Below Her Mouth (June 1st at the Capitol Theatre as part of the Pride Month Film Series)

[BELOW HER MOUTH screens Thursday June 1st at 8:00 pm at the Capitol Theatre as part of the Pride Month Film Series.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

BELOW HER MOUTH follows one of the most tried and true plots in the softcore lesbian erotica canon – a lesbian (androgynous, but not so butch as to turn off any heterosexual men who might be watching) gets the hots for a beautiful but unsatisfied heterosexual woman and sets out to win her over. The lesbian in this case is a roofer named Dallas (Erika Linder). Her conquest is fashion magazine editor Jasmine (Natalie Krill), who despite being engaged to manly man Rile (Sebastian Pigott) turns out to have a secret Sapphic side.

This isn't the kind of movie you watch for plot or characterization. BELOW HER MOUTH isn't aiming to be BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR or BETTER THAN CHOCOLATE. Its primary goal is to be a slick, classy bit of erotica with just enough of a story to string the sex scenes together, and just enough characterization that we care about whether the main characters wind up together or not.

Although written, directed, produced, and shot by women (Stephanie Fabrizi, April Mullen, Melissa Coghlan, and Maya Bankovic, respectively) one hesitates to call this feminist porn. Not that it's misogynistic, but there's not a whole lot of difference in the way the sex scenes are presented than one would find in your average Skinemax offering.

The actresses are all very much within the norms for movie hotness, and their couplings take place in a rarified world of flawless makeup, high fashion, and chic set design. The sex scenes tend to be staged more with the intent of looking good on camera than of being an accurate depiction of what people really do in bed. If that's what does it for you, then BELOW HER MOUTH does it quite well. Not judging, just passing on the relevant information.

Despite the cookie cutter plot, there is at least an attempt to give the conclusion some emotional heft. But really, the draw here is the sex, and in that capacity the film delivers. Again, different strokes for different folks, so no guarantees you personally will find it sexy. But one can't complain there's any shortage of nudity, or that the film shies away from depictions of sex. BELOW HER MOUTH is unrated, but would warrant an NC-17. 2 ½ out of 4 stars.