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ZEROPHILIA
Written & Directed by: Martin Curland.
Produced by: Jay Whitney Brown, Curland, Alan Grossbard, Gregory J. Lanesey & Matt Radecki.
Director of Photography: Graham Futerfas.
Edited by: John Randle.
Music by: Kevin McDaniels.
Released by: Microangelo Entertainment.
Country of Origin: USA. 90 min. Not Rated.
With: Taylor Handley, Gina Bellman, Rebecca Mozo, Marieh Delfino, Kyle Schmid, Dustin Seavey & Alison Folland.

Luke (Taylor Handley) is just another normal, horny, college kid in another normal, horny, college town. But his first sexual encounter, a one-night stand, activates an incredibly rare gene within his DNA – the Z gene, an abnormal extra chromosome that turns its otherwise XX or XY carrier into an XXZ or XYZ, allowing “he” or “she” to change sex at will. (Just go with it.)

Naturally, this stuns Luke, particularly because he has only recently begun dating Michelle (Rebecca Mozo), a smart and sexy transfer student from New York. On their first date, he gets hot flashes and suddenly realizes that he has sprouted breasts! (Are you still going with it? Because you’re just going to have to.) His friends are there to help him, but so is a doctor (Gina Bellman) who seems to have her own agenda once she reveals that unless Luke chooses which gender he wants to permanently be, he might get biologically locked into a gender not of his own choosing.

There’s a lot of room for smart humor and a sharp discussion of gender and sexuality, but the jokes and the assertions never get too far past the level of the recent gender-bending She’s the Man. Once Luke morphs into Luca (Marieh Delfino), all the gender confusion turns into sexual confusion, because Luca has a thing for Michelle’s smart and sexy transfer-student brother, Max (Kyle Schmid). So with all those complications, you would think the jokes would be more complicated than the likes of “Why would a guy ever want to be a girl?” “Well, you always said you wanted to feel a girl’s breasts all day long!” But they’re not.

And while it’s true that several of the characters face their heretofore unconscious issues – Luke’s friend Janine (played by the incredibly underused Alison Folland) questions her own sexuality, and Luke’s roommate Keenan (Dustin Seavey) puts to rest his gender insecurities – those moments are the exception, not the norm. The absurdity of the situation is undermined by otherwise unexceptional writing. And since the movie is really banking on its own absurdity, it’s a shame the penis jokes take center stage. Zachary Jones
October 12, 2006