Virtual Sexuality

"Virtual Sexuality" is an above average movie about teenagers aimed especially at a teenage audience. It does include the traditional ingredients of similar movies, like the interest for the other gender, the good hearted nerd, the school's babe, the stupid jock and the silly parents. Yet is it different. Firstly because it is British (taking place in London) and not American as most films of the kind. Secondly because it contains an interesting twist (the duplication, as a man, of the female lead). Thirdly because the movie is told mainly from a female perspective. It does have some good points about relations between girls and boys in their upper teens, and they are told in a funny and inventive way. The main asset of the film is however Laura Fraser who plays the female lead, Justine. She is not only beautiful in a fresh and believable way, but also very, very charming. The movie wouldn't have been the same without her!

A British teen movies which centres around a girl (Justine) accidentally creating her dream man (Jake) in by the use of a virtual reality machine, there is only one problem (well….not just one…) she gets trapped inside his body with a geek as the only person who knows the truth and the only person she can trust. It sounds a lot worse than it is, I found it more watchable for the reason that Laura Fraser was starring in it more than the film content, indeed she looks stunning throughout especially when she dresses in a red lycra dress in order to impress Jake, WOW!!, If only I had a virtual reality machine

Justine is still waiting for her first real romantic encounter. She has had opportunities but has skipped them, for she longs for the whole package; that is, true love. When she goes to a technology fair with a friend named Chas, she enters a booth and is urged to "create" a perfect male for herself on screen. Yet, a freak accident results in her newly fangled male, Jake, to pop out of the screen and be a living specimen. However, he does not want anything to do with Justine. Justine is in despair and resolves she'll "just get it over with" with someone else. No, no Justine! Don't do it! This is a British film with some good moments. Watch Justine on her actual dream date, riding down the Thames in a boat, for example. Now that's lovely. The young actors are all adept, although the man playing Jake did not seem like a "dreamboat" to me. The London setting is fun and the dialogue perky, although there is some bad language thrown in. All in all, do you think you've seen all of the romantic comedies in existence? You have not, if you've missed this one. Look beyond its bad title and give it a whirl for an evening. You might be pleasantly surprised at how likable the film is.

The criticisms thrown at this British film have all missed the point - the filmmakers were trying to create a campy teen sex comedy in the banal and exploitative tradition of American 1980s cinema, but reverse the gender roles so that the girls are the protagonists and the boys do all of the nudity. It's no surprise that it took U.K. filmmakers to achieve this role reversal, largely because U.K. and other Euro films have never shied away from full male nudity, much unlike American filmmakers.

On this angle, the filmmakers have been absolutely successful. I attended a viewing of this last week in Toronto, and noted the hetero couple sitting in front of me - at the end of the film, the girl seemed slightly amused and aroused, while the boy seemed put out a bit - his facial expression seemed to resemble that of your average straight teenage girl after viewing Porky's or something like that. He seemed annoyed, and frustrated that all the nudity (and there was a lot of it for mainstream film standards) in the film was male.

Pathetic plot points aside, or bad acting, etc. this film achieves what it wanted to achieve - exploit the male gender in the context of a banal teen sex comedy featuring female protagonists. They weren't going for a logical plot or characters who would intrigue the audience. Who ever cared about the plots of the 1980s American teen sex comedies, anyway?

The filmmakers achieved their primary purpose with the teenage boy locker room scene, featuring several furtive shots of full frontal nudity. Not to mention, the numerous butt shots of star Rupert Penry-Jones, the dream boat created by the film's virtual reality machine, throughout the entire film.

Nobody that sees this movie will tell you that the plot is spectacular or brilliant, but I think most people will be fairly entertained by it. There are, as in most movies, some slow times or failures, but there are some interesting developments dealing with the main characters, primarily how the girl acts in her new body as a guy. It's really a toss up whether or not the movie is worth seeing. If you're in the mood for a fairly simple but mostly entertaining film, go ahead and check it out. If you prefer heavy or artistic movies with flawless and deep plots, you should probably avoid this one. It is also worth noting that the English accent is sometimes hard to understand, so if that annoys you, this movie will too.