WATCH NOW
In order to pitch a masterpiece and avoid spending a month in the slammer, a disgraced art historian must get her hands dirty by winning the affection of an Episcopal priest and subsequently extorting him for cash. With only day left to repay the ‘loan’, was a master’s degree truly worth selling eight months of her life to a Frisky Priestly Foreigner? To add a level of drama, the priest is guardedly stashing away the world’s greatest lost masterpiece.
“I have a feeling that we could create something exciting with the characters. A new perspective on ordinary subjects. The recessions of feminism, search for meaning, toxic masculinity, and art history, to name a few, are topics we personally find fascinating. But what is most puzzling, is that why does one man have to bear the burden of all these ideas? Finding a skeleton bone in the diaper is going to be an extraordinarily easy task for me. The task is to make sure these profound themes are seamlessly blended into the laughter and amusement of a witty and eloquent script. And that is what makes us proud.”
We believe that The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater has managed to achieve what we set out to do: make an entertaining Romcom with plenty of laughs and yet still meaningful for the movie viewer who enjoys metaphors and allegory.”
Outside the Spotlight says: A priest, a gangster and a dominatrix walk into an art auction. While one could take the plot of the movie and turn it into a corny joke, The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater is actually quite an offbeat comedy-dramedy. The first of many images that comes to the fore is some man in a sub posture, taped with a gag in his mouth. Thom certainly gets you geared for some unorthodox scoop. The story is of dominatrix who got hooked up with some bad people and therefore got into this line of work. Ava is an art school graduate and almost holds a PhD and is seeking an escape. That gangster happens to be her ex husband Boris who got her into this business and that priest or populace Father Radovan is a guy she was paid a lot to tempt. Then there is her best friend. All things considered, it’s pretty insane.
The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater is produced and directed by husband and wife Ana C.J Julianus and Larissa, so the overall look of their new romcom is saturated, smooth and feels like it was taken from a cult horror movie of the 70s, with little bits of the campiness.
Ava, a character played by Lorissa Julianus, embodies the irresistible charm of a leather-clad femme fatale. While the majority of the film does seem a bit repetitive, at least there is something that sets it apart. It is captivating from the perspective of a rarely seen type of character. There are a lot of films about sex workers, but Ava, who prides herself on being an intellectual and not an object, presents herself with strict professionalism. She has a detailed contract that she offers her clients before anything happens, so there is no misunderstanding.
To some extent, the film seems to make a statement about how we perceive a dominatrix, and how some may even feel superior to them. Men have very little regard for Ava and demean her, which is probably an analysis of our obsession with power, and some men’s incredibly strong attraction towards women with power. Ava has the independent persona who is much stronger than she seems, so there is nothing for her to worry about in correcting their assumptions.
As someone with studied genius level skills in the field of art history, Ava appears to carry herself with a blend of casual sass and sassy confidence that can only be paralleled by Selina Kyle (suit included) enabling her to maintain a sense of mystery. Her face is so animated that it is reasonable to presume that she might as well be able to perform an entire script without uttering even a single word. The other side of Ava is not so serious. For instance, her text message tone consists of strange yet entertaining sounds of people in pain and has a plethora of one-liners, as well as a few small quirks that keep everything enjoyable. Adding to that, she is voice to text which is a perfect metaphor for her masterful control over everything since, let’s be honest, when does that ever work?
The main characters that occupy the screen for most of the time are only four in number, so the cast is by all means limited and precise. Father Radovan is played by Mickey O’Sullivan, and he does a brilliant job alongside Ava. They perform wonderfully together however their peak individual vindication comes during the heightened moments towards the end of the movie. Moses is amusing but somewhat cheesy and dull especially when he and Ava’s best friend who was played by Shannon Brown, also, portrayed by Adam Christopher. Regardless though, these traits may render them the most forgettable parts of the event. One thing all of the characters can be assumed to have is an indivisible change.
With each additional revelation, the layers peel back like onions, allowing us to delve deeper into the lives of these characters and how they ended up in their current predicament. How is the priest so well-versed in combat? What is the reason for the mayor of the city advertising cage matches for the weekends? How does Ava’s voice-to-text service work with such flawless accuracy all the time?!
From most mundane tropes within a rom-com, Thom seems to understand the genre too well since it pokes fun at itself constantly. However, there is an underlying plot that still allows for some semblance of complex thought. In essence, the movie is so advanced that it doesn’t just require a second glance, rather one may need to roll the motions back to make sense of how the plot descends into chaos. Not that it makes it that difficult to follow, but it isn’t the type of movie that your casual viewer could check their Facebook in between watching.
While there are some laugh-out-loud scenes during the first held of the movie, as we transition into the second part, the tone of the movie changes into more of a drama, and eventually a thriller, especially after the introduction of the underground fight club. That shift in tone is a welcome one, that’s for sure.
It’s at this point when the actors properly ‘bring their A-games’ (the ‘climax’ I spoke about is as ‘heated’ as they come). The action and fight choreography could be better but is simply enough for a few doses of bloody delight, yet many parts feel somewhat misplaced. Given that it is done only a couple of times in almost two hours, it automatically ceases to be distracting.
All in all, this will surely keep you entertained and, because of the incorporation of multiple genres, The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater is an enjoyable ride that does not lose its momentum. Make sure to catch the bloopers at the end!
To watch more movies like (The Misadventures of Mistress Maneater (2020)) visit 123Movies.
Also Watch for more movies like:
