Chiclets Movie Review: This male-gazey film can also be called ‘101 ways on how to commodify women’s bodies on screen’

Chiclets Movie Review: The chiclets mentioned in the title of this Muthu M directorial are its three female protagonists. Usually, most of the A-rated sex comedy dramas made here have a male protagonist. Therefore, Chiclets having three women as leads has to be spotlighted. But with that ends anything that’s remotely different and unique about this film.

If there’s anyone who is confused about what the male gaze and the commodification of women’s bodies mean, then Chiclets is the film that you can show them to get a clearer idea of the subject. The film objectifies, objectifies, and keeps on objectifying its three leads.

There’s a specific set of audience that Chiclets is targeting, and it’s doubtful whether the film will satisfy even that audience. Even though the film starts off as a sex comedy, midway through, it turns into a tale of the struggles of parents raising their girl children.

Chiclets is largely confused about what it is trying to say. Its preachy tone is in direct contradiction to most of the things that play out on screen. Therefore, the film has turned out to be neither here nor there. It’s neither convincing in addressing the parents’ worries about their teenage children nor does it work as the story of three teen girls trying to figure out life.

There’s dialogues in the film like, ‘Love doesn’t happen when two people physically touch each other but when their hearts touch.’ These dialogues just don’t work with the initial unserious tone of the film. The preachiness aspect goes in and out of Chiclets, similar to the way the film itself is confused about what it wants to say.