Act Naturally

This is a fun picture--a lightweight entertainment with lots of eye-candy. It is a very modern homage to a classic genre from the past.

When their father passes away, two young women are surprised to learn that he has left them an unusual inheritance: a nudist resort. So naturally they have to go there and find out what they have.

Initially reluctant to "go native", they gradually get over their inhibitions.

Unlike most modern movies with nudity, there is very little frontal exposure, and not much sex. Like the classic "nudie cuties" of the 1960's, there are generous displays of good-looking T & A.

The is so close to being one of those sweet indie comedies, but it just misses to mark in a few places. It's extremely trope-y with by the book characters and plot, BUT everyone seems to be acting their hearts out and there's nothing truly awful about it. It's just kind of there. A few laughs, but nothing you'll remember later. It doesn't even exploit the nudity! Comes across as more gentle and loving than trashy, which makes one wonder who this was for? Nudists?

I've definitely seen worse and would still say this was an okay watch if you've got nothing else on the plate.

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.

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.

What would you have if you made a movie about a nudist colony... er, resort; but, didn't feature much nudity? You would have this movie. Though, they did have nudity here and there, it was painful to see the hoops they jumped through to avoid it. Women usually shown from the shoulders up, men from the waist up. Objects being carried awkwardly to cover certain areas of the body. Shots from a distance in order to ensure things were not too visible.

Then, on top of all that, there was a weak plot, weak dialog, and weak acting. They definitely could have done better. It was bold concept, but they didn't really run with it... too bad.