Act Naturally

This cringe-worthy comedy about a nudist club NAILS IT in some respects. (I say this having been a part of the nudist community for 35 years.) Nudism is synonymous with heavy drinking, and there's plenty of that in this film. Nudist clubs tend to be a bit on the run-down side (in maintenance terms) and they do tend to shelter many people running from something- either the law, or an ex-wife, or child support payments, etc. This film is OFF THE MARK in terms of the portrayals of people being shamed to take their clothes off upon entry. Realistically that just doesn't happen. In fact, my nudist club neighbor just died two weeks ago and his clothed family visited here several times to take care of his belongings. In a real-life nudist club, nobody cheers when you remove your clothes. That's just creepy. Last but not least, the average age of people in a nudist club in America is mid-60s. You'll see lots of old folks, white haired, flabby, and flatulent. But none of that makes for a film that's trying to catch eyeballs.

As a practicing nudist, I was interested in this and when it came to "On Demand", I bought it. However.....the film had a lot of things just, well, wrong with it.

It is extremely rare that someone is shamed into disrobing at any nudist facility. Oh it happens, but it's usually an "at your own pace" situation. So, ladies, if someone asks to a nudist or clothing optional gathering, you likely won't be pressured.

Second, there was a heavy emphasis on drinking. Yes, at some nudist parks the booze flows freely. And at others, it doesn't. Sex? Normally not part of a first-time visitors' experience, so guys, don't go to a nudist park thinking that the women lay down and bang.

Third, this depicted a lot of young adults. Most nudist resorts in the 21st century are sadly occupied by older adults. Nudism is trying to change that in order to survive.

Fourth, the acting. Rob Roy Fitzgerald and Liz Lytle stood out with some talent, but the rest of the crew - uh, nice try. But it did depict some of the fun aspects of nudism.

I can understand the lack of frontal nudity owing to union regulations.

So if you find this "in the discount rack" or want to get a download, it's probably worth it to satsify curiousity but no, it's not a masterpiece nor a totally accurate depiction of North American nudism.

The center of attention towards the film seems to be the amount of nudity. There is a large amount but the film's reasoning behind it stems from the people being "nudist" at a nudist resort. The story is relatively better than expect and only given a small plot description, it does showcase what it it about. The film isn't as provocative as initially thought, where this is a real film with a plot, convincing acting, characters, well dialogue and so on.

Although the end results are very predictable and we see sort of how they would unfold as the film progresses. With an obvious happy ending. The ending is given a very clear sequel bait, and apparently there is a sequel but not yet out? They really should have made the sequel right away. This film seems like it would actually made a decent tv series, given that there are several different characters and many subplots could ensure from it.

I guess the film makers did one thing right in putting their best effort into the first half of the film, so then at least some would watch the ending for the resolution despite it's decline in script, editing, pacing and sense.

To be fair, we did laugh at many scenes at the beginning, though some from the cringe element. The two sisters are oddly prudish even for two non-nudists. The cast appears to be a mix of actors and extras given speaking parts. Perhaps some agreed to frontal nudity and others didn't, because we get a mix of straightforward nudity and fan-dances with comically, strategically placed props.

However, that's not what really let's it down. The sound is choppy throughout, and the camera needlessly handheld at times. In the last act the script, not strong to begin with, falls apart, and actors seem to be ab libbing with the most banal non-communication. The editing goes to pot, especially with the multiple fade-to-black cuts during the not-sad-at-all funeral. The final insult is that the resolution of the story is not revealed to us - the argument and subsequent agreement between the sisters is without audio, with just...airplane noises over the top? WHY? Was the audio not useable? Why not reshoot? Was the script so lame that it was deemed unworthy of inclusion? Again, reshoot, please! It couldn't have been expensive to shoot - two girls and a car on the side of a country road.

I don't know. Hopefully it was a learning experience for everyone involved.

With all the films in Hollywood that glorify nudity as sexual, it's nice to watch a film that has more in common with the innocent Doris Wishman movies of the 60s than modern day porn flicks. I just wish that the film itself was as interesting as its premise.

The story itself is quite low-key, and even boring at times given that stakes are quite low: Leah and Charlie want to sell the nudist resort, but the nudists want to keep it, so they try to convince them otherwise. They live fairly comfortable lives before they arrive, and the character arcs in which they go are quite contrived.

The characters are all quite diverse, and the actors are all convincing in their parts. Yet, this doesn't yield as much drama as one would think. Leah and Charlie are both quite different characters, yet the actresses don't seem to have much chemistry together, and despite their different philosophies on life, don't particularly have interesting scenes together.

In terms of technical specs, the cinematography and sound are satisfactory. It's an indie pic, so the low budget look of the film falls more in line with a hipster music video, which certainly aids the film's flat, laid-back feel. It's just a shame a location that is not typically seen much in film is not filmed to be more interesting.

Above all, I think what really weighs the film down it that it's not particularly funny even though it's a comedy. The lines are not zingers (even with a gay character!), and it's hard to really laugh at the same joke over and over again. They're naked! The girls are uncomfortable! But, in the end, it's hard to be completely mad at the film. It's tone is quite pleasant, and the performances are pretty good. Just don't expect anything really earth shattering, given the subject matter.