Review of Shortbus (2006) by Jenny G — 06 Jan 2011

Ok, I finally saw this from beginning to end. Doing extra work in the club scenes (no, I declined to do THAT club scene, stop asking) I had a very loose idea of what it was about and some of the things that happened in it. My end opinion? It was a cute story, but ultimately nothing was really resolved. Basically we follow the stories of a couple of decent people involved with a couple of unpleasant and self absorbed people, and their attempts to resolve their sexual unfullfillment. Along the way we get a parody of Ed Koch, Justin Bond being Justin Bond, and a three-way with one guy singing "The Star Spangled Banner" into another guy's asshole, which is hilarious enough to be worth the price of admission alone. But at the end of it all, I mainly felt bad for the partners of both the frigid sex therapist and the narcissistic ex-hustler, and wondered how much of their sexual frustrations could be solved not by visiting DUMBO salons, but by learning to relate to their respective partners with respect and honesty, or perhaps finding more suitable partners altogether, leaving both Rob and Jamie free to maybe find someone else who'd be nice. And incidentally, that woman seemed like a lousy therapist, breaking patient confidences, encouraging patients to lie and/or stay in toxic situations, acting disinterested in sessions, and at one point even striking a patient.

I guess the main thing to take away from this film would be that while mind-blowing sex may be a wonderful thing to have(and it is) it won't necessarily make you a better human being...

BTW, I have to add that the incredibly detailed clay and cardboard model of New York City was pretty damn cool.