Released: November 30th, 2007
Starring: Macaulay Culkin, Eliza Dushku, Alexis Dziena, Kuno Becker
Writer/Director: Miles Brandman
Description: Young couples experiment with anonymous group sex as a way to revitalize their troubled relationships.
[Review may contain spoilers. Please watch movie before reading, unless you don't care. Most of these films have already been released for a while, so they should be readily available.]
***
"Sex and Breakfast" had a curious cast to be attached to a movie with sex in the title, especially one that could easily be a skinemax classic. The two actresses, Dushku and Dziena, aren't notorious for their love of stripping on film, despite the latter's full-frontal scene in "Broken Flowers". So my preconceptions were all over the place: the title suggested there would be skin, but the actors involved said it would be unlikely. As I pushed play, I had no idea what I'd be in for: an average R-rated sex comedy (ugh), or an interesting take on sexuality.
Fortunately, it was the latter. The movie followed two couples who have two different problems in the bedroom, and plan to solve them with a group sex therepy. James (Culkin) and Heather (Dziena) are having trouble physically. Heather can't orgasm while having sex with James, even though she has previously. Renee (Dushku) and Ellis (Becker) have more of an emotional problem, and Renee feels they are getting boring and need to spice things up. While the stories themselves aren't very original, the way they are told is very mature and rare for the subject.
The issue with the film was that you only cared about one couple, so splitting the screen time between them, did not help the quality of the film. I place most of the blame on Becker as he did his best to make me hate him instead of root for him. Part of it was the writing of his character seemed off balanced, as I could not tell if he was homophobic or really loved Renee. Surprisingly, Dushku didn't help matters as it looked like she was trying to force the chemistry with Becker. Plus, Ellis looked like he owned multiple Ed Hardy t-shirts.
James and Heather, on the other hand, had the more heartbreaking arc. He loved her so much that he would try anything to make her happy, which would translate to her climaxing during sex. Heather's parents had an open relationship, so she was more experimental than James, who wanted sex to be private. Their conflict was more apparent and relatable.
As the movie reached the end of the second act, when the group sex session between the couples occured, the outcome for each couple seems obvious: One would be closer and the other would break up. But the twist wasn't telegraphed at all, as James and Heather -- who had the better post session night -- saw their relationship end. What I liked was that the conclusion to the movie was more show than tell: James and Heather left in different cars, and Renee committed to Ellis by pass up on possibly fulfilling her fantasy of having a lesbian experience. They were more realistic than a kiss in the rain or a screaming match outside an apartment, and that was refreshing.
"Sex and Breakfast" both, exceeded my expectations and fell way short of them. The mature way the relationships were written, especially with sexual problems as the main conflict, was nice to see. But when half of your movie is uninteresting and borderline boring, you lose all the emotional traction that Culkin and Dziena had provided with their performances.
When a certain word is in the title of a movie, there are situations that you subconsciously think will occur duing the film. Its a ploy, just like having a hot woman on the poster, to get people to watch the movie. I, like, every other heterosexual male fall for it every time, and this time it was no different.
"Sex and Breakfast" had a curious cast to be attached to a movie with sex in the title, especially one that could easily be a skinemax classic. The two actresses, Dushku and Dziena, aren't notorious for their love of stripping on film, despite the latter's full-frontal scene in "Broken Flowers". So my preconceptions were all over the place: the title suggested there would be skin, but the actors involved said it would be unlikely. As I pushed play, I had no idea what I'd be in for: an average R-rated sex comedy (ugh), or an interesting take on sexuality.
Fortunately, it was the latter. The movie followed two couples who have two different problems in the bedroom, and plan to solve them with a group sex therepy. James (Culkin) and Heather (Dziena) are having trouble physically. Heather can't orgasm while having sex with James, even though she has previously. Renee (Dushku) and Ellis (Becker) have more of an emotional problem, and Renee feels they are getting boring and need to spice things up. While the stories themselves aren't very original, the way they are told is very mature and rare for the subject.
The issue with the film was that you only cared about one couple, so splitting the screen time between them, did not help the quality of the film. I place most of the blame on Becker as he did his best to make me hate him instead of root for him. Part of it was the writing of his character seemed off balanced, as I could not tell if he was homophobic or really loved Renee. Surprisingly, Dushku didn't help matters as it looked like she was trying to force the chemistry with Becker. Plus, Ellis looked like he owned multiple Ed Hardy t-shirts.
James and Heather, on the other hand, had the more heartbreaking arc. He loved her so much that he would try anything to make her happy, which would translate to her climaxing during sex. Heather's parents had an open relationship, so she was more experimental than James, who wanted sex to be private. Their conflict was more apparent and relatable.
As the movie reached the end of the second act, when the group sex session between the couples occured, the outcome for each couple seems obvious: One would be closer and the other would break up. But the twist wasn't telegraphed at all, as James and Heather -- who had the better post session night -- saw their relationship end. What I liked was that the conclusion to the movie was more show than tell: James and Heather left in different cars, and Renee committed to Ellis by pass up on possibly fulfilling her fantasy of having a lesbian experience. They were more realistic than a kiss in the rain or a screaming match outside an apartment, and that was refreshing.
"Sex and Breakfast" both, exceeded my expectations and fell way short of them. The mature way the relationships were written, especially with sexual problems as the main conflict, was nice to see. But when half of your movie is uninteresting and borderline boring, you lose all the emotional traction that Culkin and Dziena had provided with their performances.
If a movie is going to focus on two couples and barely have any supporting characters -- the maybe-lesbian waitress and ex-boyfriend "Six-pack" don't count -- you better make sure each couple is equally strong. One can't be McAdams-Gosling from "The Notebook" and the other be Afleck-Lopez in "Gigli" because you lose all balance in the story.
Rating: 5/10 -- The writing and direction were fine, but they missed big time with the second male lead, who made up one-quarter of the screen time. Shows that sex can be discussed in a mature way without being raunchy. The 4-to-7 minutes of silence during the climax, and the minimal dialogue during the aftermath was beautifully done. It was right up there with the "Hush" episode of "Buffy", as the actors did a great job telling the story with glances and body language.
Rating: 5/10 -- The writing and direction were fine, but they missed big time with the second male lead, who made up one-quarter of the screen time. Shows that sex can be discussed in a mature way without being raunchy. The 4-to-7 minutes of silence during the climax, and the minimal dialogue during the aftermath was beautifully done. It was right up there with the "Hush" episode of "Buffy", as the actors did a great job telling the story with glances and body language.
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