Is this a movie? It seems that many of us have made the mistake of watching the wrong Paprika. I have a scratch off poster of the best movies of the 20th century. There is a little section of more riské movies like Blue Lagoon, Basic Instinct, and Pasolini's The Decameron. I saw Paprika in this category and was very confused after I watched the animated Paprika as to why it would be in this section. I scratched it off though, and revealed a totally different movie poster than I expected. Yeah, they wanted me to watch 1991's Paprika about a prostitute, not the fun, creative animation from 2006. The 1991 Paprika is much more of a softcore porn than any kind of movie. The story isn't a real narrative; it's just "Where is Paprika going to whore around now?". This is not a movie that I'd have ever watched on my own accord and probably not one that I'd ever even known existed and I'd be all the better for it. There is nothing here that I can congratulate the "film" for other than, I guess, having some okay acting sometimes (not that it's hard to "act" like you are attracted to an attractive woman). The story is awful and there are clear places where, if they actually wanted to make a real movie with a compelling story, they could have built a real narrative with real drama, but instead of having Paprika stand up to the abusive pimp of her friend, she just tells him how awful he is and then joins him. There is rape, drug use, abuse, adultery, cheating partners, all the things you would expect from a drama about the prostitution industry, but Paprika either plays them for laughs or gives them two or three minutes and then sweeps them under the rug never to be seen again. They do kind of give Paprika an end goal, but they keep forgetting about it. I can't even say Paprika is much of a character, as she has no character development or arc. I don't know if she likes what she does or not, because every scene she changes her mind. She just randomly drifts from brothel to brothel throughout Europe with no goals and no plot reasons. It seems like all of the dialog is terribly done ADR. The sets are beautiful, but nothing that happens in them is worth seeing. This feels like 50 Shades of Grey for old men; you can pretend you are consuming it for it's artistry, but we all know that you aren't. If all you want is to see beautiful women in various states of undress, Paprika certainly has that. It you want social commentary, actual filmmaking, or a strong, compelling plot, look anywhere else. The teen boner comedies of the late 90's to early 2000's are better films than Paprika. Road Trip, American Pie, The Girl Next Door, they all have an actual plot with actual characters. They aren't particularly good plots or characters, but they have clear motives and goals. Paprika is just a naked lady fucking her way around Europe.
Is this a movie? It seems that many of us have made the mistake of watching the wrong Paprika. I have a scratch off poster of the best movies of the 20th century. There is a little section of more riské movies like Blue Lagoon, Basic Instinct, and Pasolini's The Decameron. I saw Paprika in this category and was very confused after I watched the animated Paprika as to why it would be in this section. I scratched it off though, and revealed a totally different movie poster than I expected. Yeah, they wanted me to watch 1991's Paprika about a prostitute, not the fun, creative animation from 2006. The 1991 Paprika is much more of a softcore porn than any kind of movie. The story isn't a real narrative; it's just "Where is Paprika going to whore around now?". This is not a movie that I'd have ever watched on my own accord and probably not one that I'd ever even known existed and I'd be all the better for it. There is nothing here that I can congratulate the "film" for other than, I guess, having some okay acting sometimes (not that it's hard to "act" like you are attracted to an attractive woman). The story is awful and there are clear places where, if they actually wanted to make a real movie with a compelling story, they could have built a real narrative with real drama, but instead of having Paprika stand up to the abusive pimp of her friend, she just tells him how awful he is and then joins him. There is rape, drug use, abuse, adultery, cheating partners, all the things you would expect from a drama about the prostitution industry, but Paprika either plays them for laughs or gives them two or three minutes and then sweeps them under the rug never to be seen again. They do kind of give Paprika an end goal, but they keep forgetting about it. I can't even say Paprika is much of a character, as she has no character development or arc. I don't know if she likes what she does or not, because every scene she changes her mind. She just randomly drifts from brothel to brothel throughout Europe with no goals and no plot reasons. It seems like all of the dialog is terribly done ADR. The sets are beautiful, but nothing that happens in them is worth seeing. This feels like 50 Shades of Grey for old men; you can pretend you are consuming it for it's artistry, but we all know that you aren't. If all you want is to see beautiful women in various states of undress, Paprika certainly has that. It you want social commentary, actual filmmaking, or a strong, compelling plot, look anywhere else. The teen boner comedies of the late 90's to early 2000's are better films than Paprika. Road Trip, American Pie, The Girl Next Door, they all have an actual plot with actual characters. They aren't particularly good plots or characters, but they have clear motives and goals. Paprika is just a naked lady fucking her way around Europe.
