassion as she moulds her fellow misfits into a superhero team minus any powers save genuine friendship.

The comedy is light and, at times, wonderfully intelligent. The banter between Philip and Vanessa in Spanish class is exquisitely handled, especially the writing of their leadership qualities on the black board, refereed by their delighted teacher. The final Snowstorm Survivor Competition is strangely but pleasantly reminiscent of the early John Cusack vehicle “Better Off Dead.”

Suzi Yoonessi’s darling of a film occupies the space somewhere between “Rushmore” and “The Virgin Suicides.” Even when the story takes a surprisingly dark trajectory, “Dear Lemon Lima” rides it out with surprising assurance, without losing the whimsical tone set by Vanessa’s intermittent narration, Sasha Gordon’s delicate score and the Alaskan setting.

“Dear Lemon Lima” doesn’t break any new ground, but it can take its place confidently amongst the other left-field high school movies such as “Napoleon Dynamite.” Vanessa’s final achievement proves that she can, in fact, answer Phillip’s challenge. Good for her.