Girls on Film

The simultaneous high point and low point of Robin Bain’s Girls on Film is the line “you’re in a toxic relationship… with yourself.” This movie is not very good.

Girls on Film is about a toxic relationship between two attractive women who think that bikini tops are shirts. Jenna (Dare Taylor) works as a camgirl and dreams of being a nurse. She is without character flaws. After her landlord kicks her out for filming porn, Jenna needs a new place to live. Enter Blake (Willow Grey). The first thing Jenna and the audience see Blake do is snort cocaine in a bikini. Blake lives in a large mansion, paid for by her father and good news! She’s looking for a roommate. After Jenna moves in, Blake quickly offers her assistance in growing Jenna’s cam audience. The two women begin filming content together. Now living together and working together within the sex industry, Jenna and Blake’s relationship grows deeper. But Blake’s more toxic attributes begin to show themselves. And the more Jenna tries to extricate herself from Blake, the tighter Blake holds on.

It’s not that I don’t think it’s possible to do a good version of the concept of “a sexy depiction of a toxic relationship.” I’ve definitely seen some movies I like that fit that bill. Girls On Film just isn’t one of them. Largely due to the film’s lack of depth or originality. The sexy toxic relationship films I like usually have a strong sense of individual character and interplay between characters. Girls On Film lacks this. The characters are flat and subsequently, so are their interactions. Blake’s playbook of toxic behaviours features exclusively behaviours that are so overdone in fiction at this point as to lose most of its power. Additionally, Blake’s diagnosis of bipolar disorder doesn’t have enough depth to read as anything other than an offensive, reductive explanation for her toxic behaviour.

Girls on Film sure does have pretty women in various states of undress, if you’re into that sort of thing. It seems clear that sexy women is one of the priorities of this film. Though one thing that I took issue with was the fact that Blake and Jenna are always “performing,” even when not creating content. The camgirl framework of the film offers a perfect excuse for why these women might be frequently undressed and sexualizing themselves. But throughout the film, this happens in their off-time too, and it’s not commented on. Before they even film their first show together, there’s a scene of the women in bikinis, giggling and squeezing orange juice on each other. And honestly, if they’re not getting paid for it, I don’t understand what they’re getting from this situation other than sticky tits.

I know that Girls On Film isn’t trying to be the hardest hitting and most in-depth piece of cinema ever created. But even within its framework, I don’t find it to be particularly successful. The film is listed as a thriller, but I don’t think it has enough thriller elements. And as a sexy movie, I think some of the elements of this toxic relationship and especially the film’s ending really detract from that. This is one of those movies where my main critique is that there just isn’t enough here. It feels too safe, too cliche and ultimately, too forgettable to be a successful film. Well, I guess I will remember the one line, you’re in a toxic relationship… with yourself.” But not in a positive way.

Overall rating: 3.3/10

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