Review of Sex Tape (2014) by Seth M — 31 Oct 2014

It's really fascinating how hard and yet how little this movie delivers on both it's laughs and just as a film in general. Sex Tape is a movie with an endless amount of potential, however the execution of it's premise is just outright gross and awkward. So... let's look at this mess together shall we?

Jay (Jason Segel) and Annie (Cameron Diaz) are a couple who just love having sex. And I'll be honest, their sex scenes are some of the most disgusting things ever put on film but we'll get to that a bit later. Anyway their sex life has been pretty dull ever since they've married and had their two children. Annie comes up with this "great idea" of how to get that spark back into her marriage. Record a Sex Tape of course! Too bad nobody in this world doesn't know how to use the cloud or even use a proper USB outlet because the Sex Tape gets onto every tablet they give out to their family, friends and even the mailman (which begs the question, why would you give a Tablet to a complete stranger like the mailman?). So yes, with a set up like that this movie should be comedy gold right? You couldn't be more wrong! I mean yeah there are a few jokes that work here and there. However, those funny moments are extremely rare. A lot of the comedy has no payoff anyway and usually when it does it offers no laughs. A lot of the comedic scenarios in the film are just awkward and straight out STUPID. I won't give too much away, but there's a scene where Jason Segel is being chased by this dog when he and Diaz are trying to get one of the Tablets back. Not only is this scene not funny, but it seems to go on forever. That's another thing, the jokes go on for a long time. Which is sad, because a lot of the comedic scenarios have great potential to be funny but they're ruined by constantly shoving the joke in your face and down your throat.

Most of the cast tries their hardest with a script that makes no sense. Jason Segel in particular is really dedicated to this role and I commend him for playing a badly written role very well. Once again, Cameron Diaz really just phones in her performance with no real conviction and doesn't really offer anything to this role. She just comes off more annoying than funny. Yeah I'm sure she has no real material to work with here but still when a bad performance is a bad performance. Rob Lowe has this bizarre role as some CEO that has one of the tablets. His character is suppose to be funny but comes off very creepy. There is a surprise cameo in this I won't give away but I'll just say it's a waste of comedic talent and I have no idea what this person is doing here.

Even if this film had an Oscar Caliber cast, it still would be a failure because well all of the characters are boring and clichéd as hell. I don't even know where to begin. Just like with any bad comedy, a lot of the characters are just tools to unfunny jokes or just cardboard cut outs in general. Jay and Annie in particular very annoying and nauseating to watch. There is only one thing that makes this couple of characters stand out, they love having sex with each other... again, again, again, again and again. By the way, I'm in no way a prude. I'm all for sex in movies as long as it propels the story in some way or just develops the characters as the film goes on. However, Jay and Annie are the same sex addicted morons before the Sex Tape and after the Sex Tape. Very little to nothing changes about these ass hats and the whole sex obsession just seems like another comedic device that doesn't go anywhere.

Sex Tape is a comedy that has little laughs in it and it really has a lot of plot dead ends in it. Actually you can describe Sex Tape as just that: A Dead End. The film has a great and funny premise but the actual narrative doesn't go that far. The acting is meh for the most part and there are a few funny jokes in this movie. However sitting through bad writing, annoying characters, unfunny jokes and really gross sex scenes isn't worth getting to two or three good jokes. Just save your time and money guys.