Shortbus

John Cameron Mitchell, director of Hedwig and the Angry Inch is obviously not afraid to tackle topics head on, no matter how uncomfortable they may make people, so it is no shock that he would direct a movie featuring an incredible amount of nudity and actual sex. It is also not shocking that for auditions all actors had to describe a seminal sexual moment in their lives, because this movie is all about sex. Don't be fooled by anyone saying sex is not the focus of this film because it is. Is it about love friendship and relationships? Yes, but it is all told through sex and a lot of sex. None of the actors was known to be before I started watching this and as bad as some of them are, I highly doubt they will become known to me at any moment later in life.


Mitchell wants us to focus on about 6 or 6 people in various moments of this film and weaves them all together through an underground sex club called "Shortbus." Now, it may not actually be a sex club, but when a club has an orgy room, I feel inclined to call it a sex club. In reality, I guess it is a club for those who want something different. It is a place where a supposed happy gay couple can pick up a random guy to take home and have a threesome with. And during this threesome they will sing the national anthem, one using another person's penis as a microphone. I am sure I missed the supposed deep point of that moment, but to be it really just looked like a circle jerk. That couple is one of the main focuses of the movie. 1 half of that couple used to be a male escort and due to that he is having trouble connecting on an emotional level to his boyfriend. Instead, he videotapes everything he wants to say to his boyfriend in hopes of creating a video college, eventually. This guy also attempts to give himself a blow job while some guy from across the way is spying on him. The spy puts himself in this couples life and eventually gets his wish of having sex with one of them. I know, a very happy devoted couple indeed!


This couple has a shrink and she is an Asian woman who can't orgasm. She has never had an orgasm and it is ruining her marriage. No matter what positions they try (and they try some I haven't even seen in porn before) she can't get off. She can't get off by masturbating or any other way. She tries and tries but she can't do it. Don't worry at the sex club she can't take her eyes off this particular couple who go at it constantly and by the end of the film this couple invites her to join them and she finally orgasms, yay! The last main focus is that of an artist, who makes money as a dominatrix. She has seen so much of the bad side of people that she has become disillusioned by society, forgetting that she has helped caused this herself. She is dying to make a connection and seeks it at "Shortbus." In the end it seems like all of these people have found what they are looking for, but it doesn't seem like any of them could really be happy. One guy tries to kill himself and when he is saved, he celebrates by cheating on his boyfriend and thus goes this movie.