She’s Clean

NOW ON VOD! Your eyeballs are about to get soaped up real good for a brisk rinse in the stunning dramedy short She’s Clean, written and directed by Jenn Harris. It focuses on a dating ritual of a woman (Jenn Harris) in which she takes a shower and invites her date to join her. They both wash together thoroughly, which usually builds up to sex. We see how this technique works with a wide variety of men of all shapes and sizes. Some are excited, some are indifferent, many are self-absorbed, and one is flat-out scary. The man-show roster, most of whom are on parade nude, includes Louis Cancelm,  Randy Harrison, Eric Tabach, Jackson Mercado, Ryan Czerwonko, David J. Cork, and Keith Contreras, as well as others. Just follow the trail of soap bubbles, as this scrub will reveal what lies below the surface.

“…she takes a shower and invites her date to join her…”

In the post-exploitation landscape, this flower of a film grows especially tall. With the commercial value of onscreen sex dropping through the floor, brave filmmakers like Harris are reclaiming graphic intimacy to explore fresh frontiers of artistic expression. We can finally talk like adults about sex without a window sticker on every glimpse of flesh. And there is a lot of flesh in She’s Clean, with an imaginary giant neon sign flashing over and over overhead spelling “refreshing.” Want to see how most guys wash their lunch bags? Harris serves it up right from the get-go. It is frank and thorough, with few subjects untouched and parts unseen in the 15-minute runtime. 

What it isn’t, surprisingly, is shocking. That is because Harris is seeking a truer representation that is recognizable and relatable. There is so much more to the way the subject is handled here, bringing us to deeper reflection instead of the usual giggling at the sight of f**k crackers exploding. The world that this short explores is much more intricate and complicated than the sum of its juicy parts. There is more drama than comedy, though the humorous parts are really funny. The selection of encounters and the details highlighted take us into a much heavier place than even most features can muster in three big, flabby acts. The viewer’s understanding and acceptance of her rhythm mirrors that of the main character. Watch She’s Clean; the revelations are as fresh as the towels.