LITTLE BI PEEP (2013) ** ½

Emma (Anna Shields, who also wrote the screenplay and co-directed) works a dead-end job at an adult video store.  Her job description says she must wear a sexy Halloween costume (including a sexy Little Bo Peep get-up) to work, but when she’s there, she mostly just smokes and glowers at the creepy customers.  Emma lives alone with her dog (who often shits on the floor, much to her indifference), and when she goes out, she usually hooks up with girls (and guys) whom she immediately ditches.  When she meets Mason (Sara Jecko), a guy who’s hiding an obvious secret, it threatens her miserable existence with a glimmer of happiness.

The title makes it sound like it’s going to be a nursey rhyme-themed softcore sex spoof, but Little Bi Peep is actually an earnest (if uneven) low budget indie LGBTQ comedy/drama.  It’s mostly a slice-of-life tale of a woman who’s still figuring things out.  Even though she’s got some serious issues in her past she’s still reconciling with that’s preventing her from achieving true happiness, she remains a likeable wiseass about it most of the time, which makes the audience root for her.

The adult store scenes are the best, mostly because they play like a gender-swapped version of Clerks.  Unfortunately, the laughs are few and far between, but Shields’ performance keeps you watching throughout the lulls.  I also have to give her credit for the clever ending that manages to defy the standard romantic comedy trappings and for dealing with broken characters in a realistic fashion.  While it’s far from perfect, it’s a nice enough effort all the same.