![]() Please try again Article contentīasically, Alma is a typical teenager. The next issue of NP Posted will soon be in your inbox. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. Manage Print Subscription / Tax ReceiptĪ welcome email is on its way.Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. HOW WILL IT PLAY? If allowed to keep its racy title, “Turn me on, dammit!” could do magical numbers on VOD. With so much promise leading up to that point, the dispiriting climax is a major turn-off. However, at 75 minutes, the filmmaker cuts to black just when the story begins to take an interesting new direction. Jacobsen conveys this situation with a delicate touch and whimsical stylistic flourishes: Occasional black-and-white images sum up the events, while a playful indie rock score fleshes out the atmosphere. Her burgeoning sexuality is only one expression of that burning need. Meanwhile, Alma’s close friend begins to obsessively send letters to American prisoners on death row, a reminder that Alma and her peers harbor a genuine desire to escape the constraints of a boring existence. Needless to say, that doesn’t improve her lifestyle conditions. When Alma’s mother eventually learns about her daughter’s phone sex habits, Alma takes a rebellious route, openly moaning from her bedroom and snatching a Playboy from her day job at the drug store. Which begs the question: Did Artur actually run his rod into Alma’s leg, or was it simply another one of her lewd daydreams? The uncertainty matters more than a firm answer because “Turn me on” focuses on the lingering perceptions of young people still figuring out how to communicate. On her own, Alma’s imagination runs wild, and she begins to have a series of amusing fantasies in which she envisions sexual advances from those around her. Now nicknamed “Dick Alma,” she quickly becomes ostracized by the only world available to her. Instantly spreading word to her peers, Alma finds herself the subject of disdain when Artur denies the act. That also applies to a later plot point, which finds Alma having an awkward encounter with young stud Artur (Matias Myren) at a party, when he randomly rubs his member against her leg. Instead, the scene emphasizes her frustration over being forced to repress her needs. The difference here, aside from the gender, is that Alma’s close call doesn’t really play for laughs. ![]() ![]() The Best True Crime Streaming Now, from 'Unsolved Mysteries' to 'McMillions' to 'The Staircase' The Biggest Oscars Contenders Are All Vying for Best Original Screenplay 'BlackBerry' Review: The Once-Ubiquitous Smartphone Gets Its Own Spin on 'The Social Network' 'The Adults' Review: Michael Cera's Cringe-Out Sibling Drama Is Surprisingly Moving When her mother suddenly comes home, Alma’s frantic scrambling recalls the opening of “American Pie,” when a jittery Jason Biggs gets busted by his folks while jacking off to late night porn. (School bus riders ritualistically flick off the town sign as it passes by them each morning.) Still, Alma does think about sex a lot, appearing in the first scene sprawled out on her kitchen floor with one hand down her pants and a phone sex operator whispering in her ear. Growing up in a remote community far from the bustling urbanity of Oslo, Alma’s desire to get off represents only one piece of the wider angst afflicting everyone her age in the area. Adapted from the novel by Olau Nilssen, “Turn me on” plays like a familiar entry in the teen sex comedy genre without the sex. The gentle, emotionally honest narrative feature debut of writer-director Jannicke Systad Jacobsen follows horny teen Alma (Helene Bergsholm, in a believably understated breakout performance) as she explores her sexual curiosity, falls into an embarrassing situation with her peers and copes with becoming a pariah, all while dreaming of a better life. Despite the confrontational title, Norwegian coming-of-age movie “Turn me on, dammit!” doesn’t take an abrasive approach.
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