People like erotic love triangle movies because they often show complicated relationships and feelings that many people can relate to. One of those is the movie American Kamasutra. The conflicts and relationships between the characters can be exciting and build suspense, making the show fun to watch. The romantic and sexual parts of the story can also add a lot of drama and excitement.
In the recent few years, love triangle movies have seen massive success. With erotic thrillers finally escaping their leather-bound prisons and making an appearance on film and television screens worldwide, the enormous success of the Fifty Shades franchise has a lot to answer for. However, in The American Kamasutra, the plot has already reached its climax back.
American Kamasutra is a Reworked Version of Submission
American Kamasutra is a reworked version of the six-part television series Submission. Despite targeting a younger audience, the series got little hype and needed to live up to expectations. But even though the audience and critics didn’t like it and it got mixed reviews (when it aired on Showtime in May and June 2016), the producers decided to turn it into a feature film called American Kamasutra. This time again, the project promised more explicit content in the form of bonding, Submission, and sexy talk to pique the interest of an adult audience.
With this promise to advertise more explicit content to attract an adult audience, the film American Kamasutra was released in 2018. Directed by St. James, this erotic thriller was supposed to keep the audience on the edge of their seats by mixing in spice and substance the entire way. However, it couldn’t live up to the expectations, and based on the average rating, those high hopes were sadly unmet.
However, it is still somewhat like 50 Shades of Grey in specific ways. Besides this, it moved in a different direction and improved upon it in some ways. Even if the performance was corny and over the top at times, the film was still somewhat enjoyable to watch, only if someone loved this genre.
What is American Kamasutra About?
From the pen of Paul Fishbein and Jacky St. James, the film’s story revolves around a young woman who finds herself involved in a dangerous love triangle when she gets involved with the writer of a popular steamy novel.
Starring Ashlynn Yennie and Justin Berti, American Kamasutra is a Showtime film in the vein of Fifty Shades of Grey that explores sexuality and kink. The author, Jacky St. James, stated that she wasn’t entirely satisfied with how they present BDSM in Fifty Shades of Grey, so she set out to make amends. But, as it turns out, converting a mediocre episodic romp into an even more terrible picture wasn’t exactly the most innovative way to do it.
In the movie, Ashley is in a sexually frustrating and hopeless relationship; she has never been a risk-taker, and now she realizes that she will never be happy unless she takes a chance and starts living life. She finds an easy job as a barista and moves in with two other young women with whom she thinks she may have a good time. She meets a charming and humorous guy there, but after a one-night stand, she realizes he’s not the right guy for her. Simultaneously, a friend introduces her to a romance novel that incorporates bondage and submission, which does it for her. After meeting the author and beginning a relationship with him, she experiences a dramatic increase in realism and has a deeper understanding of who she is.
American Kamasutra Lacks What a Real BDSM Movie Should Have
If you’re hoping for something in the vein of Fifty Shades of Grey, Submission, or another “guilty pleasure” novel, American Kamasutra is not for you. It’s a sexually explicit show in which the sexual content is removed by editing, leaving behind nothing but horrible acting. I am not exaggerating when I say that this is the entirety of the situation; you will not be satisfied. The popularity of romance novels is at an all-time high right now, and the idea of this story seems to fit neatly into the mold of one of those novels: there is a strict woman, a handsome hunk, and he knows her as no one else could, she comes to understand herself, and love grows. That’s all good, but the movie isn’t really about those things. The acting and script were downright bad, and nothing exciting that a hot BDSM movie should have.
Is American Kamasutra Worth Watching?
This film is a more condensed adaptation of the television show Submission. They took the Submission episodes and removed all the sexually explicit, nudity, and erotica moments, leaving you with this version of the show. It’s like “50 Shades” without nudity and sex but enough talk to achieve the same rating. Since erotica is why people go to the movies, this one is quite boring. So, it won’t be hard to say. It’s an activity with no redeeming value whatsoever.
Bottomline
In a nutshell, American Kamasutra feels like a simplified version of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” aimed at an audience with the cognitive maturity of preschoolers. There is plenty of sexual innuendo and cussing, but no actual sexual activity or nudity is present.
Despite the director’s history of making violent porn, their new film, unfortunately, fails to capture our attention. It seems not quite worth the watch. But on the other hand, we definitely recommend you to watch and check out our review of the Korean movie Love and Leashes.