Parents' Guide to How to Please a Woman

There's no doubt that this Australian comedy shines some positivity on a subject that is often overlooked or made the butt of lazy cliched jokes. How to Please a Woman celebrates women and more specifically, women's sexuality. The fact the women in question are all in their 40s and 50s makes it all the more refreshing. Despite being an Australian production, central character Gina is played by the British actor, Phillips, and it's through her that the film is at its most charming. Her comic timing is what one would expect from a seasoned comedy actor. But she's also allowed to show her dramatic side too. The scene in which Gina goes for an ocean swim after being rejected by her husband, Adrian (Cameron Daddo), is genuinely moving.

Unfortunately, while Gina feels like a fully fleshed out character, the rest of the cast feel underdeveloped. As a result, some of their decision-making feels unrealistic and rushed. This might be fine if the film was just about Gina's journey, but it's not. There's a whole list of characters whose lives are changed during the movie. Perhaps the story would have been a better fit for a TV series, allowing the characters beyond Gina to be more fully explored. The fact that How to Please a Woman is ultimately a movie about sex workers -- who also happen to clean -- may also prove problematic to some. While other films such as Good Luck to You, Leo Grande discuss the pros and cons of the sex work industry, here we are simply given a very sunny take where everyone is happy and no one feels exploited or used.