MORE THE MERRIER caught my eye with a cheesy Netflix image. I did not expect it to win me over with a good-hearted and open-minded film about all things sexual. Like Terrence McNally’s THE RITZ, it is a comic set is a sex club that resonates with deep wisdom, and a heart of gold.
Several stories are intertwined, and you will follow them all eagerly. Two women seek a lost engagement ring before a wedding scheduled for the next day. A gay man makes a connection through a glory hole that becomes unexpectedly complex. An uptight businessman finally lets loose with an anonymous woman, a swinging couple hoping to make new connections reawaken old connections instead. Is it possible to separate sex from love? Or can one enjoy them equally? MORE THE MERRIER asks and lets you decide.
One vignette of two friends hoping to swap partners during a home dinner party does not seem to be connected to the other tales. But it adds another layer of humor to the proceedings, as they women get what they want, and the men are left high and dry.
This uninhibited story will not be for everyone, but it is skillfully done. The nudity and sexual scenes are never overplayed, with the principals stay mostly covered. But as they walk down the halls of the bathhouse, there are naked people everywhere, tastefully arrayed.
The film stars Ernesto Alterio, Raúl Arévalo, Luis Callejo, Anna Castillo, Pilar Castro, Álvaro Cervantes and Carlos Cuevas. The film premiered on July 30, 2021, in Madrid. It is stylish, well-paced, and sure to please.
Director Paco Caballero weaves all this together with a magical touch, from a kinetic and keen screenplay by Daniel González, Paco Caballero, Eric Navarro, Eduard Sola.
Our European friends are more comfortable with films and TV shows about sex, but most of those experiences are not very deep. In this case, MORE THE MERRIER delivers just enough to linger on the tongue for a long time.