The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater

I sat down to watch the 2020 movie "The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater" in 2021, without ever having heard about it. But the title of the movie and the synopsis made it seem like a movie that could be interesting.

Turns out that "The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater" was an incredibly slow paced and monotonous movie. It was a movie that offered very little in terms of proper entertainment value for me.

And it was a shame, because the concept idea behind the movie was definitely interesting. But the execution and transition from script papers to screen just didn't fare all that well.

This is definitely not a movie that I will recommend you sit down to watch as a first choice of movie for an evening, because the movie just fell short of really being interesting. Nor is it a movie that I will ever be returning to watch a second time, as it was painful to get through it the first time around.

The characters in the movie were, for the most parts, adequate. It wasn't a character gallery that overly prompted me, as a viewer, to take a particular liking or anything to any of them. Why? Well, simply because the characters were lacking background stories and motivation. It felt very superficial with the character that were milling about.

It should be noted, though, that they had put together a relatively good ensemble of actors and actresses to perform in the movie. Just a shame that they had so little to work with.

Ultimately then "The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater" just failed to be a well-rounded and fulfilling movie. My rating of this 2020 movie from writer Lorrisa Julianus and director C. J. Julianus lands on a less than mediocre four out of ten stars.

The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater is a solid, well acted film that is very effective. Although I think the movie could have been a bit shorter overall, the characters are unique, and it turned out to have more emotion than I expected which made for a powerful film. The cinematography was excellent along with the writing. Check it out.

This was a fun story! The film features a unique protagonist, a dominatrix, in what can be viewed as a comedy, mystery, romance, and noir. It is a true independent film, which gives it charm and a unique voice. Some moments felt a little talky, and at times the lighting and color feel amateur. But it's easier to look past that, knowing the filmmakers put their heart and soul into this project. Nothing about this feels "cookie cutter" or manufactured for quick cash. You can tell there is a lot of heart involved behind the scenes.

I thoroughly enjoyed this indie-romantic-action comedy. Why? It's easier to explain when I discuss reasons I don't enjoy films categorized similarly.

Camp vs Cringe: There is nothing worse than secondhand embarrassment when watching a comedy. I will quickly give up on a film if it becomes cringey rather than funny. Mistress Maneater is definitely over the top and troupe-y at times, but they were self aware enough to stay firmly in the camp category. There was one moment in particular that I howled with laughter due to the subversion of expectations.

The audience is treated as intelligent: I will be the first to say, I hate comedies that are solely low-brow/gross out style. Mistress Maneater has elements of art history, religion, and lesser spoken about world history/events framing the story. And it's delivered in a way that assumes the audience doesn't need their hands held to understand it. It grounded many of the character motivations in a broader reality, which was appreciated.

Foreign language: I happened to watch this with a friend who is a native Russian speaker. He confirmed that while some of the accents were a bit off (and 1 spot on), the dialog was actually Russian instead of "film Russian" - a common complaint for him. Many major studio films do not make the effort, so kudos for making the effort!

Is this the best film of 2020? Of course not - it wasn't trying to be. It's a fun romp! And in 2020, something to just enjoy is very welcome.

I haven't reviewed a film on Imdb in several years, but this one is worth a few words. First of all, I found the writing to be very good, full of wit and timing. That's what impressed me most... that and the acting of the lovely Lorrisa Julianas. I was so pleased when I found out she was the writer as well. Low budget, yes, but the writing is what elevates this film. Please don't be thrown off by the ridiculous low ratings, it's actually pretty good entertainment.