Poly-ish Movie Reviews
Welcome to Poly-ish Movie Reviews, where I watch the crap so you don't have to! I watch a lot of movies. Some of those movies are great. But a lot of them are crap. I'm here to help you sort out which is which, so that you don't have to waste your time on bad cinema, unless that's your thing. No judgement - I like a lot of terrible movies. I'm just saying that, as we polys know, love may be infinite, but time is not. Let me help you manage that increasingly rare and precious time of yours by sharing my opinions on movies that some have claimed to be "poly" so that you can make better decisions on which ones to spend your time with.
Episodes
Yet another cop drama with non-monogamous people involved in a murder? Can Hollywood actually show ethical non-monogamy or is it just another excuse to punish "deviants"? Joreth reviews the Netflix show, iZombie, to find out.
That was a surprisingly hopeful episode. Well, I mean, the whole series has a hopeful tone, given the subject matter and the impossible situations it spirals into. But I was st...
A movie in French about polyamory? Will this finally be the French film that Joreth doesn't hate? Does it actually have any polyamory in it?
Apparently my distaste for French ennui cinema extends to French Canadian ennui cinema. I just don't like ennui, I guess.
Yet another Netflix recommendation. Heartbeats is about "two best friends, Mary and Francis, who meet a charismatic wanderer named Nick a...
Can a Hollywood-made dramatic biopic made in the current century actually show polyamory? That might depend on how we define "polyamory". Joreth reviews the narrative version of Lady Georgiana Cavendish's life as portrayed by Natalie Portman to see if polyamory happened during the Georgian era and if polyamory can be shown in a movie made in the modern era.
The Duchess is based on a true story about...
Many today think of Pee Wee Herman as a children's show character, but that was not always the case. He started out as a very adult stand-up character that morphed into a weird, surrealist dark humor movie character, that then got a children's show, and THEN ... made this movie.
What does all this have to do with polyamory? Good question! Joreth watches Big Top Pee-Wee to find out how polyamory fits in with the world of Pee-Wee ...
Joreth reviews the biographical historical drama Beloved Sisters, a biopic about two sisters, Caroline and Charlotte von Lengefeld, and the man they love, German poet Friedrich Schiller. Discussing sorrel polygyny, can this FMF polygynous arrangement be polyamorous? Is it true? Did it happen? Does the movie actually show polyamory on screen? Follow along with this movie review with the transcript located on the show notes page...
A group of aging friends decide to say goodbye to their youth with ... an orgy? Joreth finds out if a bunch of single people can navigate group sex with respect and maturity, and does group sex make it poly or not?
OK, I have had this movie in my queue forever and people keep telling me about it. So I finally sat down to watch it. I'm gonna say that it's not poly but ... it's not NOT poly either.
Here's the thing, a little perso...
A married woman takes a lover, but can Joreth take yet another affair movie?
It's so much worse when they manage to get you to like a movie before they turn it to shit.
No, you're not experiencing deja vu. I said that exact same line when I reviewed Paint Your Wagon. It's still true.
5 to 7 was a Netflix recommendation, so naturally I went into it expecting it to be a total shitstorm. Instead, I found...
Yet another movie named "3" - will this one have some polyamory in it? Or will it be another cheating film? Joreth reviews the German film Drei, or 3, for polyamorous content.
I've updated my Netflix queue with poly movies so long ago, I can't remember anymore which movies were added because I saw them on a poly movie list somewhere and which were added because Netflix recommended it to me based on some movie from a poly list t...
3 couples struggle with the definitions of monogamy and fidelity, after some "insight" from Jason Alexander. Joreth reviews this film to see if any ethical non-monogamy could possibly come out of it at all.
Oh. Gourd. This movie. There's so much to hate about this movie. Where to even begin? "Start at the beginning. Yes, yes, And when you come to the end, stop." Scratch that. You'll probably be asking me to stop much sooner than...
There are so many movies called "Three"! Is this one that actually has polyamory in it? Is there really an FMF triad like on the cover? Are any of the characters polyamorous? Or is this just another cheating cautionary tale or threesome gone wrong story? Joreth reviews this particular "Three" to find out!
There are several movies by this name. Every time someone recommends a movie to me called Th...
Can a movie with blockbuster names be a poly movie? Joreth reviews Bandits with Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, and Cate Blanchet to see if there is any polyamory in this star-studded film.
It's past time that I did a review of Bandits, but for some reason I keep putting it off. This is a quirky story of 2 mismatched bank robbers and the woman who comes between them. And it's a poly movie, and one of...
Can a movie set in the '60s and filmed in the '90s really feature a polyamorous quad? Joreth reviews The Blood Oranges for a little-seen poly structure to see if there is any polyamory in it at all.
"Husband and wife Cyril and Fiona explore new ground and new relationships when they take a vacation in the tropics. While on holiday, the pair meets another couple, Hugh and Catherine, and their three children. Relationships become in...
How well does this particular fan recommendation hold up to Joreth's poly critique?
Sometimes I think that maybe I'm actually speaking a different language from everyone else, and maybe I have some kind of universal translator or babelfish so that I can't tell, but that the translator is buggy or slightly off in some ways. Because people don't seem to use words in the same way that I do. Even with a dictionary, people use words dif...
Can Spike Lee's inaugural film really be a poly movie as everyone claims? Joreth watches this groundbreaking movie to find out!
There's something about student films and classic French movies that just do not work for me. Maybe it's the penchant for black and white even in a color era, or maybe it's the frequent complete lack of musical score or soundtrack, or maybe it's the excruciatingly slow pace and shitty acting, or maybe it'...
Polyamory in the wild? Can a TV show that isn't about polyamory at all really have an episode with polyamorous characters in an open marriage and treat the subject well? Joreth reviews an episode of The Mentalist to find out!
Here's a new one! I find poly movies to review by one of 3 ways: 1) It's on a poly list somewhere on the internet; 2) Someone learns that I review poly movies & suggests a movie to me; 3) Netflix suggests ...
Can a web series about a poly triad really be about polyamory? Yeah, it probably is. Joreth reviews the show Family, a creative endeavor by Teresa Greenan, a polyamorous filmmaker based out of Portland, OR.
I've posted about this show before on my personal blog, but I haven't done an official review yet. First of all, it's poly. It's about as poly as you get. Second, it's funny and weird. Third, I liked the first half better th...
Ah, French ... the culture of love! Where "alternative" relationship structures are not frowned upon and the people understand the power of passion! Or do they? Joreth reviews a movie filmed in the Swingin' '60s on recommendation from a listener, to see if there is any polyamory or ethical non-monogamy in this film made during a time of exploration and experimentation, or if it will just confirm monogamous tropes.
Someone reco...
A priest and a rabbi walk into an airport ... to meet their childhood best friend, a tomboy who has grown up into a beautiful, intelligent, independent, CEO. As she visits her hometown and her two best friends, the men struggle with their growing romantic feelings for the same woman. Could this really be a tale of polyamory, snuck into mainstream cinema? Joreth reviews this Ben Stiller film to see if a polyamorous MFM vee could ...
Can a made-for-tv movie about a broken marriage have polyamorous content in it? Joreth reviews this Judith Light film to see if there is any polyamory in a low-budget, '80s flick.
The Netflix summary reads:
"Judith Light stars in this sexy made-for-TV drama about a married woman who discovers that her husband of 23 years has been unfaithful. Just as she finds passionate love in another man's arms and prepares to divorce her husban...
Can a mainstream movie about an "open marriage" really have some polyamory in it? Joreth reviews the movie Fling, starring Brandon Routh, Steve Sandvoss, and Courtney Ford, to answer that very question.
This movie caused me quite some consternation because it had equal parts of "include" and "do not include" on the Poly-ish Movie Criteria List. In fact, it was so ambivalent that it prompted me to write the Guidelines post which ...
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