My Normal

I saw this movie in high school and it inspired me to become a dominatrix. It's one of my favorite movies. It became more relatable the further I got into being a Pro Domme. It so accurate to the lifestyle. And I love the way it is portrayed. The family life. The different girls and their relationships. Sitting around the dungeon. The relationship with subs. Being close friends with the connect. The fact that so many dominatrices are lesbian stoners. Ugh. It's a classic and I show it to as many people as I can. And it's so so wonderfully 2000s.

It's got a wonderful low budget vibe. I can tell that the people working on it love the story and that the writer, in a fourth wall breaking full circle way, knows the lifestyle very well.

The greatest redeeming quality of My Normal is that it's so awful it becomes fun (I use that term dangerously loosely) to watch. There are so few truly quality movies produced in the lesbian genre, a quote from a genuinely good movie comes to mind, and forgive me for paraphrasing: (Audiences are|) so thirsty for it they'll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there's no water, they'll drink the sand." The LGBT audience too often praises movies that in the mainstream would be considered unwatchable. When crumbs are all you get, you learn to appreciate even the most indigestible morsels.

The acting here, with the exception of Nicole LaLiberte and Ty Jones, is routinely atrocious. Other actors here simply act as set dressing for the leads. But the producers seem set on damning even their lead character by constantly placing a lit cigarette in her hand. The problem? She so obviously doesn't smoke, she looks like a 12-year old playing at grown-up. Ty Jones, playing a street-wise writer, is given such an astonishingly lack of vocabulary you wonder how he ever wrote a page of dialogue.

It's probably a good idea to have some vague knowledge of the content about which you write a script, but that doesn't stop anyone here. This film's projected as an erotic romp, but with the exception of a single scene or two, it's as innocuous as any prime-time show. Unless, of course, you define erotic as dildos sitting on counters, tables, chairs and stools.

There are few redeeming qualities in the script. The dialogue is actually laughable; see if you can get through an hour and 15 without talking back to the screen. Emotion is non-existent. The answer to stress relief, stress, employment and social lubrication is drugs. And what exceedingly few plot lines are interesting are never followed to their end. This film would much rather go for a broad laugh, yet it misses over and over. Truly, people from all walks of life should be offended by this movie.

There should be more LGBT content out there; God knows there's an audience. But of what does exist, there are scores of better choices than this self-satisfied "comedy."

I have seen this movie three times in the past 7 days. Besides being sexy and full of eye candy, it is simply off-the-hook weird and intensely entertaining. From a hot lesbian's perspective, you see the thrilling addictive side of being an S&M dominatrix. The adrenaline rush from sex power can become someone's "normal" life but unhappy consequences obviously stem from this cycle long term. It's a wild ride watching the main character struggle with her future and discover a promising way out. Aside from the being the hottest date movie ever, there are so many comical, funny lines sprinkled throughout the script. There were also points that get deeply philosophical, and I believe this is based on a true story. I can't imagine anyone could make this up which is why this flick is such a trip.

Love? Or women? Or I guess individuals in general. I am not really into what the main character is doing professionally. That being said, the way it is portrayed and the way she plays it, are really well done. 50 shades of Grey could learn a thing or two from this - no pun intended.

One of the major downfalls however is the story of her new lover. Yes there is a theme of lesbian love to say the least. But much more than just that "taste", if you want to call it that. This will not be for the easily offended and those who are triggered by the smallest things probably shouldn't watch at all. There is not so much viscerally to see here, but just when things are being said ... well even I felt sick to my stomache on certain things - imagine those things being played out ... not saying if they are actually.

So back to the love interest who has a really tough role to fill - not well written and quite cliche to say the least. And a lot of drama that feels more than unnecessary - on the other hand, we all deal in different ways about certain things ... so not saying it is unlikely for someone to feel that way ... just saying it is not playing out well - or shown in a fashion that works for the movie ... it kinda puts it down ... no pun intended.

Test your limits, if you like independent movies, with strong female leads that don't really care, what is what ... well not entirely caring that is.

Natalie works as a S&M dominatrix in New York. Her mother complains that she's wasting her psychology degree. She wants to be a filmmaker. She befriends the local weed delivery dealer Noah and starts dating Jasmine. When she finally gets on a movie set, it's in an underwhelming experience. She uses her unusual talent to make her movie a reality.

Despite the edgy shell of the lesbian dominatrix world, the interior is nothing too dramatic. The story is thin and short. There are a couple of interesting ideas and scenes. Nicole LaLiberte and Ty Jones are functional actors. There is simply not enough meat on the bones. This needs more work on the script if it intends to be a full feature.