The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater

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.

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 won't lie, upon only half paying attention reading the plot of The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater. The words that stuck out were "Mafia" "Ex lover" "Extortion" "You have 30 days" "Embezzled Art collection" "MMA fighting priest" and of course "DOMINATRIX.... who plays by her own rules" ( I added that last part but it's true!!!) All those words that stuck out reading the summary, decided the trailer deserved my attention. To which it usually doesn't go past that point. ESPECIALLY With medium budget indie films. But they somehow made it to the next round. Renting It wasn't going to break the bank, and I said "hey! if I don't like it? I'll just turn it off, maybe try again later, or get done some of the work I need to do and have it as background noise... needless to say I'm behind on said work... I'm sorry! I really don't want to come across as arrogant or like my opinion is valid. Because we all know those who can't do anything become film critics. But I truly didn't think I was going to like this movie as much as I did. I'm going to buy the flick regardless, but honestly debating whether I should just but the digital or seek out a physical format of the movie (which is what I prefer, I don't know, owning a movie you're able to hold just means more to me.) The final chapter in the adventure of a movie and it's fate of either getting screened or reamed... well... it's writing a review... and here we are. Keep in mind, even if I think a movie is watchable, I usually won't bother writing a review. Note, even movies I think are terrible where my review is to purely warn others, even at that, the review is still a few short sentences of "do not do this to yourself! I watched it already! I was violated by this movie so you didn't have to be as well" There's so much that goes into why this movie deserves to be appreciated. The writing, the production, the acting, all done down to a T with precision and perfection. Obviously this movie didn't have a mega block buster budget, but given what they were given with what they were able to give. It was able to keep me invested without noticing it wasn't a Marvel Movie. Especially the acting. (When I watch movies I like to watch the background actors. It goes unnoticed when you're fixated on the characters the scene is centered on, as you normally should. But when you focus on the substance of whats going on behind the context, and the actors in the background who's characters don't have an existence beyond these few short moments. Who they are and how their story won't and doesn't mean anything. Are just a cog in the machine, an algorithm, their story isn't suppose to exist. Most of the time it causes you to find a glitch in the matrix and they look like background actors. But I didn't feel that way watching The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater. The acting is what truly made this film intriguing and able to be invested in. Especially and nothing without out Lorrissa Julianus. Lorrissa's performance bringing to life and portraying the character of Ava Moriarty, the story's main protagonist. Was not only believable, but give me butterflies, and at times give me butterflies. Let's just say if Ava was in my life? I would forget the safe word on purpose. I'm mostly familiar with Lorrissa's voice involved in a great deal of my favorite video games and small roles in movies like "Marked" "the husband" and "every 21 seconds". The charm, wittiness, and sense of humor her charisma projects on screen (not to mention absolutely gorgeous). She is truly underrated in her field and well on her way to becoming a DOMINATING force in the indie world. I highly recommend The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater. I laughed, I cried, I fell in love...

Ava Moriarty is a really memorable, bigger-than-life character, convincingly and luminously portrayed by Lorrisa Julianus.

I think Ava should star in her own Hallmark Movies & Mysteries series, with emphasis on her as academic prodigy and art/history expert. Unfortunately they, i.e. the Hallmark brand, would probably shy away from her striking and hilarious dominatrix dimension.

Impressive how the artwork featured in the plot was done by the lead actress herself.

Not really satisfied with both main characters' backstory, "big reveal's." Came off as forced and unbelievable. The overall resolution of the plot was another head-scratcher--WTF! It felt like the writer or production ran out of time/money and just threw away the ending.

I do hope though to see more of and by Lorrisa Julianus. She's a real talent.