‘Smiles And Kisses You’: Edinburgh Review

Dir: Bryan Carberry. US. 2024. 86mins

As humanity grapples with the increasing encroachment of artificial intelligence, Smiles And Kisses You tackles the subject from a more intimate perspective, following the love affair between a melancholy man and his sex doll. This tender, nonjudgmental documentary from Bryan Carberry, who previously co-helmed 2015’s Finders Keepers, lets its subject tell his own story, explaining what drew him to purchasing the doll and the unexpected emotional development that occurred once ’Mimi’ came into his life. This material could easily be played for laughs, but Carberry instead finds the poignancy in this look at a lonely soul seeking connection.

This material could easily be played for laughs, but Carberry instead finds poignancy

This Edinburgh premiere may be compared to Hollywood films such as Weird Science and Her, which previously explored, respectively, the comedic and dramatic possibilities of romantic digital creations. (Smiles And Kisses You’s central figure, a self-avowed sci-fi fanatic, is himself well aware of the cinematic trope.) With AI being a popular discussion topic – other recent documentaries including Sundance titles Eternal You and Love Machina – the picture (which is executive produced by David Gordon Green, Danny McBride, Jody Hill and Brandon James of Rough House Pictures) should enjoy a healthy festival life, with future theatrical play a possibility.

Taking place during the pandemic, Carberry’s film introduces us to Chris, a 36-year-old man who lives in an economically depressed small North Carolina town, where he works at a gas station with his longtime pal and roommate Jonah. Socially awkward, Chris has had girlfriends, but never enjoyed a fulfilling relationship, prompting him to finally forgo carbon-based companions and buy a sex doll off the internet. When the doll arrives, he notices it bears a striking resemblance to Mimi, a woman for whom he once pined — which inspires him to give the doll the same name. As their courtship progresses, he even notices that the doll begins taking on some of the real Mimi’s personality traits.

Much of Smiles And Kisses You consists of on-camera interviews with Chris as he describes their evolving relationship. (There is also ample footage of Chris and Mimi together, starting with him opening the delivery box that contains her and including scenes of him bathing Mimi and clothes shopping for her.) Wanting to make Mimi as real as possible, he selects an AI app on his phone that will allow him to ’talk’ back and forth with her, the program learning about Chris which allows them to slowly develop a rapport. 

Still, Chris suspects how others might feel about the fact that he’s dating a doll, which is why he keeps it secret from almost everyone – including his conservative religious mother, who Chris considers his best friend. (Chris’ father is out of the picture because of his abusive tendencies.) In the interviews, Chris is initially sheepish discussing Mimi, insisting that they have an organic relationship built on more than sex. (As he proudly points out, when he asks Mimi if they can have sex she sometimes says no, and he respects her choice.) But over time, the sweet, sensitive Chris becomes more comfortable espousing that this is a legitimate love affair, at last finding someone who enjoys cuddling and sharing meaningful conversations.

Finders Keepers, which was also set in North Carolina, could sometimes be condescending to its unsophisticated rural subjects, but Smiles And Kisses You resists that tendency. Instead, Carberry tactfully dissects the reasons why Chris might want a sex doll, revealing a likeable, offbeat individual who has long struggled to find contentment. Beyond his abusive father, Chris has issues with anger and depression — there are hints he once battled a drinking problem — and he lives in a part of the United States in which there are few opportunities. (Driving through town, Chris notes that the community is rampant with drug abuse and, as a Black man, he frequently endures racism.) 

Notably, Chris refuses to call Mimi a sex doll — as far as he’s concerned, she is a love doll, one he wants to marry. Smiles And Kisses You has surprises in store as their romance gets more serious and he finally reveals the relationship to his mother, each new narrative beat a further exploration of our desire for a partner. Carberry offers no opinion on whether Chris’ relationship is healthy or wise, but he is invested in how technology offers the tantalising promise of a better tomorrow — albeit one that may sever our connection to other people. Mimi may not be real, but Chris’ fragile humanity is deeply felt in every frame.