Review of Shortbus (2006) by Barbara H — 09 Aug 2008

I'm going to start off the review with a question: Where did they get people who can actually act this well and yet are still willing to get naked and have real, extreme sex in front of a camera? Whoever did the casting for this movie deserves a hell of an applause; the performances in Shortbus are absolutely top-rate and, wow, is there a lot of eye candy. As mentioned above, the cast is one of the best I've ever seen, which is sad considering I've never seen - any - of these people before. How is this possible!? I have to wonder if Hollywood would make better movies should they dip into this pool instead of handing lead roles over to talentless hacks with a 'Name'. Anyway... Each and every character in Shortbus has a story that can bring a sudden, unexpected humor to the movie only to later break your heart, or maybe pain you because it's ironically funny when it shouldn't be. These are all stories and issues we've all experienced and deal with sometimes on a daily bases. I admit, originally I rented this movie for shock value, and yet though there is sex aplenty is completely fades into the background; you stop noticing it because it's a small part of a bigger picture. I did not expect myself to be so immersed in the storyline or feel for these people so deeply. There's humor, angst, wit, and even bits of complete randomness that one can't help but laugh at (i.e., the guys that decided to break out in song at a particularly interesting moment) however laced with subtle depth they are. And oh, there is a lot of subtlety in this movie, which is ironic considering how bold it is. One should be warned, this isn't really porn star sex. This is sex between 2 or 3 or however many people that are craving - something - and looking for it in each other.

This is an incredible movie so worth the rent I ordered a copy to keep for my own. Highly recommended, but only for the mentally matured.