Shortbus written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell (2006)
10 July 2008I had no idea what to expect of this art house film, in which the straight and gay actors all participated in actual sex on camera, but after watching it I actually enjoyed it quite a bit more than I thought I would. This is a very good film, made for an adult audience, but has some great character building, just with full nudity and sex thrown in the mix. Actually well worth checking out.
The movie takes place in New York City, though set over a cartoony flyover of the city that brings us to the various locations, and is a bit of ensemble, though mainly focusing on Sofia (Sook-Yin Lee) a married couples therapist who has never achieved orgasm, and who has a husband named Rob (Raphael Barker) who does nothing but sit around all day and masturbate to bondage images on his computer. The other main character is James (Paul Dawson) an ex male prostitute in a relationship with a former child star Jamie (PJ DeBoy) but is in a huge depression, and has been making a movie for a year that he won’t show anyone. They go to Sofia to see what she says about opening up their relationship to a third person. James is also being watched and photographed by someone across the street named Caleb (PEter Stickles). When the gay couple finds out that Sofia has never had an orgasm, they invite her to a local club in Brooklyn called the SHortbus run by the drag singer Justin Bond (playing himself) which has films showing, bands playing, a sex room, and drugs galore. Sofia is scared at first, but starts to like the place, and decides to even bring Rob.
REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…
Before bringing her husband though, Sofia runs from a crazy performance artist who wants to use her menstruation as makeup, and ends up in a woman only room, where she meets a bunch of lesbians, and a dominatrxi named Severin (Lindsay Beamish) who can’t form an attachment to anyone, and can only cum by herself. They two actually become friends, and start meeting in an isolation tank to try and help Sofia have an orgasm.
James and Jamie meet a model named Ceth, who they have a sexual relationship and all start to really like each other, though James still won’t let anyone penetrate him.
Then Sofia brings Rob to the shortbus, where she puts a remote controlled vibrating egg in her pussy and gives him the remote, but as she goes around and has fun, he keeps banging the remote by accident and even loses it, causing a huge fight. Though first the egg goes off when Sofia is talking to Severin, and they make out, and Severin gets off on the egg, then Sofia runs off.
James then finished his film, which turns out to be a suicide note, and puts it on a tape, then goes to the spas he works at to film himself drowing himself, but Caleb who is stalking him saves him and brings him home, and shows him his stalking photos, and the two end up making love, then shows himself to Jamie.
Then Rob has a paid domination encounter with Severin.
And Sofia while at work dreams of trying to bring herself to orgasm, but can’t and as she screams power goes out in the whole city and she heads to the shortbus.
Justin Bond sets up candles and sings, and Sofia arrives and finds Severin with Rob, and sits down by herself, where a couple sits with her and starts making out with her, as a marching band arrives. James and Jamie make out on the floor, and Ceth and Calbe start to Make out. And Severin enjoys the band.
Sofia makes out with NIck (Jan Hilmer) and Leah (SHanti Carson) and finally has an orgasm, stopping the power outage.
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An off the wall film, but the characters are quite a trip and quite enjoyable, and the film is pretty good overall.
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