How does one draw the line between sex and romance, or can both coincide for the sake of finding the right companion? W.I.L.S.D.M is a short comedic film that provides a poignant picture about how women view men based on sensual and intimate characteristics. Writer/director Chloe Owens uses some intriguing visuals to establish the concept of physical relationships from a female protagonist’s perspective. She makes the case that love between a man and a woman should be about intimate connection and not limited to physical features.
The film centers on Mia (Perveen Singh), a woman who describes her complex relationship history in the style of a documentary, mixed with comedy and mild seriousness. Mia uses humor and an unconditional mindset to explain to her audience why she has a problem with certain male relationships. Jim (Victor Laurenz), Mia’s boyfriend, enjoys engaging in sensual activity with her. However, Mia admits that she doesn’t necessarily enjoy their rough lovemaking even though strong men like Jim are used to that type of activity.
Jim is the stereotypically good-looking man: tall, strong, physically fit, has dark hair, and is wildly rough but playful. While Jim has the large size that several men typically have in bed, Mia’s other boyfriends like Ben (Matthew Browne) and Mr. Carrot (Norm Friday) are small to medium size (which Mia considers her preference). Ben wears glasses and has a more gentleman-like demeanor compared to Jim, while Mr. Carrot is an average Joe with some funny dance moves. Mia highlights each man in her life to exhibit how there are many types of boyfriends out there without women being limited to one type of man.
When it comes to sensual physicality, Jim’s size negatively affects Mia because she feels uncomfortable during and after making love. Mia makes the argument that the size of a man during sensual activity shouldn’t be the primary objective in a relationship, because none of that matters if there isn’t an intimate connection between two people. While Mia is ok with smaller size, and having the ability to find a partner who conveys emotional support, her friend Becky (Taylor Eden) enjoys physical men with large size. Mia and Becky may have different tastes in men, but they are friendly roommates who know how to have open and honest conversations with each other about this sensitive subject matter.
Owens provides some effective visual aesthetics in her film, especially in the beginning when the title W.I.L.S.D.M is introduced in the style of a softcore picture, along with the use of various colors like pink, purple, and blue for bright backgrounds and to distinguish each character and their perspectives. There’s also the use of food and objects when Mia is describing men’s size and methods of lovemaking. Mia’s analysis on sensual activity between men and women isn’t meant to be sleazy and explicit but playful and informative, which is what makes the film impactful.
There are also moments when multiple television screens are used to display Mia and her boyfriends, to parody and signify how lovemaking, and male/female relationships, have been viewed in various forms of entertainment over the years. Through each television screen, Mia depicts different versions of herself. For instance, when she is dressed in leather clothes on one screen, she is viewed as appealing and seductive (which is how men usually tend to view women in a fantastical way). However, Mia presents her true self when sitting in her bathroom with a casual t-shirt, expressing her displeasure in lovemaking with Jim. Mia’s bathroom is one of her focal viewpoints, with a wall that resembles the Garden of Eden and a pink-lit sign that says “Hell here” to represent Mia’s vulnerable side. There are also comical moments when Mia pretends to be happy with her sex life, but then contradicts herself to the audience by shaking her head or footnotes to present how she truly feels.
Along with some funny dancing, Mia and her boyfriends demonstrate certain lovemaking moves that work or are considered uncomfortable, such as the thrust, which is Jim’s preference. Several important terms and definitions are also presented in an elaborate way, including the love hormone oxytoxin and vaginismus (when a woman fears sex and her “pocketbook” clamps up).
W.I.L.S.D.M is an important film with spot-on messaging and colorful performances (particularly from Singh) that offer insightful points of view on the pros and cons of sex. The tone of the movie is smart and detailed. While there’s profanity, the movie isn’t vulgar and works in the vein of a romantic comedy like No Strings Attached and one of those old informational videos without being boring. It sets out to prove that everyone (especially women) has a pivotal voice when it comes to sex, and men’s size isn’t everything when trying to make a relationship work.
