I thought it was an absolutely beautiful film. Extrordinarily graphic, yet I didn’t feel it was going for the shock value- it was one of the few films I’ve seen where the characters act like human beings and not just ‘actors’.
It would make a great TV series on Showtime/HBO in my opinion. Of course, it might be even too racy for Premium channels :dubious:
What were your favorite characters? Mine were:
Jamiex2’s stalker
Donut man 
Is it, um…disturbingly graphic? Or just graphic?
Recognizing that that’s a subjective question, I’ll just ask: how graphic is it?
Among some of the more jarring scenes, a guy giving himself a blowjob, and numerous scenes of characters having actual sex/masturbating. I guess its as graphic in that I haven’t seen a film in a theater with those kinds of scenes, and no, it isn’t a porno either.
Thanks. :eek:
I just saw this film last weekend and you have summed up my feelings about the film perfectly. I was surprised at just how *real *the characters were, and not just because of the sex. I believed they were who they were shown to be. (Especially the Jamies, I guess because they really are a couple in real life.) Jamie, the one who looked like a jellybean, was adorable.
I also had fun recognizing so many of the background characters. Murray Hill, BOB, JD Samson, etc.
Not of course - in fact there’s no such thing as too racy for premium channels. They have less regulation than theatrically released movies, since they’re their own gatekeepers/censors. They have absolutley no one else to answer to; not adverstisers, not the FCC, and not movie theaters (most of which won’t screen unrate or NC-17 movies).
Isn’t this the one where the sex is apparently not, uh, simulated?
A CBC radio host (Sook-Yin Lee) is in it. I find her annoying on the radio.
In the descriptions of this movie that I’ve read, they discuss the self-blowjob, the real and non-simulated sex, etc. But what I’m trying to figure out is, is it obvious what they’re doing even though you don’t actually see dick-in-mouth blowjob or penis-into-vagina sex, or do you actually see everything in such a way that it’s obviously not simulated? And if you actually see it, doesn’t that put it into the XXX category, despite how artfully it may be done?
What do you mean? Of what significance is the “XXX category”?
FTR, there’s no regulated “XXX” category - it’s merely an advertising buzzword (that’s not even used anymore) that means the product is hardcore pornographic. And pornography is sold merely to titilate the viewer sexually.
Even if a legitimate film has graphic depiction of sex in it, as long as the creators don’t call it porn, it’s not. Shortbus wasn’t made (just) to stimulate you sexually.
I don’t know. There definitely is dick-in-mouth blowjob scenes, and actual penetrative sex in at least one scene. But it honestly doesn’t seem like a porno at all. I don’t know how else to describe it. It shows people having sex in the same way you might see someone drinking a cup of coffee or something- another part of who they are, not meaningless activity and yet not everything that they are either. They don’t go out of their way to hide the sex, rather they show it as a normal facet of being human.
Thanks Incubus.
pizzabrat- I wasn’t looking for a lesson on what pornography is and is not, nor was I trying to imply or make any subjective judgment of pornography, so relax. I was just trying to determine whether the film depicted what would be considered hardcore pornography in full graphic detail, i.e. actual penetration, or whether it was done in such a way to imply that the action is taking place through the use of camera tricks and what not.
Basically- is there actual penetrative sex shown on screen, or is implied? I guess that’s how I should have asked it in the first place.
Yes, it is actually shown on screen, as are several blowjobs, with the end result of the one the guy performs on himself shown onscreen as well.
But it’s true, it really doesn’t come across as a porno. The sex is not there for anyone to get off on. It’s just another routine activity these characters engage in.
Preach it, Incubus 
I loved this movie. Apparently, the players were amateurs that answered an internet ad placed by the director. It’s a pity I didn’t know about this; if I had, I would have considered trying out for a role. In any case, the community of pervs is portrayed with affection and humanity. Sigh…
Mr. Jeeves and I saw it this weekend and really enjoyed it. The sex was well done, though I might complain that there was more straight sex than gay 
but that’s just me. The characters were great, and I really got into their story. Of course there needs to be some experimentation of the relationship between sexual frustration and our electrical supply.
It finally showed up at the indy theater nearish me. I really loved this film! Of course it has some flaws, but I actually came away thinking “it’s possible for a film to be too good”. It was happy and sad at the same time like real life and had both resolutions and things left unresolved like real life.
I can’t even articulate exactly what it’s message was, but afterwards I felt this almost overwhelming urge to reexamine my own life from the context of the film and it was too much for me. I had thoughts similar to “no! it’s too real! let me cling to some remnant of superficiality”.
Although all the characters had their moments to shine, the Jamies had the most complete arc and so were the most compelling to me. I loved the therapist’s chair. The actor playing Ed Koch literally broke my heart with his scene.
And I haven’t even gotten to the sex. lol Which shows that there was so much more to this movie than the explicit sex scenes, which although they ‘show all’ were entirely unlike anything I have ever seen in a porn movie (although one reminds me of a sex in the city scene). I thought about whether the sex was a gimmick or not. Although the movie has so much else going for it, I think that the way the sex scenes (I’m including just plain nudity here) were shot does add something extra to the film that shoots it past great and into extraordinary. This film will definitely be with me for some time.