Customer Reviews

Zerophilia

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Luke has a problem. He met a beautiful girl, who seems to be very
much interested in him as well. But when starts to get sexually
aroused by her, he starts to turn into a woman. (Say, what?)

You see, Luke is a victim of "Zerophilia" (2005), a genetic
abnormality that causes one to switch genders when they have an
orgasm. Of course, they can turn back just by having another orgasm,
but that may not be so easy, since a male "zero" who just changed
into a woman may not be attuned to how to sexually excite his female
self to orgasm. Then there is the matter of having to maintain two
complete wardrobes ...

Firmly tongue in cheek, this hillariously offbeat indie comedy from
writer-director Martin Curland features witty dialogue delivered by
a talented, likeable young cast, headed by Taylor Handley (whom some
may remember as Oliver on "The O.C.") as Luke. Not a gay film, but
of special interest to anyone who likes to explore the mystery of
traditional gender roles and attitudes. DVD includes a phony plug
for a supposed "support group" for zerophiliacs, deleted scenes and
a short "making of" feature. I give it four stars out of five.

This is not your average sci-fi romantic comedy plot: boy meets girl, girl meets boy, boy falls for girl... but that last bit becomes a problem, because when Luke feels the stirrings of lust for Michelle, boy starts to TURN INTO a girl. This is because he has "zerophilia," a rare genetic disorder that causes those afflicted to spontaneously change gender whenever they orgasm. To compound matters, Luke's newfound female alter ego "Luca" feels quite attracted to Michelle's brother Max.

The genre is that of a teen sex comedy, and the film's subject matter makes the perfect fodder for a host of sex and gender-related jokes. However, this indie film goes beyond the formulaic pablum Hollywood seems to crank out too much of these days. On another level, it does have more to say about gender roles, relationships and acceptance of oneself.

Writer/director Martin Curland's debut production features a clever script. There are excellent performances from the entire cast, particularly Taylor Handley (Luke) and Rebecca Mozo (Michelle). Dustin Seavey and Alison Folland are definite standouts in their roles as Luke's friends Keenan and Janine, and Marieh Delfino also deserves mention as the emotionally-confused "Luca."

The special effects and makeup were pretty decent given the movie's presumably limited budget. On another note, while the filmmakers could have shot this script virtually anywhere, they made quite good use of locations in and around Eugene, Oregon.

The DVD extras don't add a lot to the film. However, there is a pretty humorous interview with actress Kelly LeBrock (The Woman in Red) where she talks of zerophilia as though it were a real disease.

The premise of the film is a little far-fetched but once you get over that it is an interesting idea that is cleverly spun out. It helps that the two leading protagonists are immensely attractive (I would imagine to both males and females) and so the idea of changing genders is enticing!!

This movie was an enjoyable and interesting look at the fluidity of gender and sexuality. The actors were wonderful and well cast. The move itself starts a bit slow but the ending is worth the wait.

tHE STORY INTRIGUES ME AND i REALLY ENJOYED IT - THE CAST IS HOT AND WELL ACTED - glad to have the dvd in my collection!

great coming-of-age film. "you aren't supposed to be anything, you're just supposed to be!" Love the movie! And Kyle Schmid (Max) is SO SO SO hot!!!

I have to say that I had never heard anything about this movie when I rented it. My initial interest fell mainly in the fact that it's leading actors were Taylor Handley and Kyle Schmid (both whom I love and are gorgeous). So I rented it. Five minutes into it, I was hooked. I was actually multitasking when I put it in and stopped everything to watch it. This is one of the cleverest movies I have ever seen. Not only did I love the underlying message, which is a bit cheesy but I feel is important, (Love is out of your control, that you can't help whom you fall in love with). And I also felt it broke away the line between gay and straight, because I don't feel that when it comes to orientation things are black and white, there is a grey area. The writers show this when the main character Luke goes above and beyond to try to proove to his friend that he is straight, (Luke is a zerophiliac and not unlike a frog he can change his sex) because of the fact that once he turns into a woman he becomes sexually attracted to another guy his friend starts to wonder about Lukes sexuality even though when Luke is a man he likes a girl named Michelle. A little confused? So is Luke. But he soon realizes that accepting who you are is what's important not putting labels on everything, which I felt is the best message.Although the idea of humans being able to change their sex as a frog is able to is a bit far fecthed I thought it was important to the message that writer was sending and the storyling was so great it was easy to forget that it would never really happen. I also would like to say to you skeptics out there thinking this might be just another gay love story I would like to point out that it isn't, there is no girl on girl kissing or guy on guy kissing, Luke turns into a woman and likes another guy and when he turns back into a man he likes a girl named Michelle, he is straight as both sexes. Overall I thought the acting was great, the writing was amazing and this movie has become one of my favorites. I love giving credit to the underappreciated or unrecognized indie films these days (I am so tired of everyone in hollywood trying to make a box office hit, the usual standard special effects with a shaky story line) and this movie deffinately stands out above the rest. I reccommend giving this movie a chance and before long I think it could hold its own as a cult classic such as Boondock Saints or Rocky Horror Picture Show. [...]

Both my spouse and I found this movie to be totally cool. On a scale from 1 to 10, it was a 13. This movie is all over the queerness map, which is difficult but awesome to find in a movie. The movie has an intersex-like premise, dealing with a fictional abnormal chromosomal condition that transforms the affected person to the opposite sex after having the big O. Then it hits on a number of the issues transgender people deal with. It also goes in a little bit to dealing with gay/lesbian issues. Note that only few of these words (gay, lesbian, transgender, intersex) are actually used in the movie. Supporting characters are heterosexual, and you see things from their perspective as well. Even better, the heterosexual couple were supportive of their zerophiliac friend. This movie has periods of humor, introspective soul-searching, and social dynamics between genders. I would recommend this movie for its entertainment purposes to any person who would like to escape into a gendermorphic fantasyland for about 90 minutes. This has to be the most unique movie of the queer genre.

Again, super cool.

This film was really fun. I bought it after seeing it on cable and realizing I would want to watch it many more times. The tone is light, and the romance is strong. The film is built around young people who slowly need to learn to accept unexpected things about themselves. While it's a gender bending theme, its appeal is broad. It's the funny film, with depth, and characters that are engaging and likable. Shot in Oregon the scenery is a pleasant part of the film.

This film has a special place in my heart, and I can't rate it highly enough. Not only is the plot quirky, funny, and complex, but the film touches on some elements of human nature that have been swept under the rug for far too long. Beneath the humor--and there is plenty of it--there is the messy truth of our lives, served up in the Oregon rain. Watch this flick, then watch it again and again, as I have. BTW the soundtrack is great, and I read on a blog somewhere that it took years to put together the musical score. Awesome.