Known to the English-speaking world as 'Turn Me On, Dammit!', this comedy-drama blend from Norway focuses on a sexually frustrated teenage girl who feels repressed by her outskirts town. She daydreams on a regular basis, often losing herself in fantasies (including a lesbian love scene with her best friend's sister!) so when a boy who she fancies "pokes" her with his manhood and then later denies it, the question arises of whether or she imagined it all. Promising all this might sound, the film does not really play around with the ambiguity of whether or not the poke actually occurred. She is always convinced that it did happen (even if we as viewers have our doubts) and the film instead focuses her ostracism at school as a result of the dispute over whether she was poked. Add in some nosy neighbours and the film has quite a bit to offer in terms of showing how suffocating a small town environment is, especially when everyone knows you and you have a reputation. Intelligent as this may be though, it is rather tame for a movie that opens with a daring scene in which the "almost sixteen" year old protagonist's dog watches with interest as she pleasures herself during phone sex. This is, in fact, the film's chief pitfall in a way as it delivers its best scene way too early in the piece. That said, the film is frequently funny and it consistently works as a comedy even if it is lightweight on explicit content and raunchiness. Several of her fantasies (especially those involving her boss) are laugh-out-loud funny and the film ends on a pitch perfect comical note. Great final line.
Review of Turn Me On, Dammit!
