Lady Parts finds plenty of laughs in an uncomfortable subject while delivering a warm, honest, and surprisingly charming story about finding yourself.
by Nav Qateel
Written by Bonnie Gross and directed by Nancy Boyd, comedy-drama Lady Parts follows the story of Paige, a twenty-something woman who has issues with her vagina. Paige finds sex uncomfortable, as well as anything to do with her vagina, forcing her to reluctantly visit gynecologist Dr. Silverstein. After the examination, Paige is informed she has (checks notes) vulvar vestibulitis, which means surgery followed by a crazy amount of recovery, including not being able to open her legs for any reason for an extended period of time.
Paige is a budding writer and has just been offered the chance at an interview for a dream job, but this person l problem worsening throws a spanner in the works. A conflicted Paige phones her mother to an immediate and amusing “What’s wrong!?” Paige explains her dilemma and decides to move back to Philadelphia to live with her parents from her current place in Los Angeles.
Paige’s concerned parents quite literally insert themselves into her health issues, including visits to Dr. Silverstein, where Paige is sandwiched between Mom and Dad, looking extremely uncomfortable. As a sixty-one-year-old man, I too felt as uncomfortable as Paige appeared to be. The recovery lent itself to some obvious humor, as well as teaching us the importance of increasing the size of dilators while learning new medical terminology.
The characters were each interesting and, more importantly, real, with Valentina Tammaro as Paige nailing her part beautifully. Her comic timing was on point, while also showing the perfect amount of vulnerability when the scene called for it. The mother-daughter dynamic was also delightful and, again, realistic. Paige’s mother, Linda, played by Amy Lyndon, an actress who has the chops to carry any scene, bordered on smothering her daughter at times but never crossed the line to become overbearing. Watching her being corrected by the doc after saying “lady parts” rather than “vagina” was amusing.
Dad Steve (Peter Larney) bravely sat through gynecological discussions about his daughter, and being that my daughter is roughly the same age as Paige, I doubt I or most older men could do likewise. Don’t get me wrong, as Lady Parts progressed, I did begin to get desensitized to the lingo and such, where I could just get on with enjoying the entire experience. Was this the intention of the film’s creators? I like to consider that it was.
The side characters from L.A. and then Philadelphia never felt like afterthoughts there to provide a bit of padding, demonstrating an undeniable talent that should become fruitful in the coming years. Cody, played by Lars Midthun, was a nice example of that and was one of my favorite characters after Paige. A sensitive soul who matched well with Paige, having similar interests, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Bonnie Gross’s screenplay was joyful, and Nancy Boyd’s direction came together to create a memorable, humorous movie that will absolutely please anyone. I doubt the audience would fail to notice the similarities in writing and directing style to Greta Gerwig, which is a good thing for a film of this nature. I enjoyed Lady Parts far more than I expected and was left impressed with the entire production. I dare anyone not to have a great time at Paige’s expense.
Nav’s Score: 9/10
