first troy beyer wrote the critically panned " b . a . p . s . " now she makes her directorial debut , writing , directing , and starring in this sub-par film about women talking about sex . though not without redeeming qualities , this film is bad . the basic story follows three single friends -- jazz ( beyer ) , lena ( randi ingerman ) , and michelle ( paget brewster ) -- in their search for love . jazz has an idea for a local talk show ; it would feature women talking about sex and dating . she and her friends make a demo tape of interviews with the women of miami . the film itself is sprinkled with these real interviews throughout , both as part of the plot and as commentary on the situations of the main characters . the fact that they are real provides a refreshing break from some of the more melodramatic moments in the film . there are several moments of bad acting , corny dialogue , and emotional overextension . in a low-budget independent film from a first-time director , these faults can sometimes be forgiven , if the screenplay is fresh and solid . that is not the case here . the script suffers from random plot developments . there are four or five of these turns in the plot , each one raising the question " where did that come from ? " at one point , a character has a lifelong reconciliation with her mother . we are supposed to be moved , but since the scene is completely un-led-up to , we really don't care if she and her mother get along . we've never seen her mother before . we never see her again . who cares ? what's worse , these sudden developments are supposed to engage our sympathy . at another point , a character announces that she can't have children . apparently , this is devastating . we wouldn't know this because she never talked about having kids before , but we are nevertheless expected to be devastated for her . the scene feels like an afterthought , its emotion manipulative and shallow . these scenes grow worse and worse , culminating in an absurd climax . two scenes were played with such overwhelming melodrama that i found myself laughing . one scene is a lover's spat between two minor characters . the other has the main characters expressing their copious grief by cleaning house in wails of despair and clouds of ajax . thinking on these scenes , it is hard for me to admit that the film has redeeming qualities . but it does . first , it is original . we men often wonder what women talk about when they are alone in groups , and i imagine this film gives me a pretty good idea . it's something i don't think has been the subject of a film . second , the interviews of the miami women are sincere . taken together , they form a mosaic picture of miami beachwalkers and bistro diners . the mosaic is made of sound bites and stereotypes , but each tile is some woman's real experience . neither the picture of women , nor their picture of men , is truly representative , but the point is that both sets of generalizations are telling in their own way . at some level , the stereotypes that emerge can be called true . i can imagine some people liking this film when its characters talk about their " likes , dislikes , skills , and thrills , " but on the whole , it's pretty bad . and that makes it even harder to forgive the bad acting , corny dialogue , and emotional overextension . i'll give beyer one more strike , and then she's out . rated r ( almost got an nc-17 ) for explicit sexual dialogue and nudity . check out more current movie reviews at <a href= " http : //www . indra . com/~mmapes/ " >http : //www . indra . com/~mmapes/</a> 
