jamakaya

"Me, Myself and Her" is a terrific relationship dramedy that shows the joys of a solid relationship and the toll that being closeted can take on even the strongest of bonds. It has witty and intelligent dialogue, outstanding (and beautiful) actresses, nice cinematography (still the exception in lesbian films, alas), plus the scenic backdrop of Italy too! This movie delves into serious relationship issues, but there is humor throughout and at least two big belly laughs. I like the time it took to show how the relationship worked and, conversely, the work it took for the couple to resolve their issues. Even though the relationship issues are universal, this movie would obviously be of special interest to lesbian and gay couples. I enjoyed it very much.

This is one of the worst horror I have ever seen. It fails even as one of those really bad exploitation movies you can relish because they are so ridiculously bad. I kept wondering, why would any of these actors have consented to appear in this? Didn't give a hoot about either of the lead characters. It was written by a committee of three, which often portends a patchy story. The use of flashbacks to clarify everything that's just occurred aimed to twist our perceptions. Because the characters and story were annoying to me, I just found it eyeroll-inducing.

The movie is relatively short at 90 minutes but feels much longer. About half way through I turned the speed up to 1.25 then 1.5 to just get it over with. I like horror and I like female revenge epics but I'm tired of movies that ostensibly champion female empowerment after spending the entire movie battering their bodies and terrorizing them. This isn't as bad as torture porn but flirts pretty close to it. This is a definite "no" for anyone who wants to avoid rapey content.

This is a terrific documentary on the life and work of the sexologist Shere Hite, whose survey on women's sexual practices, The Hite Report, became a huge bestseller in the 1970s and '80s. To detractors, she was a "man-hater," to fans she was a feminist icon.

The doc covers Hite's troubled childhood, her precarious existence on the fringes of New York's artistic community, her hard work planning and publishing the sex surveys, her sudden rise to fame, jousting with the media and male critics, and her eventual retreat from the limelight. The movie sets the context really well, and uses contemporary film footage, interviews with Hite, personal records and memorabilia, and the testimonies of colleagues and publishers to create a full picture of her ideas and impact. The editing of these different elements into a cohesive story is outstanding.

I've never thought much of Dakota Johnson as an actress, and her voicing of Hite's words throughout the movie are typically lifeless. However, I give her props for putting her money and influence behind the making of the film. She was a producer and it must have been hard to pitch. She can be proud of the result, a thoughtful, well edited look at the life and work of a controversial and fascinating woman.