Entries categorized as ‘Sex’
John Cameron Mitchell’s Shortbus: New York is where everyone comes to be forgiven.
September 8, 2006 · 2 Comments
A few years ago, just after September 11, you may remember hearing rumors about a fascinating new film project that Hedwig and the Angry Inch director John Cameron Mitchell was becoming involved with, one that was blatantly pushing the boundaries of sexual expression in mainstream film. La Gringa first read about this on Nerve.com. Later, we learned even more about it from our catsitter.
Yes, La Gringa’s catsitter.
Catsitter Dyke Rocker Chick, a musician, is a colleague of Mitchell’s and was part of the original stage cast of Hedwig. (She was the lead guitarist for Hedwig’s band, of course! She’s also a very good catsitter.) Anyway, she told us that John was auditioning people for this new film by having them send in tapes of themselves discussing a particularly emotional sexual memory. (Apparently, more than a few people sent in tapes of themselves doing considerably MORE than that. Luckily, our hero has a sense of humor.)
The working title for the project was simply The Sex Film Project. (Don’t Google that, dearie; it just sends you to a porn site now.) He wanted people who were completely comfortable with their sexuality. His idea was that actual sex was rarely seen on film outside porn or the occasional European art film. He believed that good sex on film could be just as dramatic and engaging as good dialogue, if approached the right way. (Here’s a good Hollywood Reporter interview with Mitchell where he goes into more detail.)
Oh, and did we mention? It’s a comedy.
The completed (and unrated) film – now called Shortbus, after the name of a sex club featured in the film – made it’s controversial debut at Cannes this summer (out of competition) and the reviews have been – for the most part – remarkably positive, considering the explicit subject matter. What most of the reviews seem to agree upon is the upbeat energy that Shortbus seems to generate.
Roger Ebert wrote:
Another sensation here is “Shortbus,” the long-awaited, much-rumored explicit erotic film from John Cameron Mitchell (“Hedwig and the Angry Inch”). It’s an official selection, playing out of competition. Yes, there’s hard-core sex in this film (gay, straight, solo, amateur, professional and all of the above). But you couldn’t call it a hard-core film. It just doesn’t feel like one, and despite all the genitals on the screen it doesn’t try to be one; it’s not about sex but about sexuality, not about scoring but about living, and at its center is a remarkable performance by Sook-Yin Lee as Sofia, a sex therapist (“I prefer the term Couples Counselor”) whose search for her own first orgasm leads her into the gay, bi, trans and S&M underworld of New York. It is a world that seems so gentle and friendly in this film that I overheard a strange comment afterwards, “This is the first time New York has seemed Canadian.
And Time’s Richard Corliss had this to say:
I’m not saying "Shortbus" is a world-beater; it’s mostly clever, sometimes meandering. And I have to say I didn’t get excited by all the gay exertions (or the straight ones). But I hail Mitchell for achieving something that was on many a serious director’s mind 30 years ago: the coherent integration of explicit sex scenes into a naturalistic story film. Mitchell said that in press interviews here, he was asked over and over, "Why sex?" I wonder: What took so long? Most people laugh and cry; most people have sex, occasionally at the same time. Sex isn’t divorced from our own emotional biographies; it’s an inextricable part of it. So I applaud Mitchell. And I say to other intrepid filmmakers: Just do it.
And here’s a sampling of some other reviews:
Shortbus is set to debut in North America on September 10th at the Toronto Film Festival. It hits New York City on October 4th. This is one film that La Gringa is definitely looking forward to seeing!
Click here to see the (work safe) trailer. Go here and register to see an explicit and uncensored version of the same trailer.
Oh, and we almost forgot! More good news? The film’s original music was scored by Yo La Tengo!
