Shortbus

Shortbus opens in a high-rise apartment in New York City. A dominatrix is sanitizing her collection of pink dildos and vinyl whips as she looks down at where the Twin Towers used to stand. Her client, the trust-fund hipster who owns the apartment, says, “You’re taking a picture of yourself at Ground Zero. Do you smile?” And so begins the second award-winning movie by John Cameron Mitchell—creator of the underground classic Hedwig and the Angry Inch. His latest film is an uncensored exploration of love and sexuality in post-9/11 New York City. The story follows the lives of a married sex therapist who has never had an orgasm, a gay couple thinking of opening their relationship, a dominatrix who hates her job and a number of other characters whose paths cross at a bohemian, underground club called Shortbus. Once you get past the explicitness of the first 10 minutes, the film is really about people trying to reconcile carnal cravings with imperatives of the heart. Shortbus is told with an endearing honesty that is both funny and touching—no pun intended.