Poly-ish Movie Reviews

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. www. PolyishMovieReviews.com   That was a surprisingly hopeful episode.  Well, I mean, the whole series has a hopeful tone, given the subject matter and the impossible situ...

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? www.polyishmoviereviews.com     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...

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. www.polyishmoviereviews.com     The Du...

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...

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 trans...

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 eithe...

A married woman takes a lover, but can Joreth take yet another affair movie? www.polyishmoviereviews.com     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 b...

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...

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...

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! www. PolyishMovieReviews.com     There are several movies by this name. Every time s...

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. www. PolyishMovieReviews.com   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 t...

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 thre...

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...

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 p...

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...

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. Thi...

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 confir...

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...

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...

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...

Can a movie about a woman charged with bigamy on the day of her 6th wedding really be about polyamory? Joreth reviews this quirky Spanish film that challenges the standard narrative of a man and his harem, and questions everything a conservative judge ever thought he knew about love and relationships.   I'm not sure, but I'm reasonably confident that I did not get this movie from an online poly mo...

Sleep With Me promises "raucous laughter" and sexy fun times with sexy Eric Stoltz, Meg Tilly, and Craig Sheffer, but does it deliver? Joreth reviews this "romantic comedy" for polyamory, romance, and comedy.   I don't think I've ever felt so misled by a movie summary before in my life. Netflix says "A modern-day couple, Joseph and Sarah, discovers there's room for a third person in their marriage...

Rita, Sue, & Bob Too! was hailed as a landmark comedy in the '80s in Britain, and also passed around polyamorous online groups as a poly film.  But is it?  Is it both?  One or the other?  Neither?  Joreth reviews this wildly acclaimed movie for any hint of polyamory, open relationships, or consensual and ethical non-monogamy to see if it lives up to the hype.   I just watched the creepiest fucking...

Could Alan Rickman possibly have started in a poly movie?!  Joreth reviews this unusual film to see if a happy polyamorous V or triad family can be found among the backstabbing, vicious world of competitive hair styling.   I don't know where this movie came from. Did you know that the Netflix DVD queue has a limit? I forget what it is now, but I've maxed it out. On more than one occasion. It's aro...

This movie occasionally gets mentioned in discussions of poly movies. But is it? Joreth reviews Sex Monster for traces of an open marriage, triads, or any polyamory.   I just watched the most godawful movie ever.  Well, to be fair, this movie was not on a poly movie list, it was recommended to me by Netflix when I added a bunch of movies from some poly movie list.  And, historically, Netflix's sug...