Maid Droid (2023)

I was very recently made aware of the filmography of writer-director Rich Mallery. It would appear that he is carving out a niche for himself making what we could kindly refer to as disposable entertainment for those wanting to spend some time in the company of attractive young women. Because there's a shortage of movies made with that in mind, of course.

Maid Droid is exactly what you think it is. A self-pitying man (Harrison, played by Jose Adam Alvarez) is persuaded by a friend to invest in renting a maid droid. You can hire them for all of your menial tasks, and they will do whatever is asked of them during that rental time. And they're absolutely like a live human woman in every way, as Harrison's friend informs him. And so it is that Harrison ends up with Mako (Faith West) in his home. Mako helps make the arc of the movie all too clear when she turns up in the kind of maid outfit that looks as if it was bought from the nearest branch of Ann Summers. But will things go smoothly for a man falling in lust with a household device?

Before I go any further I must pause to remind people of one important point: Movies should be examined and rated based on what they're aiming to do, not based on how they compare to every other movie in existence. While Maid Droid isn't great, the low budget and some poor performances really work against it, it's not that bad for what it is. Mallery has a simple idea that he stretches out to a bearable 91 minutes, and he knows that West is good enough casting to make up for some of the other shortcomings.

While she's not brilliant, West is the best thing here, and tries her best to portray her droid character realistically without falling into the trap of making herself too stiff and preposterously ignorant of the ways of us humans. Alvarez, on the other hand, sometimes feels more like the character who cannot understand normal behaviour. He's not helped by the script that only wants him to be either horny or morose, but it's a shame that he can't do anything to make a better impression. Kylee Michael does okay as the other main woman integral to the plot, although the focus of Maid Droid always remains the titular maid droid.

This is easy to sneer it, and it's equally easy to completely dismiss. It's not helped by the scenes that effectively bookend the main storyline, nor is it helped by the backstory given to Mako that is teased throughout. It's not terrible though, for the kind of film it is. Those after sexy sexy times may be disappointed, it's actually a very tame film when you consider where it could have gone, but those after some titillation and diverting silliness will find that this delivers just that.

5/10

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