Ruby (Elizabeth Gillies) has had her life subsidized by her mom and dad (Diedrich Bader, as always great), as well as her roommate Whitney (Dia Frampton) telling her that she can’t afford her rent any longer. But now, the cash is running out, and she has to find a job quickly. And that brings her to Spread magazine, which is run by Frank (Harvey Keitel), who is a combination of Hugh Hefner and Larry Flynt. The magazine is dying, as print is on the way out, so even if she hates this job, it won’t last long. And if all that isn’t the worst, she’s just been dumped by her boyfriend, Orson (Jonah Platt).

While the idea of revolutionizing porn for women isn’t new — Candida Royalle did it decades before — Spread is the kind of movie I like, as it’s very much a “hijinks ensue” film. Easy subject — bright but undriven girl finds herself working for a porn magazine. And hijinksensuee.

Directed by Ellie Kanner and written by Buffy Charlet, this has a good cast, which makes these movies work. Keitel is, as always, better than the movie he’s in. Teri Polo is excellent as Prudence, the secretary who keeps Spread in advertising money. Tim Rozon, Doc Holiday from Wynonna Earp, is the money man who wants to close it all down. Diora Baird is Xtasy, the ex-porn star and now agent who becomes Ruby’s new mom. And for a movie about the porn industry, this is very chaste, other than having a dildo closet.

That said, its lead learns essential lessons, and despite that much-hated downer third act, it all comes together. I miss silly sex comedies, so I probably liked this more than if it came out in the genre’s glory days. But hey, I’ll take what I can get. That said, I still wonder. Who is buying print porn today?

You can watch this on Tubi.