Why Don't They Have...

musicofthemoonatmidnight question asks whether the movie is expects us to believe something that isn’t credible in the context of the story. This brings up a bigger issue with the movie, which husseyc raises, about Tori’s fear of being discovered. The second point seems more problematic. If Tori is paranoid then she should keep the door locked especially as Allison has burst in on her once already. The door can be explained away as, e.g., these are school girls at an all-girl boarding school so the doors don’t have locks; or Paulie forgot to lock it when she came in very late after frolicking with her hawk. Or perhaps Tori just wasn’t that worried.

The standard view is that Tori is terrified that people will know she’s a lesbian and so when she is caught she flips and goes into excessive damage/denial mode. If that’s true, Tori’s behavior in the first half of the movie makes little sense. She and Paulie aren’t officially ‘out,’ yet all they need is a parade – the dance, the math class, holding hands in the choir, snuggling up on the school porch, etc. Bannett and Vaughn figure it out, and I don’t think Tori and Paulie's friends are really dumb. And, apparently, Tori hasn’t even mentioned her fears to Paulie because her response to Allison surprises Paulie – and then surprises Mary in the dining hall.

Tori’s problem is the same one all the girls have: her family. For Tori, this is most immediately present in the obnoxious little Allison, who embodies Tori’s family constantly trying to butt into her life and most particularly into her bedroom. Tori is comfortable enough with her relationship as long as she’s away from her family. She can be relaxed with her circle of friends because junior girls like Allison are pointedly excluded (“no bottom feeders…out, out, out!”). And the family presence seems to set the limit on officially coming out. During the porch scene Tori tells Paulie “we’re going to be together in the Fall at McGill [University] and we’ll be *so* together.” I take that to mean they will then officially be a couple, which won’t be risky because Allison will still be left behind at Perkins.

Okay, so this doesn’t explain why she didn’t lock the door; the odious Allison is still on the prowl. But then, they are school girls at an all-girl boarding school, so perhaps the doors don’t have locks; or Paulie forgot to lock it...Anyway, let’s face it, if the door had been locked, the rest of the movie would be very boring.