Second Nature

Decent watch, could watch again, but can't say I'd recommend.

Collette Wolfe and Sam Huntington are a delight and funny pair for this story, but the movie is set in a mayoral race with a Freaky Friday premise on the world's genders.

The problem with that is it's a lot of message: everything in the movie ends up being a commentary on society. Some of it is amusing as hell, but it ranges from wildly unfounded to obvious to "why the hell is this what you're focusing on".

It's not a bad movie, just know what you're going to watch here.

The movie had one part that made my husband and I laugh so hard out loud I gave to write this review.. Very cute movie.. I'm upset this doesn't have more credit! It's not like over the top cheesy or anything. It's just cute.

"Second Nature" is a cute little film about role reversals…a subject which has been tackled quite a few times before but never quite like this one.

Amanda (Collette Wolfe) is a lady who wants to run for mayor of Louisburg, now that a special election has been announced. However, Bret (Sam Huntington) seems like a shoe-in. After all, politics in Louisburg seems like an old boys' network where women aren't taken very seriously. She knows she could do a great job…if she only got the chance. Around this same time, her grandmother gives her what she claims is a magic mirror…and magic it certainly turns out to be! When Amanda and Bret are later arguing about the unfairness of male and female roles, they inadvertently use the mirror to change things….to make it a world where women are like men and vice-versa.

As for Amanda, she really likes this new world. While the folks in town look like the same old folks she's known her whole life, they certainly don't act like them. In Ellenburg, women are in charge and men are often just seen as sex objects and bimbos. Because of this, it seems certain that Amanda will win the election and life just seems easier for her thanks to the mirror. At the same time, however, Bret is miserable. Women don't take him seriously and they spend so much of the time objectifying him and the other men! The problem is to return to their old lives, if it's even possible, they both need to find the mirror and unwish the wish….but the mirror has disappeared and Amanda is just too darned happy in this new life!

The film has a lot of interesting things to say about men and women and couples no doubt will enjoy watching the film and talking about it afterwards (yes, men….talk to your partner…it's a good thing!). The acting is very nice (particularly by Wolfe) and it's a light, enjoyable little comedy that made me smile. My only reservation is that at times the film is a bit too broad in how they portray the difference between the sexes and it is far from subtle….whether in real life or the mirror universe. Overall, despite this minor problem, a clever and fun film that is hard not to like.

So the premise, and some content, is great - Showing what differences men/women go through. But it still smacks of a man's view. Guys don't just punch each other in the shoulder - which seems to happen a lot in this movie. The premise is awesome, I just wish it would've been more realistic.

Interesting premise especially in wake of the #metoo and #timesup movement (though this movie was made before that). This film takes a comedic spin on a Freaky Friday type of scenario, except instead of a body switcheroo, it's a gender sensibility switcheroo in which a sexist guy and a strong woman suddenly think like a woman and think like a man. It's a comedic take on it and it doesn't go too deep, often playing up a big gender clichés and stereotypes - BUT stereotypes are there for a reason in that there is some truth to them. So while this movie makes you like, it also gives you pause and make you think.