I just watched this film after waiting for probably a good three or four years and I'm really pleased...it was worth the wait. It's a really fun, smart, funny, offbeat comedy about four college women in Talahassee FL who live in a pink campus house, like to party and have sex, and publish a feminist magazine called Biotch.
The four girls are Kate (Kate Norby) a sort of dizzy blonde who sings lead for a swing band; Alex (Klea Scott) a beautiful, wild and crazy black girl who wants to be an artist; JJ (Jenny Judelle) a copyrighter whose boyfriend's parents don't like her; and Taylor (LaLa Sloatman), JJ's older sister, who aspires to write, and seems to have a few unsolved relationship issues of her own.
The girls' fun threatens to end when, because they've not paid rent lately. All their money has gone into the magazine. They are served with an eviction notice. They're broke, and they've already borrowed a lot of money from Kate's dad (Bruce Davison), who is wondering when they'll pay him back. All seems lost, until their friend Jessica (Annabelle Gurwitch), a womens' studies major, makes a proposal to both them and to Professor Mason (Eve Plumb). In order to earn her degree, Jessica needs to conduct a study on women in difficult and unusual situations. She comes up with an idea of having women refuse all contact with men for 100 days (or a little over 3 months). The Babes, all who enjoy healthy, casual college sexlives, would not dream of going on such an outlandish "fast", but since Jessica is offering them her grant money, $20,000, and they desperately need it, they reluctantly agree.
Their fast is covered month by month by their magazine, which is gaining notoriety all over the country, but although the experiment is liberating and empowering, it's not without its challenges. Kate has to say goodbye to her male bandmates, but ends up joining a college rock girl band; Alex tries to rise up out of her disappointment of not being accepted into art school; JJ misses her boyfriend Paul (Chad Slagle) who tempts her with his boyband impersonation (one of many funny moments); and Taylor has to fight off the temptation of Mica (Jeremy Sisto), a photographer who has moved back to town to cover their story.
The fast becomes enveloped in a whirlwind of controversy, and has gained national attention from talk show hosts Gloria Day (Erin Gray), who admires the girls and their cause, and Johnny Shore (Ethan Embry) who thinks the fast is doomed to failure. Other men in the Babes' vicinity are just as skeptical, like the 2 goofy guys, Colin and Matt, played by Kimo Wills and BoJesse Christopher. Their scenes are really funny as they talk about seducing JJ and launching their own WHEN MEN WERE MEN movement. There are also those who would thwart the girls' efforts, especially Kirk (Kirk Fox) who seems to want Taylor romantically, and is scorned by her lack of interest.
After Mr. Iris learns about the study his daughter is participating in, he seems determined to thwart the girls as well, offering $1,000,000 to the first man who can successfully seduce one of the fasters.
There are a few surprises, which add to the fun unpredictability of the story. I don't know why some people didn't like this film, or why it's not well known. There is no bad acting. The four women in the film are all funny, well-drawn characters, a couple of them ditzy, but none of them stupid. I think maybe this is just not the kind of film most people take to. I really enjoyed it though.
The four girls are Kate (Kate Norby) a sort of dizzy blonde who sings lead for a swing band; Alex (Klea Scott) a beautiful, wild and crazy black girl who wants to be an artist; JJ (Jenny Judelle) a copyrighter whose boyfriend's parents don't like her; and Taylor (LaLa Sloatman), JJ's older sister, who aspires to write, and seems to have a few unsolved relationship issues of her own.
The girls' fun threatens to end when, because they've not paid rent lately. All their money has gone into the magazine. They are served with an eviction notice. They're broke, and they've already borrowed a lot of money from Kate's dad (Bruce Davison), who is wondering when they'll pay him back. All seems lost, until their friend Jessica (Annabelle Gurwitch), a womens' studies major, makes a proposal to both them and to Professor Mason (Eve Plumb). In order to earn her degree, Jessica needs to conduct a study on women in difficult and unusual situations. She comes up with an idea of having women refuse all contact with men for 100 days (or a little over 3 months). The Babes, all who enjoy healthy, casual college sexlives, would not dream of going on such an outlandish "fast", but since Jessica is offering them her grant money, $20,000, and they desperately need it, they reluctantly agree.
Their fast is covered month by month by their magazine, which is gaining notoriety all over the country, but although the experiment is liberating and empowering, it's not without its challenges. Kate has to say goodbye to her male bandmates, but ends up joining a college rock girl band; Alex tries to rise up out of her disappointment of not being accepted into art school; JJ misses her boyfriend Paul (Chad Slagle) who tempts her with his boyband impersonation (one of many funny moments); and Taylor has to fight off the temptation of Mica (Jeremy Sisto), a photographer who has moved back to town to cover their story.
The fast becomes enveloped in a whirlwind of controversy, and has gained national attention from talk show hosts Gloria Day (Erin Gray), who admires the girls and their cause, and Johnny Shore (Ethan Embry) who thinks the fast is doomed to failure. Other men in the Babes' vicinity are just as skeptical, like the 2 goofy guys, Colin and Matt, played by Kimo Wills and BoJesse Christopher. Their scenes are really funny as they talk about seducing JJ and launching their own WHEN MEN WERE MEN movement. There are also those who would thwart the girls' efforts, especially Kirk (Kirk Fox) who seems to want Taylor romantically, and is scorned by her lack of interest.
After Mr. Iris learns about the study his daughter is participating in, he seems determined to thwart the girls as well, offering $1,000,000 to the first man who can successfully seduce one of the fasters.
There are a few surprises, which add to the fun unpredictability of the story. I don't know why some people didn't like this film, or why it's not well known. There is no bad acting. The four women in the film are all funny, well-drawn characters, a couple of them ditzy, but none of them stupid. I think maybe this is just not the kind of film most people take to. I really enjoyed it though.