Shortbus - ****

Mom, please feel free to avoid this movie and never refer to it in my presence. That said, the hypocracy begins below.

The opening 5 minutes of this film is sexually graphic. Not flashy fake movie sex, but full on body fluid graphic. However, this is a film. Not a "porno movie," but a fantastic independently produced work of art film. I was incredibly surprised to find this completely engaging with an intelligent script and the best acting I've seen in any film in a long, long time. And remember, this is a cast of unknowns. And they're all having real sex. Straight sex, gay sex, freaky sex... sex.

I challenge you to categorize this film.

It's a little bit "Rent", a little bit "Dazed and Confused", a little bit "As Good As It Gets", and a little bit 'porn' (pardon the pun, but insert favorite title here. My current favorite is "The Da Vinci Load").

Writer/Director John Cameron Mitchell (co-creator and writer/director of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch") has crafted a different kind of film here, not only in it's presentation, but with it's conception (really, I'll try not to add too many puns here...). This film was cast first so everyone knew what they would be getting into (tee-hee) and then allowed to create their own characters and backstory. Once worked out, the actors participated in workshops to construct scenes and situations while making up their dialogue. J.C.M then used those workshops to write a script which would then be used to raise financing for the production.

Again, I can't recommend this film without emphasizing how graphic some scenes are. I averted my eyes more than once. There is an orgy scene or two and it's not blurred, cleverly concealed a la Austin Powers or "black boxed" out. However, the genius of scenes like this isn't to shock or excite you, but use that situation to progress the story. What would you do if you were invited to a place or private club, not really knowing what to expect, but certainly not expecting a room full of people having sex? This isn't "American Graffiti."

It won't be everybody's cup-o-tea to be sure, however, it certainly is suitable for intelligent adults looking to explore art in a new way. You can argue that any actual sex act depicted on film is pornographic but you can also argue that caffeine is a drug, yet millions of people (and a lot of kids) overindulge daily. Besides, it's not like the entire movie is nothing but sex, it's actually given very little screen time, but it's real and not pushed to the background when present.

I'm really surprised (or maybe missed?) how this film didn't raise a lot of controversy. Maybe it was dismissed as nothing more than just another porno. It's depressing to know so many people will miss out on such an emotional journey and exquisite work of art just because they may be embarrassed to see naked people. In this day and age, especially since the dawn of the internet, missing this film would be the real shame, not the sexual content.


**If you decide to screen the film on DVD, plan to keep it a few days as the special features are a must-see and the commentary is insightful, playful and very engaging.