Shortbus (2006) ( The Sex Film Project ) ( Short bus )

For anyone who was wondering what 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch'-meister John Cameron Mitchell had been up to since that film came out, well, he was making this little baby. Shortbus is billed as being shocking, sexually explicit and whatever else, but while it may be the most sexually explicit 'mainstream' movie I've ever seen (the opening sequence intercuts between a man pleasuring himself in a uniquely gymnastic way and a cute multi-racial couple having very noisy and athletic sex all over their apartment) it's not meant to be shocking at all.It's actually a rather sweet story on that fine old theme of American movies: Sex is Good for You. Perhaps the classic expression of this theme during my adolescence was Kevin Bacon introducing the delights of dancing to his uptight small town schoolmates; we all knew that dancing was really a metaphor for gettin' it on. Mitchell is not inhibited by convention, and focuses his story on the tale of Sofia (Sook-Yin Lee), a sex therapist ('I prefer the term Couples Counsellor') who has a lot of sex with her husband but who has never had an orgasm. Mitchell said that he noticed that a lot of sexually explicit films were coming out of Europe recently in which the sex was pretty bleak and/or depressing (probably thinking of kind of interesting but basically dispiriting movies like 'Intimacy' and 'Nine Songs'); being an American, he wanted to tell a more cheerful story.This film has more erect penises in it than I, as a straight man, have ever seen gathered together in one movie. But the film isn't ultimately about showing you lots of sex; the story is told through the sex, demanding total commitment from the fine cast. It's a warm, funny and touching story about the value of community. As the increasingly frustrated Sofia, Lee (a popular Canadian radio personality, apparently) is both adorable and gifted with sharp comic timing. Lindsay Beamish is splendid as a glum dominatrix, and the rest of the cast is very good. Special stars for Alan Mandell as a former mayor of New York bearing a startling resemblance to one famous bachelor who had that job, and Shanti Carlson who plays one half of the Beautiful Couple that represents everything Lee's character doesn't have; one of the emotional high points of the film is a look Carlson throws Lee across the room during a particularly heated orgy. There wasn't a dry eye in the living room.Heartwarming, really. You just have to be prepared to watch a lot of men and women having sex with each other in pretty much every permutation imaginable. (Director Mitchell, a lifelong homosexual, played a 'sextra' during the orgy sequence and, as an 'act of solidarity', reportedly got intimate with a woman for the first time in his life.)

WARNING: do not watch this film with your mother or with your mates, unless you don't mind feeling extremely awkward and embarrassed, and don't mind a lot of jokes about your sexuality being made.From the word go this film is pretty full on, with guys ejac*%!ting into their own mouths whilst performing fel!*tio on themselves, and women being banged all over the place. If you can get passed the initial 'shock factor' though, the film does present quite an original and - dare I say - inspiring watch.'Shortbus' is a film based around a fictional swingers club (of sorts) of the same name, and the film follows a small group of friends (more acquaintances really) as they try and overcome their sexual hang-ups and explore themselves sexually in this rich, creative, stimulating and friendly environment that is the 'Shortbus' club.The film is funny, but not laugh out loud funny. It's creative and groundbreaking but not overly. All in all I think it was a brave attempt to try something new and I think it worked - at least it did for me.It's certainly not going to be to everyone's tastes, and certainly if you're homophobic, uncomfortable with sexually explicit content, or easily offended by nudity and C*m shots - give this film a wide birth... give it a very, very, very wide birth.If however you love film, and want something a little different (OK VERY, VERY different) give it a go. The documentary on the 'making of' is very good too, and shows the organic process in which the film evolved. The whole process was very interesting and all the actors involved (in the creation of the story and their characters too - watch the making of and you'll see what I mean) have been very, very brave. Beyond brave in fact - and I'm glad to say that in my opinion - it's paid off.'Shortbus' is not a film I feel I could ever really watch with anyone. Or even ever lend anyone really - but I found it thoroughly uplifting and in some ways reassuring. What this says about me, I don't know; but that's kind of what this film is all about. Perhaps I need a night at Shortbus?Overall 8.5/10... better than expected. In some ways a very important film, and certainly one of a kind. Put it this way, I don't think I'll ever see another film featuring a 'rusty trombone'... if you don't know what that is, perhaps this films not for you - but then again, perhaps that means you need to widen your sexual horizons a bit and this film is exactly what you need.

Arrived about three weeks after ordering which is fine.There's a lot of pornography so an open mind would be useful.I watched this film when it was first released many years ago and I enjoy it but second time around not so much,at times there's a lot of deep conversations which I found boring.Loved the soundtrack and have the cd.To sum up be prepared for a lot of pornography and don't show your gran, unusual movie but one watch would be enough

Not that good

This film is a very cheerful, humorous and winning film that celebrates the diversity of human sexuality. This means that it's going to annoy some people. If you're looking for porn, you're not looking for diversity: frankly be better off buying something that appeals directly to whatever kink you have. For others it may open the mind to other possibilities, and I think it's a good watch for couples particularly. I enjoyed it very much - it's very likeable and jolly pic that encourages you to relax and enjoy yourself and put aside your prejudices about other people's behaviour. Of course there is explicit sex in it, and I feel that it's more positive than that in some of the real-sex movies we've seen recently, such as Romance and 9 Songs, which in an effort to avoid the charge of pornography seem to portray shagging as rather shabby, guilty pursuits. I liked one small relationship between an old and a young man, which is rather touching.It's worth watching the extras, particularly the orgy sequence material in which the actor playing Leah asks the director to wait a second as she really needs to cum...