Eye For Film >> Movies >> The Lover's Guide - What Women Really Want (2001) Film Review
The Lover's Guide - What Women Really Want
Reviewed by: Angus Wolfe Murray
Things have moved a long way since The Joys Of Sex. In these post-feminist times, it is men who should worry.
The message from presenter Dr Sarah Humphery, an ice cool blonde in a black poloneck, is that women must love themselves and their bodies. "Have a really good look," she advises. Once you've done that, play with yourself. "Masturbation builds a woman's confidence."
The trouble with guys is that they don't hang around - wham, bam, thank you maam - and girls have more fun with vibrators. She's not averse to lesbian experimentation, either.
The key to a good sex life is knowing what turns you on and making sure that you get it, which requires showing dorky blokes what is expected of them. The days of being taken from behind in the utility room while sorting the ironing are well gone. Unless the lady requires it.
The film is a mix of self-help and self-indulgence, with the emphasis on female emancipation: "Women are calling the shots."
The love-making is graphic and educational. Noone stops in mid-thrust for a lecture on G spots ("Squeeze the buttocks tight, it helps to advance orgasm"), or how to avoid premature ejaculation, but the info and action are intercut rather awkwardly.
Vox pops with girls in the street expose a shallow, often confused attitude. The best are two black teenagers who giggle a lot and say that boys must learn to take more time. Wasn't it The Pointer Sisters who expressed the same thing with Slow Hand?
Reviewed on: 15 Feb 2002