Cassanova (left) and Lola (right)
Cassanova Cantu, a Cuban-American actress living in New York City, has an unhappy marriage with Peter and career which appears to be going nowhere fast. When her agent Lola tells Cassanova she's bisexual, the latter is surprised. After going along with her to an event at a gay club, Cassanova realizes she's attracted to Lola. She struggles with her feelings and the implications for her life they would bring.Tropes:
- Affectionate Nickname: Cassanova is usually called "Cass" by her family, friends and partners.
- Bisexual Love Triangle: Cassanova is married to Peter, and isn't sure whether their marriage will end or not at first. She's attracted to Lola, an out bisexual woman, but doesn't feel cheating on Peter would be right either as she still loves him. It doesn't last long, since she leaves him and pursues her feelings for Lola after deciding they just don't work together being married. Then after she starts dating Lola, it's revealed Cassanova was dating Jose before for a couple months and never officially ended things. Lola is angry and hurt of course after discovering this, ending things with Cassanova.
- Bittersweet Ending: Cassanova's relationship with Lola is ended by her cheating, but she's accepted herself as a bisexual woman and resolved she'll always be faithful to future partners. At the end she's in a new relationship with David, and is reconciled with Lola when the pair run into each other.
- Bi-Wildered: Cassanova, who's only been with men before, is initially confused due to feeling attraction for a woman. Her opening voiceover ponders about this, noting people can be more openly sexually fluid in different ways now, but asks if it's possible to be bisexual/pansexual and monogamous. Later she realizes she's bisexual however and accepts the fact.
- Character Title: Cassanova Cantu is the lead character.
- Closet Key: Her attraction to Lola makes Cassanova, who had believed she's straight (and is married to a man) realize otherwise. She's actually bisexual like Lola.
- Coming-Out Story: After she begins dating a woman, Cassanova tells family and friends of hers, who are a bit surprised but still accepting, except for her sister Miriam who's initially hostile, reciting various negative bisexual stereotypes (though not in Cassanova's hearing).
- Cute Clumsy Girl: Cassanova's charm is added to by her accidentally falling into a clothing rack early on, just before meeting Lola.
- Dance of Romance: Cassanova realizes she's attracted to Lola (and later bisexual because of this) while dancing with her in a lesbian club. After this they fall for each other and date.
- Dead Sparks: Cassanova's and Peter's marriage (on her end at least) has played out. She's lost all attraction to him, and isn't interested in their having a child or moving for his job. The two split up after she tells him this, along with that she's attracted to a woman.
- Experimented in College: Evette, after learning Cassanova's dating a woman, relates she once had kissed her best friend in college and nearly had sex with her. Cassanova is unimpressed by this in terms of her lesbian experience.
- Falling-in-Love Montage: Cassanova is shown in various situations kissing, laughing with and going places alongside Lola as the two fall for each other.
- Food Slap: On the Telemundo soap opera she gets the lead in, Cassanova plays a woman who tells her boyfriend she's pregnant. She throws her drink in his face after he asks whether she's sure it's his.
- Hallucinations: The first time she tries to have sex with Lola, Cassanova hallucinates that a hot naked man is there with them due to her insecurity, freaks out and leaves. It turns out "he" is a representation of her feeling anxiety due to having identified as straight. Near the end a naked Latina woman also appears, clearly representing her attraction toward women. The ending reveals the man was also based on a real guy whom she dates.
- Interrupted Intimacy: Lola and Cassanova are interrupted while going to Lola's house for sex the first time by Cassanova's anxiety-born hallucination making her run away as she freaks out.
- Latino Is Brown: Cassanova gets mistaken for a gringa (non-Latina woman) due to being a blonde who has blue eyes and is fair-skinned, though in fact she's a Latina (Cuban-American) who speaks Spanish fluently. She even does bilingual reporting on the radio. When she tries out for an acting role which sought a Latina, all the other women there are darker, which she notes talking to her friend Evelyn, saying she looks like a child of The Brady Bunch parents, saying if someone doesn't have Jennifer Lopez's appearance they're not deemed Latin enough so Cassanova doesn't get these parts. Instead, she's often cast playing white Canadian, Russian or Irish women. Evelyn replies she's more Latin than many women who have the Phenotype Stereotype, given many don't even speak Spanish. Evelyn, Cassanova's younger sister Evette and Lola (her agent, then later girlfriend) are also brunettes with olive or similar skin tones. Her mother and other sister Miriam are exceptions, being blondes with fair skin like Cassanova. A couple of the background people working on the Telemundo soap opera are also black or white Latinos, it's indicated.
- Lousy Lovers Are Losers: One of the reasons Cassanova's dissatisfied in her marriage with Peter is due to his poor sexual skills (he's shown during flashbacks hammering away as she looks uninterested).
- Masculine–Feminine Gay Couple: Cassanova hallucinates a couple of women, with one more butch and the other feminine, quite unlike her with her girlfriend, who are both average.
- Meet Cute: Cassanova runs into Lola after accidentally falling into a clothing rack while in the theatre both women work at.
- No Bisexuals: Peter's reaction to Cassanova telling him she feels attracted to another woman is saying she must be a lesbian. Cassanova berates him about this, saying things aren't so black and white, but isn't sure initially just what her orientation is. She wrestles with this for a time but then realizes she's bisexual like Lola (her crush). Later she hallucinates several gays and lesbians telling Cassanova that there's no such thing as bisexuals, they're simply the last step until being full-on gay, all chanting that she'll have to choose being gay or straight eventually. This however does not happen-she's really bisexual.
- Open-Minded Parent: After being told by Cassanova that she's with a woman, her mom is a bit surprised but easily accepts this, so long as they love each other.
- Queer Romance: Most of the film involves Cassanova realizing she's attracted to Lola and entering a relationship with her.
- Scenery Censor: Cassanova starts hallucinating a Latina naked woman near the end, who's covered by a newspaper she's reading.
- Sexy Discretion Shot: Cassanova returns to have sex with Lola, and then the scene cuts, showing them lying together afterward in bed saying how good it was.
- Sympathetic Adulterer: Cassanova cheats on Lola and Jose by dating them simultaneously without telling either. She feels remorseful about it and it's born from her struggle over accepting that she's bisexual. Lola angrily breaks up with her over it nonetheless, as you'd expect.
- Tomboyish Name: Lola's ex-girlfriend Sam, full name Samantha. Because of this Cassanova at first didn't know Lola's bisexual, thinking Sam was an ex-boyfriend of hers.
- The Unfavorite: Miriam, one of Cassanova's sisters, complains loudly after being last to learn that Cassanova is dating a woman that no one ever tells her anything because she's the "weird" one among them. Their sister Evette fires back that they don't tell her things because of her poor reactions, as she has an emotional freak out because of the news.
- Where Everybody Knows Your Flame: Lola invites Cassanova to a party at a lesbian club she visits after coming out to her as being bisexual. The two dance there, with the event making Cassanova realize that she's attracted to Lola. Appropriately enough it's an event for sapphic women, though queer and straight men can attend too.
