Review of Sex and Death 101 (2007) by Anthony H — 30 Jan 2008

I love these kind of films. I love them. Each one not only rekindles my faith and love for cinema, but each and every one gives me an opportunity to rant about the rubbish that holds cinema back in the 21st century. It proves that talent does still exist. It proves that laziness exists. And most of all it proves that great films still exist.

I?ll get onto the laziness part first as it?s the most important. American Pie, Good Luck Chuck, Employee of the Month ? it doesn?t matter which disgracefully poor American teenage film you can think of, they all prove laziness, because Sex and Death is essentially a mixture of many of these films. But they?ve put in time, they?ve put in effort and they?ve kept working and working until successful. That is what the production teams of god awful teen movies fail to do ? put in effort. They churn out crap and get rewarded by taking hundreds of millions of dollars, while class films like this that any director in Hollywood would be proud of, take next to nothing at the box office and get swept to the side.

The film follows Roderick Blank (Simon Baker), who has the perfect life, as the intro will tell you. He has a fiancé, a great job, money, and he?s happy. But one day he?s sent an e-mail telling him all the women he?s ever slept with and ever will. Yes, it sounds like American teen film rubbish, but I assure you, it?s not. At first life is great. He?s sleeping with women almost at will. But eventually love gets in the way, and what first seemed great is now the opposite.

The director has put so much work into this, and it wasn?t wasted on me for a second. Anyone with a brain should be able to appreciate this in all its glory. Symbolism, irony, motifs, metaphors, poetry ? it has it all. The last time I felt like this after seeing a film was the incredible S1m0ne, and I?ve made my feelings on that masterpiece perfectly clear.

This is the second film I?ve second Winona Ryder in today. Now in ?The Ten? she?s involved in two of the commandment stories. She?s the best thing in ?The Ten? by a mile. But in this, my lord, everything is taken to a different level. She?s a phenomenal actress, severely underrated. For my money she?s up there with Laura Linney, Angelina Jolie and Cate Blanchett.

But if you want to see a fun American film, painfully awful from start to finish, please don?t watch this. Go watch crud like Good Luck Chuck. Please do not insult this film by watching it, not understanding it, not appreciating it, and then insulting it because you didn?t. However, if you can appreciate the fine art of cinema, see this. Please. It won?t disappoint.