Virtual Sexuality

At 17, Justine (Fraser) reckons she's ready to lose her virginity, but where can she find Mr Right? The obvious answer is school stud Alex (O'Brien), but it all goes awry when her geeky friend Chas (De Lacey) fails to lure him to a rendezvous at a computer show. Left to her own devices, Justine has a go at designing her own virtual dream date, but just when she's come up with 'Jake', an explosion rips through the venue. Out of the rubble crawls a blonde hunk draped in Justine's ragged clothes, and 'Jake' (Penry-Jones) is ready to face the world, having morphed with his creator, a girl in a guy's body. How on earth will (s)he go about explaining that to decent, sensible Chas? Quite a pleasant surprise to find a British movie offering a high concept plot and character comedy more familiar from yesteryear's John Hughes pictures. The news is not entirely positive, since director Hurran is fooling nobody with electro hardware straight out of the Children's Film Foundation. More persuasive is the device that allows the heroine to learn all about boys by becoming one of them. This one's an awkward customer, but so puppy-dog keen it's very hard to dislike.