This April, Jonathan Burke asks the question Who’s Jenna…? and here are my thoughts which I did post late last year when I was fortunate enough to see the film. See what you think and let me know if you agree.
I spent some of this morning watching the new Tom Baldinger’s rom-com “Who’s Jenna…?” and what a fun morning it was. Whos Jenna…? first showed up on my ‘radar’ earlier this year when I saw one of its cast (Tracey Birdsall) mentioning the project on her social media channels. I had been following filmmaker Neil Johnson’s media channels and was counting down the months (at the time) until his science fiction action film Rogue Warrior:Robot Fighter sprang onto my screens (Tracey Birdsall also appears in Rogue Warrior:Robot Fighter…..that’s the connection with this whole paragraph) So anyways…….. Over the past few months and weeks I had seen a lot of coverage for Whos Jenna…? and so the film sat there on my ‘films to look out for’ list that sadly seems to get longer rather than shorter So what is ‘Whos Jenna…?’ and is it any good?
Well its a lovely charming, fun film that is a very different film than the IMDB plotline suggested to me but thats not always a bad thing…Its just a thing. The IMDB synopsis describes Whos Jenna…? as
“What could be a simple love story for Jonathan and Jenna turns out to be mayhem. Jonathan’s best friend Andy wants to prove that Jenna looks like an adult film star and his boss is black-mailing him who turns out to be Jenna’s brother-in-law”
What I found Whos Jenna…? to be was far more. Yes there is a little conversation about how much Jenna (brilliantly played by Tracey Birdsall) looks like adult film star Amber Lynn (who appears in the film) but the film to me was more about the lives the main characters are leading. Jenna (Tracey Birdsall) is a lawyer and also related by marriage to Jonathan’s boss Joe Barcia (played by Garry Pastore) . Jonathan (played by Bill Sorvino) is such a likable guy and is dating Jenna and so we the audience root for him to have a happy life which isnt easy when you see what sort of workplace he has to function in. Bill Sorvino plays the role to perfection and Jonathan is the sort of person we would like as a friend Jonathan and Jenna are a lovely couple. We enjoy spending time with them. Although lets still value their privacy!
Whilst sitting here trying to compare Whos Jenna…? to something wasnt an easy task. Whos Jenna is its own thing and whilst to me the film had a wonderful Chasing Amy type feel to it, it also had a nostalgic 1980s movie type vibe about it. I love how the film had a focus on its dialogue and the great injection of quirky scenes adds to its personality such as one where Jonathan phones Jenna on her cell phone only to have her not answer but to have her knock on his hotel room door a matter of seconds after he hangs up. Wonderfully strange and charming without the need to explain to the audience what happened.
The rest of the cast are on top form with a massive range of unusual characters that make up a great ensemble for one of the more fun and light hearted films I have watched recently and if you want to spend some time in the company of a great cast allowing us to see into their characters lives for eighty minutes then id highly recommend Whos Jenna…? and yes the title does make sense once the film has ended.
Great work by all the cast and crew!
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