I Want Candy

Who knew Carmen Electra could star in a tidy little flick about the fun of filmmaking? I certainly wouldn't have pictured it, but it seems to have been the case. I Want Candy is a British sex comedy in which film students -- desperate to prove themselves and their dreams of creating a movie -- dive into the world of creating erotica after finding a pornography producer the only one willing to finance the production.

The story isn't all that original by the standards of this sort of sex comedy; similar plots are explored in After-school Special and Zach and Miri make a Porno. Unlike those two, however, this manages to have a much bigger heart. The virtues of having older students helps enormously -- rather than producing the film to explore the mysteries of sex, these are students producing the film to explore the mysteries of film making. Their assigned final project -- a 2 minute short film -- is simply blown off , not meeting their standards. Their working class background (after all, what British film is not centred on class?) means they're on a shoe-string budget, but they set into their project with the determination of a heist film, managing to procure the services of the hottest American porno actress around, Candy Fiveways (Carmen Electra), the best student production crew at their school, and financing from a loathsome porn producer.

Other than that, though, it plays out as a British sex comedy. Innuendo, awkward misunderstandings, embarrassment, coming to a touching conclusion. I'll give it either 2.5 of 5 (3 if I'm feeling charitable) stars ; it's enjoyable if you're looking to pass the time, and it's better than the summary sounds.