Girls on Film is a dark American erotic thriller that takes a deep dive into the underbelly of the American dream. Written and directed by Robin Bain, we follow sexy Jenna (Dare Taylor), a student nurse who is funding her studies through regular erotic performances as “Rain” on an online content subscription website like OnlyFans. Things are going well – she makes a decent income from her 20,000 subscribers and rarely has to fall back on her previous escorting work. However, her landlord learns that she is filming pornographic content in her apartment and evicts her. Distraught, she embarks on the search for a new apartment, and can’t quite believe her luck when she gets offered a cheap room in a grand Palm Springs mansion.
The house is owned by glamorous rich-kid Blake (Willow Grey). She’s been gifted the house by her successful music-industry veteran father, and lives there with her buff ‘uncle’/guardian Sterling. He’s there on her father’s instructions to protect Blake from herself and her previous chaotic, drug-addict lifestyle. Blake is lonely, slightly broken and craving companionship, hence the affordable rent for a housemate. Rain doesn’t realise this and at first, Blake seems the perfect housemate. She’s fun, glamorous and totally accepting of Rain’s work, even going so far as to help her expand her following. The two women spend a lot of time together, hanging out, shopping, posting erotic content, and getting to know each other. The relationship gradually blossoms into a romance, even though Jenna hasn’t been with a woman before. So far, so good. Soon, however, things take a murky and dramatic turn for the worse.
Girls on Film successfully captures the lonely, vapid, and soulless lives many super-rich young Californian people live. Material possessions can only provide so much fulfillment and if there aren’t nourishing personal relationships or a successful vocation to supplement those, then boredom and discontent can quickly set in. Willow Grey is excellent at portraying such a person, and Dare Taylor a strong complement as the slightly awestruck partner-in-crime.
The production values and erotic scenes in Bain’s film are somewhat reminiscent of a high-end Palm Springs porno film at times, although these suit the storyline. The script is often quite stilted and basic, although again this suits the plot. Themes include coercive relationships, toxicity, sex work, materialism, and addiction. Overall, a decent movie with a strong message. Little however is left to the imagination. Lots of hot girl-on-girl action means this film is likely to appeal to straight men as much as the queer community.
