Review of Finding Bliss (2009) by Manuel R — 11 Dec 2010

"Are you two the fluffers?".

"No, we're the Balabans.".

A better lighthearted stab at developing romantic complications while making a pornographic film than Zack and Miri. I really liked Leelee Sobieski as Jody Balaban in this: she's not bitchy or whiny, she's just a driven, insecure aspiring filmmaker who sees her job as an editor at a porn studio as an opportunity to use their equipment to create her own vision of a love story, which in turn gets influenced by the lessons she learns from the actors and technical staff. Plus no use denying some guilty pleasure from hearing her husky voice saying those dirty words. Matthew Davis as her potential love interest is a little disappointing but the rest of the cast is pretty good, particularly Kristen Johnston who gets some good comedy lines and Jaime Kennedy and a denser-than-Dirk-Diggler porn actor. "You're the best director I've ever had, and I've done over 400 movies!" Denise Richards creates a surprise with her role too.

Through Jody, writer-director Julie Davis communicates in a distinctive female (which does not mean feminist) voice, which provides an interesting & uncommon infusion of ideas within the context of adult entertainment. There are several continuity errors in the editing, the chemistry between the leads never feels quite right, and a way too standard feel-good ending don't quite topple some funny bits, well-written dialogue, and Leelee.