Posted: 08/05/2010

Finding Bliss

(2009)

by Shannon Huebscher

Finding Bliss is a direct-to-video film about Jody Balaban (played by Leelee Sobieski), a young aspiring filmmaker that, when push comes to shove, ends up taking a film editor position with a porn company. The twist is that Jody is extremely modest and prudish, and thus begins the fish out of water plot line.

What bothered me the most about this film was how naive the character Jody is, and that somehow this is a problem. The point of the film seemed to be to “de-flower” Jody’s innocence, just for the sake of doing so, rather than showing that it’s all right to be who you are, no matter where your individual search for your sexuality has brought you. Can you imagine that after Jody spends time with her porn co-workers she, shockingly, might be falling in love with the seemingly sleazy director? Or that she might actually like the gift basket of sex toys delivered to her from work? The shock! The horror!

The only time I actually laughed out loud was when Kristen Johnston’s character came on screen - her role as the owner of the porn company gave any of the scenes that included her a lightness and sincerity. The vast majority of the movie was filled with awkward acting and predictable plot lines.

Shannon Huebscher is a freelance writer living in Minneapolis.

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