Why Do They Call It Love When They Mean Sex?

Can you imagine a Hollywood story about a rich kid who falls in love with a "live porn" star, and becomes her partner in live sex shows?

They try to hide it from his snobby parents, she finally decides that the wedding is off because he's too immature, but he eventually goes after her, and they end up making romantic love - in her peep-show booth, on Christmas Eve, in front of a dozen masturbating guys!!!

NUDITY REPORT

Verónica Forqué shows her breasts once without any covering, and twice beneath a sheer top.

Various bit players, strippers and peep show girls, show their bosoms. There is actually substantial nudity in this film.

The factor that makes the film so unusual is that everything is treated as sweet and innocent throughout the film. Examples:

The porn stars are just like secretaries, except with different office hours and different work clothes.
The plot has the requisite mistaken identity gags. I guess you need to know that his parents are from high society. His dad is a psychologist, and a prominent university dean. They haven't seen their son in four years, so he does not plan spice their reunion by telling mom and dad of his new porn career, so he introduces his girlfriend to them with false credentials. While he is out of the room, the porn girl tells his parents (falsely) that she is pregnant. He comes back. She says to him "I told them the truth". Needless to say, he thinks this means that she's confessed to his parents that they are porn stars. He's really nonplussed when his mom comes over and says "I'm so happy, and so proud of you"! Mom and dad are so thrilled to be grandparents that they don't even seem to notice when their grandchild is a dark-skinned Algerian child, even though their son has a fairly light complexion, and mom is blond!

DVD info from Amazon.

Widescreen letterboxed, 1.66:1
no extras except a trailer

It's a really cute little piece of romantic fluff, but I don't see any audience for it in North America.

American guys will like all the flesh, but will see through that and realize it is really a "girly" movie at heart.
American women would love the movie if the girl were a waitress or something else besides a porn star. I think the guys jerking off in the background would spoil the Christmas Eve romance for most women.

But let me soften all that by saying that I liked the movie quite a bit, and I thought the final scene was quite rhapsodic. Even the hardened peep show denizens were swept away by the sheer depth of the love they were viewing.

The Critics Vote

no major reviews online

nominated for one Goya (best supporting actress)

The People Vote ...

With their votes ... IMDB summary: IMDb voters score it 6.6.

IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, this film is a C+. It is a cute film, but read the plot summary carefully before you determine whether it is for you.