‘Modern Whore’ Review – Hilarious & Empowering Documentary Demystifies And Destigmatizes Sex Work [TIFF 2025]

Great documentaries about sex work are in short supply, perhaps because the term itself is still a novel destigmatization. Cinema has taught people to perceive the profession almost exclusively through hookers with hearts of gold or sex trafficking, with little room in between. It is very likely that the majority of people who read this review will not have seen a single piece of media about sex work that defines it as “sex work,” let alone from the perspective of an actual sex worker. For these reasons alone, Modern Whore, Andrea Werhun and Nicole Bazuin’s new feature-length documentary follow-up to both their brilliant memoir and short film of the same name, immediately emerges as an essential work of cinema. However, its merits go far beyond serving as a 101 course on sex work in the modern day.

On its face, Modern Whore is a fairly straightforward if delightfully playful biography of Werhun’s experience in the sex industry. Lifting portions of the memoir as narration, Werhun and Bazuin stage re-enactments of several anecdotes from Werhun’s time in the industry, from her bumpy introduction to escorting after answering a Craigslist ad (“You don’t get any training for this stuff,” she says, assuredly) to the time a client once left a false testimonial on a sex worker review forum (which, somehow, exist) to make it seem more positive than it actually was. These vignettes are all cheekily realized in the style of a 1950s sex comedy, complete with technicolor lighting, old-school costumes, and vintage set design. However, there’s a deeply modern sensibility driving the entire charade, from the occasional yet hilarious match cut innuendo to Werhun’s double-casting of herself as her own sense of shame, personified by a bearded, backwards cap-wearing male harasser. Werhun clearly isn’t afraid to fully send up her own horror stories, giving the film a personal, even inviting comic sensibility.

Of course, not every story is fun. Werhun recounts the violence she has experienced, including multiple instances of sexual assault, as well as how sex work affected her relationship with her devoutly Catholic mother and, by extension, her own Catholic upbringing. Some of the answers aren’t easy, and Werhun is unafraid to explore these complexities, in part thanks to additional interviews Werhun and Bazuin sprinkle throughout the doc. Werhun includes perspectives from her fellow sex workers and colleagues, her partner, her aforementioned mother, and even one of her clients (obscured for anonymity). Utilizing their perspectives, Werhun presents a sensible path forward for sex workers and their relationships with friends and family that sensitively address the shame and stigma while never indulging in, using her own words, “trauma porn.”

Known for her roles as a consultant on the Oscar-winning film Anora and as a forward-thinking sex worker in Paying For It, attuned viewers may already be familiar with Werhun and her sex work advocacy. They may be even more familiar with the film’s executive producer: Sean Baker, Anora’s four-time Oscar-winning writer-director-producer-editor and an indie film veteran lauded for his trailblazingly honest portrayals of sex work. The pairing feels obvious but somewhat humorous given that Anora, though centered on a sex worker, ultimately perpetuates stereotypes about sex workers that Werhun is quick to dispel in her documentary: that sex workers fall in love with their clients, that sex workers go into this business due to sexual or emotional trauma, that a sex worker’s life is only encompassed by their sex work.

Though Werhun was ultimately supportive of Anora and excited about its success, she has gone on the record with her criticisms, which speaks to how important it is that Modern Whore is a work about sex work created by a sex worker. Though it is by no means a monolithic representation of the profession (it only briefly touches upon the experiences of sex workers of color, for example, which can be seen more thoroughly in docs like The Stroll and Kokomo City), it is one that keeps authenticity at the forefront and never needs to indulge in the fantasies of sex work to gain the audience’s favor, that is unless it plants its tongue firmly in its cheek. For most of its runtime, it decides to be hilariously funny, deeply empowering, and a bona fide warts-and-all exploration that demystifies the industry in an entertaining and even touching way. If Modern Whore is the future of portraying sex work in cinema, the future looks damn bright.

Modern Whore held its World Premiere as part of the TIFF Docs section at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.

Director: Nicole Bazuin

Rated: NR

Runtime: 80m