Sensualidade Virtual

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.

Justine is a 17 year old virgin and she wants to do something about it but can't find the best man to do it. She visits a science fair with her geeky friend Chas and has a go in a virtual reality machine that allows you to carry out changes to your own body. She makes herself into the perfect man when suddenly a freak explosion cause a power jolt and creates her electronic version – Jake. Jake befriends Chas while trying to work out a way back to his/her old body but Justine remembers nothing but is set up with Jake by her (their!) friend Fran.

Who says the Americans can only do average teen comedies – here the UK has a stab too. The film has a certain energy and enthusiasm that is hard to dislike at first but wears thin before even the halfway point is reached. Part of the reason is the fact that the plot is complete nonsense. I coped with the fact that Justine had become Jake – but it was all confused when Justine herself still exists in her old body. It just seemed so strained that I lost interest a bit. But the comedy should have held me.

The laughs are basic and mainly come from youf things – it's not very clever. The energy of the film comes through in the actors but also little touches like onscreen text and what not, it feels like it's full of youth and drive, even if the end result feels a little tired. Fraser is cool as Justine and carries the lead well. The first quarter is all her and it is the best part. Her change to Jake sees the focus on Penry-Jones who isn't very good, he tries but he is all wrong, when Fraser returns it isn't the same. de Lacey is OK and I must admit that I now have a small thing for Duprey who I found to be really good-looking!

I read a review that said hating this was like trying to kick a puppy – it's so full of cute enthusiasm and for the most part that's true. The energy carries it and makes it worth a watch if only once. However the laughs are fair to middling and the whole damn plot is just daft and confusing when you try and think about it for longer than a second.

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.

Justine (Laura Fraser) is a Londoner teenager, frustrated for not having a boy friend and for not having had sex yet. Her best friend and advisor is Fran (Marcelle Duprey), and she is decided to have her first sexual experience with the athlete Alex (Kieran O'Brien), who is disputed by many girls. When Justine goes to a Fair of Technology with her nerd friend Chas (Luke De Lacey), she uses a virtual machine and creates her perfect man. However, due to an accident with a great explosion, the virtual man becomes real. He self-calls Jake (Rupert Penry-Jones), becomes a close friend of Chas and is a good athlete and successful with the girls. The predictable conclusion of the story offers no surprises. "Virtual Sexuality" is a silly, but also funny romantic comedy. The actresses are very beautiful, the soundtrack is excellent and in the end, this movie is a good entertainment. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Sexualidade Virtual" ("Virtual Sexuality")

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