Shortbus

The dysfunctions of the patrons of a New York sex club: a sex therapist who’s never had an orgasm (Sook-Yin Lee); a gay couple (PJ DeBoy and Paul Dawson), one of whom is bored and guilty; a dominatrix for hire (Lindsay Beamish); and so on. Writer-director John Cameron Mitchell poses the question: Is it possible to make a serious movie with explicit, un-simulated sex? Answer: Maybe, but not yet, and this isn’t it. The activities of Mitchell’s “sextras” sweep all the relationship talk right off the screen, even when the sex is off and the talk is front-and-center. There’s no real prurience or eroticism, but the movie does have an aura of self-gratification—it becomes not about the characters or their lives, but about Mitchell and how boldly he’s pushing the envelope. Stay away if you’re easily offended.