Jody Balaban, an aspiring filmmaker, is fresh to L.A. with New York film school accolades and the dream of making her movie. Unable to get a job where she can use the skills she so finely honed, Jody must edit adult entertainment to make ends meet. The uncompromising desire to make her movie, leads Jody to secretly film in the porn studio facilities at night - until she is caught in the act.
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the audience applauded
So much average
Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
Finding Bliss is promoted almost like a sex comedy, but is not a sex comedy. Instead it is an awkward mix of romantic drama and sex comedy. While trying to do two things, this movie ends up a mess. I don't think it will appeal to wither the male or female demographic. I know that it is a good movie can be equally enjoyed by both sexes, but this tries to combine the genres which have a set audience in mind.It is a B grade movie. Everything from the acting to the script is amateur. Even Leelee Sobieski has done not done a good job. It feels as if that the whole film was made in a hurry. It has production values of straight to DVD sex comedies. The plot and the characters are not believable either. Everything is just to contrived.By the way it is not a sex comedy, so if you are expecting that I recommend you watch something else. I have still given it an average rating though, because though it is a cheap B movie, It knows that it is a cheap B movie and doesn't pretends otherwise. There is a small payoff for those who like romantic movies, but I don't think it is worth it to watch the whole thing.
"Finding Bliss" is just a middle-of-the-road, soft-core film about a young film-maker struggling to succeed in Hollywood. Unfortunately it doesn't play out much better than just a student film itself.It begins with every cliché and plot advance you expect to find in a chick flick. Our heroine has struggled with finding romance because she wears glasses and a ponytail. It doesn't matter that Leelee Sobieski is one of the most beautiful women on the planet, glasses and a ponytail equates with ugly. When she arrives in Hollywood the only place she can find a job is at a porn production company. We then succeed with every porn-associated joke done before. "He directed Charlie's Angels?!" our heroine asks incredulously, the response: "No, he directed Charlie's Anals". Don't worry, there's a lot more jokes along those lines.This film really doesn't do anything wrong. The characters are fine, the actors are all cute, the storyline is engaging enough and it flows quickly. But they did all of that with over-used and tiresome jokes that just aren't that funny anymore. Every turn in the plot was telegraphed so clearly that the few inventive elements were completely predictable and expected. I found "Finding Bliss" to just be a Hollywood-reflective soft-core film that is not nearly as insightful as it was supposed to be.
but just couldn't. Has a few zingy one-liners that keep it from being a complete dud, and a couple characters/actors that do well (the tech guy, the female head of the studio and "Jeff Drake", imo) but otherwise a yawner. Better movies in this genre (if it can be called that) are Zack and Miri Make a Porno and Orgazmo. (Also not really any nudity to speak of, so don't bother if you're thinking it's a cheap way to get some thrills).Also has *nothing* meaningful to do with a woman getting hired to make pr0n from a female perspective or a (male) director trying to make classy pr0n (at least to me). The former never gets beyond "women want an emotional connection during sex" while the latter consists of "maybe we won't just concentrate on closeups of genitals". In a way it's really about the psychoemotional hangups of the main character vis-a-vis sex, but these are never really explored beyond her parents are uptight, she's afraid she's not skilled enough at sex, she likes to tease guys, etc. Caveat emptor :-)
This film is unlike any other. It's one of those movies you either love or hate, and that depends on your own personal sensibilities about sex, romance, and mostly, porn. First off, because the film is from a young woman's point of view and takes place in the porn industry it opens itself up for criticism. But truthfully, it's unlike anything out there. It takes an honest look at a profession that most consider disgusting and immoral, and although the main character herself is disdainful of porn, she comes to realize that people are the same everywhere, in any job, and for that alone, it's a very politically incorrect film. The movie doesn't condescend or vilify the porn stars, on the contrary, it finds the humanity in them. When Jody ends up getting turned on by the porn she is editing, the film veers off into territory that is sexy, funny, and even a little sad. Watching a sexually inexperienced and insecure woman getting turned on by pornography is quite realistic, and probably something most people are afraid to see, and god knows it's probably a nightmare for most feminists, but for me, I found this movie fresh, insightful, and completely courageous.