Member Reviews
Empowering.
Dr. Chauntelle does not use a rating system. Five stars is a default setting only.
FYI: this is going to be a review in layers, starting from most general and moving on to spoiler-riddled detail.
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Wicked Pictures' Divorcees (2013) is all that and more. Written and directed by Stormy Daniels, this film - which is occasionally painfully on point in its real-life ludicrousness - is a thoughtful coming of age story... for grown, adult women.
So three grown women/BFFs are single. They're all pretty quirky ? Stacy is a little surly and 100% over it, freshly cheated upon Leanne is a bit more rageful and raw beneath her calm exterior, and Carmen is having a relationship with a fitness instructor... via her television... and her Hitachi. She's really a mess. (it's worth noting that Carmen is not a divorcee... she's a widow... because that happens too. though this is only touched upon for a moment, the death of a spouse is extremely significant and uncommonly discussed. it is also worth mentioning that Veronica Avluv, who plays Carmen in the film, very recently lost her husband ? such horrible sadness)
After some seriously funny (and occasionally bittersweet) sequences whereby each lady tries various tactics to reclaim her mojo, they all decide to go on a trip to LA...where they get "ma'am"ed all over the place. And score some . And Carmen stalks Ricardo (the fitness instructor, played by Marcus London ? beyond hilarious) with a Star Map. And Leanne and Stacy meet DJ Deejay and his pal Clooney (Brendon Miller and Tommy Pistol, respectively, in performances that I cannot find words for... you just have to watch). It's all just too funny!!
So this film is good because it's good ? the plot is simple but entertaining, the production value is high, and the sex is steamy. But Divorcees is also good because it explores so many greater dimensions and themes, all of them relevant to real life. In other words, this film is good because it's exceptional.
Divorcees explores progressive ways of dealing with events and scenarios that can actually happen. As sad as it may be, relationships often end ? people die and people cheat and people grow in different directions. But what happens after? Seriously: what happens to "normal" people after? Divorcees explores the ridiculous and the mundane, all without some ludicrous 30+ Cinderella fantasy storyline.
Divorcees also shows women as friends... Now, maybe it's just me, but over and over and OVER again you see representations of women in competition, women backstabbing, and women really hating other women. Consider the sisters in "Weeds" and/or consider Tuff Love? the plot-driving tension was haterade between jessica drake's Queen B(adass) character and the progressively less meek Adrianna. Not friends at all.
But Divorcees doesn't do that. Divorcees is about three women who may tease each other and who may all be very different, but they don't hate each other. In fact, the primary motivation for the entire plot is care and concern for one another. It was so refreshing, both in terms of shattering stereotypes and (I'd like to think) showing a more nuanced version of reality.
Finally, Divorcees shows grown women as desirable and desiring, all while not being pigeonholed as cougars or MILFs. Now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with cougars and MILFs, nor is there anything wrong with showing young/er women as desirable... but it was nice to see three fine as fkkk ladies 1) being showcased 2) without all those extraneous underpinnings.
This movie was about friendships and loss and moving on... It was a coming of age story for an age-bracket that's often dismissed and rarely discussed, at least not without derision... It was about life being forward and fun, a silly and unexpected adventure... It was women-centered, progressive, and thoughtful.
It was awesome.
Recommended for: you
Divorcees
With performances from Stormy Daniels, Jessie Lee, Julia Ann, Molly Bennett, Veronica Avluv, Tommy Pistol, Aaron Wilcoxxx, Brendon Miller, and Marcus London. Non-sex appearances from Presley Hart and Penny Pax.
Written and directed by Stormy Daniels for Wicked Pictures. Released in March, 2013. Buy your copy here.
BTS and Extras: standard fare, plus one bonus scene.