Based on a Book

Justine (the delightful Laura Fraser), the heroine of Virtual Sexuality, thinks her life is ruined because she's a 17-year-old virgin. Through her friend Chas (Luke DeLacey), she tries to maneuver a cute but boorish athlete into a date, but he stands her ... Read More

Justine (the delightful Laura Fraser), the heroine of Virtual Sexuality, thinks her life is ruined because she's a 17-year-old virgin. Through her friend Chas (Luke DeLacey), she tries to maneuver a cute but boorish athlete into a date, but he stands her up. Despondent, she and Chas go to a virtual reality exhibition, which features a virtual makeover machine--but instead of modeling a different version of herself, Justine creates a 3-D image of her perfect man. Due to a freak accident, Justine suddenly finds herself inside of that male body--she's become her own ideal mate (Rupert Penry-Jones)--and the life of a boy isn't the one she wants to live. This charming comedy is being marketed as if this plot twist didn't exist, which is peculiar because this is what makes the movie fun. There aren't any stunning revelations about gender roles as Chas teaches "Jake"--the name the male Justine gives herself--but there's a sweet playfulness to how Jake interacts with his body and the rest of the world. Fraser and Penry-Jones are perfectly matched; they do a superb job of seeming like the same personality in two different bodies. Its ads make Virtual Sexuality look like yet another movie about two girls fighting over a guy, but that doesn't describe this unexpected British comedy at all--its female perspective on sex takes it in an entirely different direction. Based on a novel by Chloë Rayban. --Bret Fetzer