by DarkWiccan » Sun Jan 22, 2017 12:00 pm
Okie dokie... I finally got around to watching it... here's my thoughts, and you're probably not going to like them:
The underground queer "scene" that the main characters are caught up in seemed like the sort of place that only self-involved, hedonist, exhibitionists would enjoy. Good for them if they enjoy it; as for me, I'll stick to my happily boring domesticity.
The film overall was incredibly uneven. It seemed the director/creator was relying far too heavily on ad-libbed dialogue rather than written, structured scenes. While this can work when done well, here it felt awkward and ungainly. Meanwhile any scenes that were shot from the script as written were stilted and poorly shot.
It took most of the entire film for my wife and I to figure out what the heck it was even about. It took waaaaay to long for the narrative to settle on a main protagonist with a clear story arc.
That being said: Amber was indeed her usual charming self, and one of only two likable characters in the entire movie. Quite honestly, if the writer and director had focused the film solely on the characters of Jayne (Amber) and Sasha (flawed, but still likable) it would have been a far better film about deeper issues.
As it was the filmmakers seemed so focused on capturing the Berlin queer underground in "verite" that any sort of depth of character or story was side-lined to instead feature cameos of local Berlin queer punk, electronica and performance artists to whom few, if no, American viewers will have any familiarity. You could argue that this is a German film for German and European audiences. I would counter that if that were the case, they would not have cast using a largely American and Canadian talent pool and they would have shot the film in German, rather than English (with the occasional German phrase tossed in to remind us that we are, still, in Germany).
After talking to Amber about this flick prior to its release, I now understand her joke about cupcakes being in mortal peril. Yep... at least a half dozen died for our enjoyment.
As Laragh mentioned, there is a sex scene between Amber's character and her girlfriend. That being said... it wasn't graphic by any means and Amber (I'm happy to say) stuck to her "sure, I'll do a sex scene but my clothes stay on" credo.
So, yeah, I did not enjoy this movie. Except for Amber. She was styled gorgeously, her character was sweet and caring and awkwardly sexy (in that special way unique to Amber).
But even with the light of AB in the middle of the darkness, I still need a serious palate cleanser.
Thinking I might put on some My Little Pony or something...
Cheers
DW
