Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Naughty Books’ On Hulu, A Documentary About Erotic Romance Novels & Their Female Authors

When 50 Shades of Grey was published in 2011, erotic novels seemed to become mainstream. While romance novels have long had a dedicated audience – the genre outsells pretty much everything else – they’d never quite had this big a moment in the spotlight. With this newfound popularity came the self-publishing gold rush, a phenomenon that saw working class, everyday women suddenly become millionaires. Naughty Books, now streaming on Hulu, highlights a few of these women.

NAUGHTY BOOKS: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: After blockbuster 50 Shades of Grey shook up the romance genre in 2011, the self-publishing industry saw something of a boom. Once deemed a “vanity project”, self-publishing became the easiest way to get your name and story out there, and turned your everyday working women into best-selling authors. A few of these authors are interviewed in Naughty Books, including CJ Roberts, an Air Force veteran who now has a dedicated fan base, Kelli Maine, a former telemarketer and YA novelist who tried her hand at romance under a pen name, and former hospital administrator Kristen Proby, who found success with self-publishing and now has a deal with Pocket Books.

The film also shines a light on the dedicated fans of this genre, highlighting a convention in Las Vegas. There isn’t just discussion of the industry side of romance, either; the themes present in the books – including rape fantasies and sexual liberation – are also touched on, though perhaps not as in-depth as they should be. Over the course of Naughty Books‘ 82 minutes, we see these women at their highs and lows as the market becomes oversaturated and the demand for several new books from each author a year increases. Some people may write it off as silly smut, but if there’s one thing Naughty Books proves, it’s that romance isn’t going anywhere.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Despite the huge difference in subject matter, the format of interviewing a handful of women in the industry and then showing us the bigger picture reminded me a bit of Fly Like a Girl (though that film was a much more compelling watch).

Memorable Dialogue: “I read smut. It’s my guilty pleasure. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. I don’t use drugs. I read smut.” This opening quote from a woman who scrolls through her digital romance novel collection for the camera really sets the tone for the rest of the documentary. Despite being said in good fun, there are definitely some romance readers and writers who would scoff at the notion of these books being “guilty pleasures” or “smut”, which is why this is such an interesting way to start Naughty Books.

Sex and Skin: While there are no sex scenes in the traditional sense, a few particularly steamy excerpts from these novels are read, accompanied by some tasteful animations.

Our Take: Naughty Books really could have been something special; the world of romance novels and the outside perception of the genre is such a rich one, but this documentary doesn’t seem interested in doing more than skimming the surface. This is partially due to the fact that it was seemingly filmed back before the big-screen adaptation of 50 Shades of Grey ever hit theaters, or before Jane the Virgin premiered, so there’s a lot that feels missing from the film (and that’s not really its fault, though most of the other problems with the film are *definitely* its fault). As a time capsule that illustrates the effects of the self-publishing gold rush that followed 50 Shades of Grey‘s publication, it’s somewhat interesting, but Naughty Books still feels so unfocused and frankly boring that it never actually seems to capture the heart of the matter. It feels like the rushed Sparknotes of a spotty introduction to the subject.

Attempting to sum up all the layers of romance novels, authors, the publishing industry, the fans, and everything else in between in just 82 minutes is impossible. Had Naughty Books chosen just one facet of this subject and honed in on that, it would have been a much more compelling documentary. Instead, it jumps from point to point without stopping for air. It might give you whiplash if the whole thing wasn’t such a snoozefest, and it’s a shame, because romance novels really do merit a larger, more nuanced discussion. There is so much to be said about the way this massive genre is written off, about the comfort it offers to readers, the outlet it offers to writers, the billion dollars a year (!) the books pull in. But Naughty Books is only interesting in giving each of these ideas a few minutes of screen time, when they each could potentially warrant their own respective films. As mentioned previously, this could, in part, be due to the period (2012/2013?) it was filmed, but it still feels like a disappointing attempt to tell this story. How does a topic this provocative and engaging make for such a stale documentary?! I wanted so much more. (And romance deserves so much more).

Our Call: SKIP IT. While the world of romance novels and the writers behind them is ripe for a documentary, Naughty Books is so boring, repetitive, and safe that the juicy subject at its core never really gets the chance to shine.

Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines, hogging the mic at karaoke, and thirst-tweeting. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.

Stream Naughty Books on Hulu