51 episodes

Welcome to Poly-ish Movie Reviews, where I watch the crap so you don't have to! I watch a lot of movies. Some of those movies are great. But a lot of them are crap. I'm here to help you sort out which is which, so that you don't have to waste your time on bad cinema, unless that's your thing. No judgement - I like a lot of terrible movies. I'm just saying that, as we polys know, love may be infinite, but time is not. Let me help you manage that increasingly rare and precious time of yours by sharing my opinions on movies that some have claimed to be "poly" so that you can make better decisions on which ones to spend your time with.

Poly-ish Movie Reviews Joreth InnKeeper

    • TV & Film
    • 5.0 • 3 Ratings

Welcome to Poly-ish Movie Reviews, where I watch the crap so you don't have to! I watch a lot of movies. Some of those movies are great. But a lot of them are crap. I'm here to help you sort out which is which, so that you don't have to waste your time on bad cinema, unless that's your thing. No judgement - I like a lot of terrible movies. I'm just saying that, as we polys know, love may be infinite, but time is not. Let me help you manage that increasingly rare and precious time of yours by sharing my opinions on movies that some have claimed to be "poly" so that you can make better decisions on which ones to spend your time with.

    Polyamorous Movie Review: 3 (Drei)

    Polyamorous Movie Review: 3 (Drei)

    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.

    • 6 min
    Something About Sex Movie Review

    Something About Sex Movie Review

    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.

    • 10 min
    Three Polyish Movie Review

    Three Polyish Movie Review

    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!

    • 4 min
    Bandits Poly-ish Movie Review

    Bandits Poly-ish Movie Review

    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.

    • 4 min
    Movie Review Of The Blood Oranges

    Movie Review Of The Blood Oranges

    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 three children. Relationships become intertwined when Cyril and Fiona lose their inhibitions and seek sexual intimacy with Hugh and Catherine in this erotic drama."
    So Netflix says. It sounded pretty promising, and yeah, I think this fits under the "poly-ish" heading. Cyril and Fiona are clearly in an open marriage with both of them openly supportive of each others' interests. Honestly, though, I was surprised to see that this movie was made in 1999. It just felt like another '60s sexual revolution type of film, not the least of which was a slightly predatory personality from Fiona and a pseudo-sex cult leader attitude from Cyril, but also it just kind of looked like it - the cinematography and lack of a soundtrack, I think.
    Here's what I liked about the movie:
    An attempted quad instead of unicorn hunters looking for the hot bi babe The newbie love interest struggles with deeply indoctrinated beliefs of fidelity & ownership Neither the polyamory nor society around them was responsible for ending the relationships How non-traditional parental relationships affects children old enough to have internalized society's messages about relationships A couple not letting their pre-existing relationship make the other relationships "secondary" and doing what's best for the family instead of "protecting" their couplehood at all costs Here's what I didn't like about the movie:
    The characters I like serious dramas, but I'm really picky about them. I don't tend to like movies that I describe as "very French" - filled with unnecessary angst and smoking and existential ennui and desolation. Unfortunately, in movies that explore alternative sexuality, if it's a drama and not a comedy or something uplifting, I too often find it's one of these types of dramas. Such was this movie for me. I didn't like the movie, but that's based solely on personal taste. One might say that I have no taste, since I'd rather be watching cheesy '80s sitcoms, so there you go.
    I'm extremely character-driven in my entertainment preferences and I just didn't like the characters. I found Cyril to be pompous, elitist, and blind to his own privilege, even if I happened to appreciate his understanding that possession should not be part of interpersonal relationships. I thought Fiona was selfish, predatory, and naively idealistic. Catherine, I just felt sorry for and wished she would grow a backbone.
    And Hugh! I have no idea why anyone liked Hugh. He was controlling, possessive, self-righteous, arrogant, dismissive, condescending, and filled with disgust. There is one scene in particular (that I won't describe so as to not give away spoilers) where he is such a hateful asshole that I immediately disliked every other character just because they overlooked Hugh's behaviour and attitudes. Even after he did something that I would have found unforgivable, it was everyone else's primary desire to make him feel better and keep him a part of the family.
    But they were trying to build a strong family, and for that, I have to give this movie credit ... or at least say that it's a poly-ish movie. Cyril and Fiona were not the typical movie couple, where the guy wants some hot chick & talks his wife into it. They both seemed equally enamored of the other couple & welcomed them and their children into their home. Cyril in particular tried very hard to reach out to the children and soothe the oldest, who noticed something going on and seemed resentful. Cyril and Fiona both did everything in their power to help Catherine during her own time of emotional crisis without putting their own

    • 5 min
    Poly-ish Review Of The Unbearable Lightness Of Being

    Poly-ish Review Of The Unbearable Lightness Of Being

    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 a dictionary, people use words differently, and I find that I am constantly having semantics arguments because we can't discuss a topic until we are all on the same page about what the words we are using mean.
    One of those words is polyamory. I'm a pretty big proponent of using the definition of a word that the person who made up the word uses. In some cases, I think the Argument from Authority is a good one. If you invented or coined a term, then you get to decide what it means. This is even more important, to me, the younger the word is. And if the word was invented or coined within the same generation (i.e. roughly 30-ish years) and the coiners are still alive, then there shouldn't be any debate about "living languages" and so forth.
    So, to me, polyamory is about having or wanting multiple simultaneous romantic relationships in which all parties consent to the arrangement. That means that they all know about it and agree to it willingly, not grudgingly. If you don't say yes, it's not consent. If you are coerced, it's not consent. If someone uses their position of authority over you, it's not consent. If you are not aware of any other options, it's not consent. If you are not allowed the opportunity to back out, it's not consent. And so on. Polyamory is also, to me, more about building intentional families (even if some of those relatives are "extended" relatives) than in experiencing sexual encounters (also explicit in the definition - a word's definition is not necessarily limited solely to it's literal translation, the intent and cultural context of a word is also taken into account).
    So when someone suggests a movie to me that they claim has polyamory in it, I am now highly dubious about that claim. I have been recommended all manner of cheating and swinging and other non-monogamous movies, but very rarely do I find actual polyamory in these films. Every so often, a cheating movie might make it into my Poly-ish Movie List because I believe from the context of the story that it would be polyamorous if not for the circumstances, like the era or culture, that prevents the characters from openly declaring their relationships that are, nonetheless, loving (like Same Time, Next Year) - I basically feel that the characters are poly but possibly trapped somewhen/somewhere that they can't express it properly. Many times, it's hard for me to really quantify why a particular borderline movie is poly and why this other one isn't. It usually boils down to tone, and a vague sense of "moralizing" that I may or may not get from the storytellers.
    This was the problem I had with The Unbearable Lightness of Being. I kept getting told that it was a poly movie, but there was just something wrong with its tone. Tomas is a philanderer who seems to be afraid of commitment and keeps his emotional entanglements to a minimum. Basically, he has sex with lots of women a few times and drops them when they start becoming "serious". Except for one woman, Sabina, who basically seems to have the same outlook as Tomas, in that she hightails it outta there as soon as a guy starts getting "serious" about her. They appear to have a mutual respect in addition to their mutual attraction and mutual passion because of their shared interest in not letting anyone get close to them. Ironically, that barrier that they both erect to keep people out is what ties them together.
    Along comes Tereza, an innocent young girl who manages to, as far as I could tell, guilt her way into Tomas' life. She shows up on his doorstep with no place to stay, and so breaks his rule ab

    • 9 min

Customer Reviews

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Best Way to find good movies about polyamory

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Best & Only Review Series Like This

Want to know what movies have any content in them worth seeing that exemplifies polyamory or any kind of ethical non monogamy? This is the podcast to check out. Reviews are short, respectful of spoilers (you'll get warnings when they can't be avoided), spot on in their philosophy, and often entertaining.

Joreth ,

Finally A Place To Find Poly Movies

People always ask, what movies are there with polyamory in them? Now you can find out! Joreth reviews movies from all eras for poly content and lets you know what not to waste your time on!

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