Hot Bot (2 Stars)

I've been watching too many bad films lately. I need to find something better to watch. The short synopsis that I read made it sound good, but I was disappointed with the film from the first 10 minutes onwards.

A lot of films that I find disappointing have good special effects and maybe even good actors, but they're let down by the story. In the case of "Hot Bot" it's different. The story itself is an excellent idea which could have been the foundation of a world-wide blockbuster, but the acting and the film production let the film down.

It's a very topical story. A company called Hot Bot Technologies has invented an ultra-realistic sex doll. As well as feeling real to the touch, it walks and talks like a woman. However, the bot's greatest advantage is its artificial intelligence (AI) and learning capabilities. When it's delivered it has basic functions of offering sex to its owner. As time goes by it learns from speaking and interacting with the owner. It, or rather she, learns what the owner wants and becomes the perfect companion, not just sexually, but also a good conversation partner.

I like the sound of that. But let's carry on.

An American senator buys one of the early prototypes, Bardot 2.7. The price tag is $500,000. Slightly out of my price range, I'm afraid. The road is bumpy, and Bardot is accidentally turned on (pun intended) in the delivery van. She seduces the two drivers, then when they're unconscious and exhausted she runs to find another man. She's hit by a car driven by two teenage boys, Linus and Leonard. They think she's dead, so they pick her body up and take her home. Why don't they call the police? Leonard gives the answer: "We can do things with her that we'll never be able to do with a girl when she's alive". The boys are obviously still virgins, and judging by their looks and attitudes they'll remain virgins for a long time.

Bardot wakes up, but she's still behaving erratically, so the boys realise that she's not a real person. They take her to a sex shop to ask for advice. The owner recognises what she is, probably from reading trade magazines, and he repairs her. Linus wants to have sex with her, but it's too late. The next day he leaves her at home while he goes to school. But then disaster strikes.

Linus comes from a very religious Christian family. I don't see much physical resemblance between him and his Dad, but that's just one of the film's loose ends. While Linus is at school his younger sister Shaqobi discovers Bardot and starts talking to her. She gives her a Bible and asks her to accept Jesus into her life. When Linus gets home Bardot has changed. She says that she refuses to have sex before marriage.

Then there's the added problem that the Senator has sent his men to find the bot. That's hardly surprising, since he's paid half a million dollars for her.

If you think my description makes it sound like a great film, that's my point. It's a great story, but everything else about the film is poor. In the hands of a better director, someone like Fred Olen Ray, the film would have been a masterpiece, and Fred would probably have completed it with half the budget. He's an expert at making high quality films with a small budget.

If you're interested in films about sex dolls that come to life, check out "Air Doll" instead. That's a much better made film. I still wish that "Hot Bot" could be remade more competently.