Guilty Pleasures

 

Story:

Every four seconds a Harlequin Mills & Boon romance novel is sold somewhere in the world. Guilty Pleasures explores our universal struggle to reconcile inner fantasy with the tragicomic truths of real-life relationships. The film follows three avid readers, an author and a cover model to explore the romance novel world. Five heroes, four continents, one dream of true love. Because real life begins where Mills & Boon ends.

Review:

I have never read a romance novel, never even thought about it.  Apparently they are a big deal across the world, but being a dude means I’ve just never found an interest in them (Perhaps I’m too simple minded and impatient to read through an entire love story).  With that said, the idea behind Julie Moggan’s documentary Guilty Pleasures seemed intriguing: how does the romance novel industry affect individuals across the world.

It’s a simple question executed nearly flawlessly.  The story follows an author, a male cover model and three women who have read countless romance novels.  Each story is unique, honest, compelling and unbelievably entertaining.  Opting to include so many stories may sound a bit overwhelming but Moggan manages to transition effortlessly- resulting in a film with a surprising amount of substance.

For all those romance novel fans who fear this is just an attempt to mock the industry, fear not.  While Guilty Pleasures certainly pokes fun at each of the characters and their peculiarities, it does so in an endearing manner.  Its underlying tone is of love, reminding audiences as they laugh that romance is a wonderful thing to desire… even if it’s in a book.

The documentary is not without its flaws though.  Like a standard romance novel (so I am lead to believe), it starts strong, lulls in the middle but finds a way to finish well.  The story delves into the personal lives of its characters a bit more heavily than audiences may expect or desire, but Moggan doesn’t let her film go off the deep end, roping it all back together for a wonderful conclusion. Guilty Pleasures does many things well but its ending will be the highlight of the entire film.  While it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that a documentary about romance stories becomes a love story itself, it’s still a treat to witness.

Reviewed by Matthew Abshire for Documentary Film Online on February 20, 2012

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