Everything Relative 1996

A lesbian couple, Katie Stacey Nelkin and Victoria Monica Bell, welcome a newborn son, and their family gathers for a bris that features a cameo by Harvey Fierstein as the mohel. The ceremony brings together seven former classmates who, during college, were part of a leftist street theater company and political action group, and all but one are lesbians. The reunion sets the stage for a weekend retreat at Katie and Victoria’s country home near Northampton, Massachusetts, where old loyalties, resentments, and possibilities rise to the surface.

After the bris, the seven former friends retreat to the countryside for a getaway that quickly becomes a testing ground for long-seeded tensions and unspoken truths. Victoria, a corporate lawyer, believes her professional life requires her to stay in the closet, which forces her to keep their relationship private in public. Katie understands the reasons for this secrecy but struggles with the cost it exacts on their partnership, and her growing frustration sharpens the friction between them over the weekend. The pressure cooker of the retreat amplifies every subtle signal, turning small disagreements into meaningful rifts as they navigate the delicate balance of friendship and romance in a group that has evolved since their college days.

Former lovers Josie [Ellen McLaughlin] and Maria [Olivia Negron] confront the wounds of a painful breakup. Maria left her husband and two children after coming out as a lesbian, hoping to build a new life, but she now fights to regain custody and reconnect with her children. Josie, a recovering alcoholic, has spent years wrestling with the ache of losing what might have been, and the reunion forces them to reexamine a relationship that never fully healed.

Luce [Dreya Weber], an athletic stuntwoman, arrives with her new partner, Candy [Malindi Fickle], a young woman whose political views clash with the rest of the group. Luce carries a heavy memory of her college girlfriend Sonja, who died in a car accident, and she finds it difficult to let go even as she tries to move forward. Candy’s presence adds tension to the dynamic, highlighting the widening gap between Luce’s past and her present.

Meanwhile, Gina [Gabriella Messina], a professional singer, has long harbored feelings for Luce, yet Luce remains unattainable as she clings to memories of Sonja. The contrast between Gina’s enduring admiration and Luce’s unresolved past creates a delicate undercurrent that threads through the weekend’s activities.

Sarah [Carol Schneider], the lone straight woman in the group who works at Planned Parenthood, is happily married but under significant stress due to infertility. Her perspective grounds the group’s conversations and offers a counterpoint to the more entangled romantic histories at play, providing practical insight into balance, desire, and the complexities of family planning within a close-knit circle.

Throughout the weekend—whether they’re revisiting familiar haunts, playing a spirited softball game, joining in a group sing-along, swimming, or sharing quiet moments by the water—the seven friends inch toward reconciliation. Old conflicts resurface and are confronted with honesty and care, and new chapters begin to take shape as each woman reassesses her life, her relationships, and what she wants for the future. By weekend’s end, they part ways with a deeper understanding of themselves and each other, having redefined the boundaries of friendship, love, and possibility within a community they’ve spent years building.