Cuddly Toys

Told through the eyes of a psychiatrist narrator similar to that of a hygiene film back in the 1960s Kansas Bowling's "Cuddly Toys" is anything but. An exploitation film of sorts.

Decidedly an anthological telling thru the commentary of modern girls today, the title lulls you into the belief that girls/women are plushy playthings for society's amusement. They are unruly, poor decision making knuckleheads, at times, at other times, babes in the woods awaiting men to prey on them. Triggers in effect.

If you dissect how the indictment unfolds. You can almost feel a bit uneasy that the director is holding the behavior of some girls to account. Bad behavior equals bad result regardless of the mistaken idea that our new open minded society won't tolerate sexual assault. Obviously, the people who assault don't care about your opinion of them.

And that is at the core of this film. Told through the raw lens of 16mm, it is, at times accusing women of their lack of common sense in the face of their own survival but also pointing fingers at the boy/men/underdeveloped boys mentality that still exist in the out back of America where social media opinions don't effect them.

Very much like a Russ Meyer flick, it has that level of charm. Whether that is appealing to you or not will decide your opinion of this film.

There is something grandly liberating about young female film director with an anarchist attitude towards the zeitgeist. So so refreshing to see some filmmakers don't worry about towing the social media line.