Inside You, A Feminist Body-Swap Movie

The body-swap theme seems to be popular among some directors these days.

Inside You is a brand new one, directed by a woman, Heather Fink, and is playing in some US theaters right now.

I haven't seen the movie yet. It is marketed as a romantic comedy, and the write-up goes like this:

Stephanie and Ryan have been dating for 5 years but their views on marriage couldn't be more different. After a botched marriage proposal and an encounter with a magical object, Stephanie and Ryan switch bodies. They navigate the wonders and challenges of the opposite sex while making unexpected discoveries about each other.

Heather Fink plays the role of the main female character herself. This is her first feature film.

To SplitSider she says:

It was important to me that the female character was not a stereotype of a woman and the male character was not a stereotype of a man. I think in real women, there are several contradictions when it comes to what being a woman is all about. So what is it really then when we switch bodies?   

She is very much aware of the body swap genre and what it entails. To Independent Film now Heather says:

I’ve had penis envy my whole life. A curiosity about what it must be like to be a man. The stories we are told are always through a man’s eyes so I think it’s natural to want to know what it’s like. Peeing standing up seems like an amazing freedom. I find often that others reactions to my femininity to be so far removed from actually being a woman in a woman’s body. I know other women feel this way too. Like ok my boobs or butt are such a big deal to others, I could care less about them. So in a way I feel a detachment from my body, but society makes quite a big deal about it. 

I also don’t feel I’ve seen this movie before. I did my research and watched every body switching comedy I could get my hands on. There was only one I found that had a dating couple switch, a 90s movie from Australia, but I found it was so overwrought with gender stereotypes which is the opposite of the story I want to tell.

Movie home page with US screenings here.

Post-production. Heather Fink editing Heather Fink. (Instagram)

Redlight Podcast about the movie here!