'Slut In A Good Way' A Review

Slut In A Good Way is a French Canadian coming-of-age dramedy about three friends and their after school job at a toy store. The film opens on defacto protagonist Charlotte(Marguerite Bouchard) and her boyfriend who comes out as gay and subsequently breaks up with her. She is consoled by her two best friends Mégane(Romane Denis) who is the more bohemian and Aube(Rose Adam) who is more straight laced. The three wander into a toy store and notice a number of cute boys working there then decide to apply for jobs, which they get, and thus begins romantic and sexual entanglements for all.

The young cast does well at channeling the curiosity, ennui, mercurial emotion and arrogance of teenage years at times to the point of irritation(at least for an adult) but the charm and relatability of the core three friends balances the roughness of youthful ignorance well with companionship and a universal channeling of youthful discovery. Sexuality is the main subject being investigated and the cast are fearless in portraying the experimentation, shame, and vulnerability associated with that aspect of growing up.

Shot in black and white in a nameless French Canadian suburb the film has an evocative, realistic style but the digital cinematography periodically falls short(whether by intent or by the caliber of equipment) especially in the white spectrum with some blinding or washed out scenes that distract rather than heighten.

For years there were many, countless really, films made about the hetero-male coming-of-age story and in recent years this monopoly has been slightly lifted The Edge of Seventeen, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, and Love, Simon come to mind, and this is certainly a welcome entry in that burgeoning tradition. This particular film focuses directly, refreshingly, on sex and not in a lose-your-virginity-at-prom type of way where the sexuality of its subjects is taken as a given and the trials and pitfalls that entails come out of the shadow and into the light.

Obviously from the title, the film builds around Charlotte's promiscuity and the subsequent fall out ie slut shaming, it isn't perfectly handled and some questions are raised and answered while others kind of fade away with the film resolving in a more traditional teen-rom-com kind of way. Even so, the fact that a film like this is being made, so directly addressing this topic, is a boon and signals, hopefully, even more diverse stories to come.

Rent It.