Steven Soderbergh calls Full Frontal the "unofficial karmic sequel" to his debut film, sex, lies, and videotape. Now, I'm not exactly sure what that means. Karmic is basically the adjective form of karma, which is the Buddhist principle of retributive justice that determines a person's life and whether it is positive or negative. There are no parallels between the story lines of the two films and I can't draw any connections between the themes or motifs of either film. So I think what it comes down to is just ignore what Soderbergh has said and look at Full Frontal as a completely separate film.
So now that we've cleared (or rather disregarded) any confusion I can continue this review without any necessary mention of sex, lies, and videotape. Full Frontal is about a group of people in the film industry whose lives intertwine in different ways, all primarily through a producer named Gus. The opening of the film displays character cards for all the main players, accompanied by voice over from that character. In this film we have a down on his luck writer named Carl Bright. His wife is a lawyer named Lee Bright and he is having issues with her that carry throughout the film. There is Lee's sister, Linda who is a massage therapist. There is a stage director named Arty who has been chatting with Linda online as the two of them use aliases that are much cooler than who they actually are. Then there are two actors, Calvin and Francesca, who for a majority of the film are in a film-within-a-film scenario that, honestly, finds itself much more profound than it actually is. These characters are all coming together for a party thrown by Gus, and along the way there are some surprises and discoveries made about themselves.
This film is mostly just odd. It's offbeat, it's quirky, and it also tries very hard to be clever. Granted there are scenes that are clever, but there are others that sort of miss the mark. Soderbergh does a great job with the story structure and the way he brings the characters together. He has a clear cut goal for this film, but the process of getting there is pretty rocky. What Full Frontal suffers from the most is just plain dullness. This film really does get boring at times. But it isn't unbearable by any means. It is one of those films that just when you start to realize how slow it is getting something happens to bring it back and you are drawn in once again. I almost see this as cheating because a good film will keep you drawn in consistently from start to finish, not just throw in certain moments to grab your attention and then skimp on the rest. Full Frontal isn't as guilty of this as other films because Soderbergh makes an effort to keep the film entertaining in its entirety, but the effort goes to waste at some moments that just really drag the film down.
But in spite of everything you have to admire this film for just having a good time. Soderbergh directs it in a sort of mockumentary fashion. When I see this movie I think of "The Office" and the way it is shot as if the camera crew is with these characters, filming their day to day business, and the characters know it. There is a significant amount of voice over work done in this film that is all interviews with the characters. Soderbergh allegedly filmed the actors in this film about their character and then used some of the results for the film. There is a lot of obvious ad libbing in the film that adds a sense of quirky authenticity to the look and feel of this film, making it unique, if only slightly.
Full Frontal tries to be a lot more than it is. It is definitely a smart film with a nice touch of cleverness, but in the end it doesn't seem to amount to much. I think Soderbergh was trying to create a very in depth character study disguised as a quirky comedy film, but I think more of the quirky comedy came out than the profundities of the character study. But I can still say that I enjoyed this film for what it is. Would I ever sit through it again? No way. But it is something different, making for an amusing one time watch.
So now that we've cleared (or rather disregarded) any confusion I can continue this review without any necessary mention of sex, lies, and videotape. Full Frontal is about a group of people in the film industry whose lives intertwine in different ways, all primarily through a producer named Gus. The opening of the film displays character cards for all the main players, accompanied by voice over from that character. In this film we have a down on his luck writer named Carl Bright. His wife is a lawyer named Lee Bright and he is having issues with her that carry throughout the film. There is Lee's sister, Linda who is a massage therapist. There is a stage director named Arty who has been chatting with Linda online as the two of them use aliases that are much cooler than who they actually are. Then there are two actors, Calvin and Francesca, who for a majority of the film are in a film-within-a-film scenario that, honestly, finds itself much more profound than it actually is. These characters are all coming together for a party thrown by Gus, and along the way there are some surprises and discoveries made about themselves.
This film is mostly just odd. It's offbeat, it's quirky, and it also tries very hard to be clever. Granted there are scenes that are clever, but there are others that sort of miss the mark. Soderbergh does a great job with the story structure and the way he brings the characters together. He has a clear cut goal for this film, but the process of getting there is pretty rocky. What Full Frontal suffers from the most is just plain dullness. This film really does get boring at times. But it isn't unbearable by any means. It is one of those films that just when you start to realize how slow it is getting something happens to bring it back and you are drawn in once again. I almost see this as cheating because a good film will keep you drawn in consistently from start to finish, not just throw in certain moments to grab your attention and then skimp on the rest. Full Frontal isn't as guilty of this as other films because Soderbergh makes an effort to keep the film entertaining in its entirety, but the effort goes to waste at some moments that just really drag the film down.
But in spite of everything you have to admire this film for just having a good time. Soderbergh directs it in a sort of mockumentary fashion. When I see this movie I think of "The Office" and the way it is shot as if the camera crew is with these characters, filming their day to day business, and the characters know it. There is a significant amount of voice over work done in this film that is all interviews with the characters. Soderbergh allegedly filmed the actors in this film about their character and then used some of the results for the film. There is a lot of obvious ad libbing in the film that adds a sense of quirky authenticity to the look and feel of this film, making it unique, if only slightly.
Full Frontal tries to be a lot more than it is. It is definitely a smart film with a nice touch of cleverness, but in the end it doesn't seem to amount to much. I think Soderbergh was trying to create a very in depth character study disguised as a quirky comedy film, but I think more of the quirky comedy came out than the profundities of the character study. But I can still say that I enjoyed this film for what it is. Would I ever sit through it again? No way. But it is something different, making for an amusing one time watch.