One word comes to mind: WHY? Why spend all this time and money on people's sick neurosis, obsessive behavior about sex and having sex? Surely there are far more worthier subjects in the universe...
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.
I watched this film in a crowded theater a few years ago. Two people were embarrassed and left in the very beginning, the rest stayed to see where the hell the film was going. In the end, the still packed theater rose and applauded it, and there is a reason for it: much more than "a film with explicit sex", Shortbus is one hell of a ride.
Between the edge of porn and the edge of romantic relationship drama, Shortbus explore the space that sex takes in the minds and hearts of its characters. Interesting but that's it. Nothing special about the story, it's just the graphic sex scenes that makes it different than others. I liked the end though...
Este filme que se centra en la vida y relaciones amorosas de varios personas en New York despues del 9/11 es totalmente diferente, es fuerte pues el contenido sexual es totalmente real pero en el fondo de eso hay algo que se demuestra claramente y es el como la vida y las relaciones cmbiaron totalmente en ese país y como muchas cosas despertaron, cambiaron o se paralizaron en la vida de muchos neoyorkinos.
Es un filme respetable que demuestra que al final lo que importa es estar contento con uno mismo y con lo que uno prefiera no importa como y que en una selva alla afuera pero que todo tiene una solución y que la vida tiene que continuar.
La idea creativa del video es totalmente increible.
Life on...the [relational] shortbus. Heart-throbbing, funny, and emotionally dragging/uplifting with groovy transitional visuals. Most def a must-see! <3
A film about Love, Sex, Happiness and Suffering. In other words: a film about the spirals inside the human mind. Not as perfect as the sublime Headwig and the angry inch, but still a great movie with great music! x (practicing a little English) via Atari Burroughs http://www.atari-b.blogspot.com
Suprising, is the best word to describe "Shortbus", part romantic comedy, part sex and relationship drama, and part porn. All the sex is real (not simulated), but each scene (they don't all contain sex), no matter how graphic (explicit gay & straight...(read more) ), they all have "suprising" emotional variety and content, and do push forth both our understandings of the characters and the story itself, and for a film about being "comfortable' with your own sexuality, it might be considred almost a cheat to fake or go timid, when it came to portraying the subject itself.
James Cameron Mithcell has improved as a writer here as well, the kitsch of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" has been replaced with a greater eye and care for human relationships and development.
"New York is the place people come to be forgiven", says an 80 year old man, in the fantastical downtown New York sex club "The Short Bus". It is here we are intoduced to an ensemble of characters from a miserable hipster dominatrix, to a sex therapist whose never orgasmed, to an emotionally distant gay couple considering bringing a third party into the relationship.
Short from John Cameron Mitchell sugesting we all start going to mysterious improbably eccentric sex clubs and re-start the free love revolution one used condom at a time, I think "Shortbus" is a film about negotiating your own sexual politics, there contradictions and insistences. "New York is where people come to be fogiven" and if this is to be taken as anything other a greeting card platitude, perhaps it suggests that kind of "reconstruction", in sexual terms, for the post 9/11 generation, "9/11 was the only real thing that's ever happened to most of [them]"(young people and those who came to the city after the attacks), is another line, from the same 80 year old man in the club.
So were all confused freightened, paranoid, tense, and alone in the dark (a literal city wide power outage in the films finale), and Mitchell's solution, and it's as elegant one as Ive ever heard, which is to do what humans have always done under cover of darkness...and to use the anonymity to explore new possibilites in honesy, intimacy, and pysicality, of course.
Very, very graphic, but emotionally complex, funny, smart, great music, one of the most uncomfortable opening scenes I have ever sat through, and one of the most "feel-good" endings I can remeber, great musical performances as well.
"Hedwig And The Angry Inch" kinda revitalized "Queer Cinema", as Ive heard the atrocious term thrown about, and maybe pushed it a little closer to acceptability with it's campiness, fun musical numbers, and wit, this because of it's genre not just "gay" but "pornographic", which almost cost lead actress "Sook Yin-Lee" her job at Canadian Public Television. But like I said before the sex doesn't really evoke arousal, as often as it does comedy, sadness, release, and despair.
Obviosuly not for everyone, but if you give it a shot, and maybe step outside your comfort zone, you might be suprised.
Alrighty then!!! eh Hem.Next time I will do a lil more research before I just pop down and watch the next friendly Flix recomendation.Ok so no this isn't porn,but its right up there,and a lot of people I know would have not made it past the first 5 minutes.But because I am open minded I wanted to give it a chance.Not all scenes were for me,saying that there actually is a great story that goes along with this film.About real people,with real problems,and real sexual issues that are just trying to get their lives sorted out.If you can be open minded and know there will be guy on guy scenes you will be fine.If not don't bother,You will just get mad at me for not warning you.Have fun =)
I think the main problem, at least for me, was the graphic nudity became a distraction after awhile. The characters were alright and it was interesting to see a mini-major movie be this graphic with the sex & nudity, but in general it falls a little short of being great.
Filminho difiiiiiiicil!!! Não é pra qualquer um, nao dá pra convidar qualquer um pra assistir junto e nem dá pra assistir na sala com a familia! rs
Explico: Shortbus eh um filme que usa o sexo explicito como pano de fundo para as relações humanas pós-11/09. Ou seja, tem muita "putaria" ao longo do filme! Não que ele seja um pornô, longe disso! Eh um drama MARAVILHOSO que de inicio causa um certo desconforto mesmo, normal, mas nos minutos finais te da vontade de aplaudir de pé, tamanha genialidade e pureza com o qual o filme é conduzido. Ja no meio do filme voce nem repara mais no sexo, ele se mescla com a historia de uma forma tao natural que voce nao imagina o filme sem ele.
Dificil para assistir mas tambem muito dificil não gostar. Dispa-se de preconceitos e dê uma chance ;)
This Unrated (sexually explicit, but not sex for entertainment), film begins with a depressed man unable to feel emotion, engaging in a type of male sexual self gratification that would make most men envious and would bring a smile to all men's faces. Instead of a smile he cries. His very patient, understanding, yet emotionally starved (and very hot looking) male lover finds it necessary to consult a "couple's counselor." It turns out the couple's counselor (aka sex therapist) and her husband are struggling with her inability to obtain orgasm. Seems she had trouble relaxing with him. He, like PJ, is also very much in love and will do almost anything to help his wife. Finally, we meet a female dominatrix who discovers, through her clients ability to add "extra texture" to the painting behind her bed, that although she satisfies the needs of her clients, hers are left unmet.
All of these people meet in NYC's underground musical, carnal, and well, anything goes, meeting place called "Shortbus."
This is a film, not so much about showing us sex acts but about how the different ways that people interact intimately and the boundaries we set for ourselves.
From the director of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, John Cameron Mitchell, this is an extremely emotional, highly sexually charged insight to the persuit of happiness as most people think they can attain through their sexuality. Also prepare to see some fantastic graphical representations of NYC before, during, and after the major electrical blackout.
A minute or so in the movie, we're met with a still static shot of a penis. This is director John Cameron Mitchell's way of telling us "This is a penis. There's not much to it, but you'll be seeing a lot of them in this film. If you're uncomfortable, turn this movie off now." This is crucial to one's enjoyment of the film because it's HIGHLY pornographic... there's straight sex, gay sex, gay threesomes, etc. Sex is never glamorized or shot in a way to be stylish or sexy, it's just there. So, you can see how this film may not be for everyone.
The sex had nothing to do with the movie's downfalls, however. In fact, I thought it was almost refreshing. In a culture obsessed with censorship, this was the biggest "fuck you" to censorship you could possibly put out there. I'm a straight male, and I didn't find anything gross about it. It observes sex without trying to showcase it as erotic and kinky. I can't fault someone for being made uncomfortable because of how untypical it is of a film to show so much, but dismissing the film completely because of it is nonsense. There's bigger issues to gripe about!
The problem with the movie is that the characters are completely underdeveloped and unlikable. You have a group of people who are meant to be completely dysfunctional and in search of love... I mean, we've seen in a million times before and it's not exactly a hard topic to conquer. However, these characters are so wooden and resemble nothing even remotely compelling. Most of the film I was left having to look for something else to enjoy... whether it be the music, the sets, or whatever I can find that interested me in the slightest. I was REALLY let down in that regard. I thought Mitchell's "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" was a wonderful little movie, and it certainly said a lot more about dysfunctional people and love then this one did... and that didn't even have one tenth of the explicit imagery.
The acting is average at best, and the writing is fairly juvenile. The main point of the film seems to be that a relationship is not defined by sex, and one can still be lonely without having a constant "mate", if you will. This is good and all, but by the end of the film everything is so convoluted and just a complete mess that it's hard to take a whole lot out of the film. There's a lot of really great scenes here - but for a film that is so relentlessly unique, it's surprisingly forgettable.
That being said, I didn't hate this completely. When the credits rolled, I did have a big smile on my face. After witnessing countless sex scenes with all different kinds of people, the movie wraps up with a completely welcoming and heartwarming tone. You get the sense that John Cameron Mitchell loves you, whoever you may be. It embraces what some may call it's "vulgarity", and is perhaps the most open and good hearted movie i've seen in quite some time.
There's bits and pieces of brilliance here and there, but overall this is a mess. I still can't give up hope on Mitchell because I love "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" so much, but this definitely was a major disappointment.
a simple story packed into an extravagant box. it totally depends on how you react to the bunch of sexual / homosexual explicit content. despite the plot made me identify myself with the sentimental / sexual problems of the characters, its heavy gay content turned Shortbus into an uncomfortable movie to me. the James' story conclusion is so unfinished. it looks like they have gone too far to make a happy ending out of that. a definitely let down. therefore, the film is well done and the soundtrack rocks. I could never relate Animal Collective to an orgy!
the titillation wears off early and there remains a more often than not humorous and touching film. The virtual NYC and brownout metaphor was pretty cool. Some of the songs were really touching. Overall, decent though nothing more. I wanted my orgasm but I had fun only.
Horrible. I wish to Film Zeus that I couldn't say that. But it's a pornographic look at sex with none of the appeal of pornography. It's a candid look at relationships and types of relationships that's so formulaic and boring it's hard to finish, let alone care about finishing. Outside of some of the lines (SOME) they say there isn't a character to enjoy. I hope the writer/director pulls something out his small gay ass that's more like his near perfect gay rock opera Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Cause this, described by him as "a movie about sex" just isn't a worthy follow up. Or a worthy movie about sex. Or a movie worthy of a second viewing.
I've had the most difficult time writing this review. I can't quite capture what I want to say about this film and I can't quite make up my mind how I feel about it. At first, I gave it 3 stars but today, after watching some of it over again, I'm moving it up to 4 stars.
The more I think about it, the more impressed I am with the filmmakers ability to walk that line between pornography and art and land firmly on the side of art.
I can appreciate how he used sex as a symbol. We don't often think of sex in terms of a symbolic action/identity. Instead, sex is usually seen as a very straightforward physical manifestation of varied inward feelings or desires.
The long and short of it is that this movie is powerful. It draws you into the life of three characters who have trouble letting "the other" in. While I think Freud would be right in his glory with this group of people, it goes beyond a mere psychological study of the human being to bring us an artistic piece likely to move and challenge its viewer.
I have a feeling I'll be revisting Shortbus more in the future. I know that its graphic nature is necessary to go where the filmmaker wants to take us but, in a way, I wish it was less graphic so that more people would give it a watch and be taken to that place where social norms are torn down and healthy senses of sef are rebuilt.
P.S. I'm going to have trouble listening to Definitely Not The Opera from now on. I've seen all Sook-Yin Lee's nasty bits.
I dont know how to comment on this flick .. u can say its a semi movie .. but the story n character are quite decent .. at last, I think the comment will be depend on each of u
oonks mä huono homoseksuaali, koska en tajunnu tätä leffaa sit niinkun ..YHTÄÄN? jotain ihme sekoiluu ympäriinsä, ja ihme kokeiluija, tulee mieleen alku ajat, kun kaapista kaaduin ulos. rotfia! (roll on the floor in angst)
Lots of fags, transgendered people, a depressed butthurt fag and his lover boy, a voyeur, a sex counsellor who's never had an orgasm, a dominatrix and some more fags in an orgy. There's the whole lot of them in here. It's as explicit as a movie can get without being branded as a porno. Around a quarter of the movie is hard core gay porn. Quite disgusting. I mean seriously, what the fuck is the point of showing a guy suck his own dick and then ejaculate in his mouth? I didn't see the point.
Looked like more of the usual pretentious hippie bullshit to me. These people have their heads so far up their asses. Even if you can get past the graphic sex, everyone seemed so full of self indulgence that it's impossible to like any one of them.
Shortbus, a salon for the gifted and challenged some guy in the bar said. It looked more like a bunch of sex addicts who'd hump anything which moved.
By now if you're wondering, I don't really have a problem with fags and all that. Seriously, it's upto them what ever the hell they want to do with their very own lives and I couldn't care less as long as they don't try forcing it other peoples throat.
You might as well as go and rent a porn flick. Watching a bunch of faggots orally copulate and do each other is not really my idea of entertainment.
MCT:August 17, 2008
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MCT:May 20, 2008
